How to avoid road rage

[msharma_79]

Hi All,

Road rage has taken many lives especially in Delhi, People have become so impatient and have no respect or in Law of the country that they try to take the things in their hand.

I lost a friend and neighbour because of the road rage. Dr. Diwan was wonderful man, very humble and simple human being.

Following are the pointers I found on one of the website and i thought everybody should read and follow these.


DON'T OFFEND - When surveys ask drivers what angers them most, the results are remarkably consistent. A few specific behaviors seem unusually likely to enrage other drivers

When you merge, make sure you have plenty of room. Use your turn signal to show your intentions before making a move. If you make a mistake and accidentally cut someone off, try to apologize to the other driver with an appropriate gesture. If someone cuts you off, slow down and give them enough room to merge into your lane

DRIVING SLOWLY IN THE LEFT LANE - If you are in the fast lane and someone wants to pass, move over and let them by. You may be "in the right" because you are traveling at the speed limit - but you may also be putting yourself in danger by making drivers behind you angry. Besides, it's simple courtesy to move over and let other drivers by

TAILGATING - Drivers get angry when they are followed too closely. Allow at least a two second space between your car and the car ahead. (When you see the car pass a fixed point, you should be able to count at least "one-thousand, two thousand" before you pass that point.

If you think another car is driving too slowly, and you are unable to pass, pull back and allow more space, not less. That way if the car does something unexpected, you will have time to get out of the way

You should be able to see the headlights of the car behind you in your rear-view mirror. If you feel you are being followed too closely, signal and pull over to allow the other driver to go by

GESTURES - Almost nothing makes another driver angrier than an obscene gesture. Keep your hands on the wheel. Avoid making any gestures that might anger another driver, even "harmless" expressions of irritation like shaking your head

Be a cautious and courteous driver. Signal every time you merge or change lanes, and whenever you turn. Use your horn rarely, if ever. If you and another driver see a parking place at the same time, let that person have it. And if another driver seems eager to get in front of you, say "Be my guest." When you respond this way, after a while, "be my guest" becomes your automatic response and you won't be as offended by other driver's rudeness

DON'T ENGAGE - One angry driver can't start a fight unless another driver is willing to join in. You can protect yourself against aggressive drivers by refusing to become angry at them. Orator Robert Ingersoll said, "Anger blows out the lamp of the mind." A person who is angry can do things they may later regret and that includes you. If you're tempted to retaliate against another driver, think: "Would I want to fly in an airplane whose pilot was acting like this?" Think about what kind of crash your angry actions could cause. Then cool down and continue your trip

STEER CLEAR - Give angry drivers lots of room. A driver you may have offended can "snap" and become truly dangerous. If the other driver tries to pick a fight, put as much distance as possible between your vehicle and the other car, and then get away as quickly as possible. Do not, under any circumstances, pull off to the side of the road and try to settle things "man to man"


AVOID EYE CONTACT - If another driver is acting angry with you, don't make eye contact. Looking or staring at another driver can turn an impersonal encounter between two vehicles into a personal duel. And once things get personal, the situation can get out of hand fast


ADJUST YOUR ATTITUDE - The most important actions you can take to avoid aggressive driving take place inside your head. By changing your approach to driving, you can make every trip more pleasant. Try these ideas for a pleasant change:


FORGET WINNING - For too many motorists, driving becomes a contest. Are you one of those drivers who allows the shortest possible time for a trip and then races the clock? If something happens to slow you down, do you get angry? The solution: Allow more time for your trip. You'll be amazed at how much more relaxed you feel when you have a few extra minutes. So instead of trying to "make good time" try to "make time good." Listen to soothing music or a book on tape. Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing. You'll arrive much calmer, fresher, and in a less stressed-out frame of mind

PUT YOURSELF IN THE OTHER DRIVER'S SHOES - Instead of judging the other driver, try to imagine why he or she is driving that way. Someone speeding and constantly changing lanes may be a volunteer fireman, or a physician rushing to a hospital. Someone who jerks from one lane to another may have a bee in the car, or a crying baby. Whatever their reason, it has nothing to do with you. Stay cool and don't take other driver's actions personally

Source : Road Rage & How to Avoid aggression.

[m4ugr8]

Sir,
Thank you for these wonderful tips,
According to me the best way to avoid road rage is as you mentioned avoid eye contact,By this way you can ignore the gestures the other driver is making,

Some guys i have seen specially young drivers want to show that they are the Hamilton of streets,so they willingly tail gate,overtake from the left and suddenly come in and stop.Which makes you angry and then you try to teach him a lesson or something and follow him and that guy gets what he wants a driver following him,and driving as crazy as he can or try to do that.

Happened to me once,guys think if a guy has alloys on his car he also is trying to prove something.So seeing the alloys on my car and the spoiler,a guy in a santro chipped my left wing mirror and was trying to speed away,after seeing me not reacting or trying to chase him down,he slows down and then does what he should have not,rolled down the windows and showed me the middle finger,well that was the spark required
I got mad and did try to overtake him but see was crazy,he almost killed a guy on a bike in an attempt to overtake me.

So guys drive safe and dont let crazy drivers make you crazy.

[theMAG]

Those are invaluable tips. Thanks for that.

[planet_rocker]

what do you guys have to say about this:

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

Road Rage:

i overtook a dhikchakboomboomdhikchak wala new red santro (with 4 guys inside) and i guess thats what tempted them to pull my leg. i led them pass. they overtook me and after sometime led me pass and again overtook me almost brushing my car's RHS. i slowed down but they were continuously nagging - at one point there was a bus in the middle lane (EM ByPass) and i was behind the bus - the santro was on the right lane way behind me. so i thought of overtaking the bus - but as soon as i tried to shift to the right lane this santro speeds up and brushed in car's RHS rear wheel arch. i felt the mild bump - but she was absolutely steady. the santro on the other hand almost lost control and slowed down. soon it pulled away from me and later showed up out of nowhere and started shouting and apparently said something to me. before i could do anything it took a turn and speed away.

i mean how to deal with these kind of drivers? (yeah he took the entire thing personally IMO) - IMO they had an idea that a Fiat can never over take a brand new santro.

details: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/508552-post182.html (Kolkata 'Gola' Meet - July '07)

[msharma_79]

thanks guys, and i had similar experience once but i was not involved in. i saw the whole thing happening.
i was driving back home from office couple of years back, saw in my rear view mirror two young drivers in their fancy sedans racing i slowed down so that they can pass,

one guy zipped from my right and the other from left. that really scared me, more than that i was aware that something bad is going to happen as i knew the road (i have been using the same route for the paste 4 years) there were some serious potholes 300 mtrs ahead.

and inevitable happened i heard big boom one guy had crashed in others car in the rear of while he was trying to slow suddenly seeing the pot holes.

both got seriously injured.

it is not just worth it man.

[V-16]

Invaluable advice msharma_79.
I think and do the simplest of things. before you react try to count, slowly, from one to ten ( take at least 20 seconds to do this). By the time you complete, one of you has either gone or settled down. Really, it works on me!!

[rjstyles69]

msharma very well put. The need of the hour is being sensible in hostile situations.

I am copying this and sending it to all my colleagues. Hope you don't mind.

[speedmiester]

Thanks for the great advice, will try to practice it.

[shyamhegde]

Originally Posted by msharma_79

Hi All,

PUT YOURSELF IN THE OTHER DRIVER'S SHOES - Instead of judging the other driver, try to imagine why he or she is driving that way. Someone speeding and constantly changing lanes may be a volunteer fireman, or a physician rushing to a hospital. Someone who jerks from one lane to another may have a bee in the car, or a crying baby. Whatever their reason, it has nothing to do with you. Stay cool and don't take other driver's actions personally

msharma, thanks for the education. We all should read you notes often.
It helps.

[megger]

It may be good to remember a simple fact. The other person will hardly hear the curses you may utter, it's your heart that is stressed. This is an advice from a leading Bangalore cardiologist.

[kpzen]

MS Sharma. Thanks
You have shared some Very valuable tips on avoiding road rage.
The current driving manners of ppl are simply patience testing.
I've found that a good ICE setup in the car with appropriate music being played helps avoiding road rage too.

[abhibh]

Nice tips msharma_79

I follow almost all of them but there are a few things that put me off and i am working on them

1. Driver behind me honking a lot even though he know there is a lot of traffic and i can't let him go / pass by.

2. If i am in a hurry and honk (i usually use dipper even in day light lol) they dont give side and after sometime when i try to pass from left side they speed up like crazy and zooms away.

50% of the time i let it go but at times i don't.

Plus as per kpzen it sure helps. CALMS ME DOWN !!!

[cheap_deal]

ICE is the best solution folks, even if you have a low budget, dynamat the whole car including roof, doors, trunk everything!
play some good music, that way you cant hear the annoying honker.

also get the darkest tint possible, yes you will have trouble driving at night but when you give your 'im gonna cut your throat' look at the other driver who cut you off, he dosent see you

keep the ac on ice cold blast too.

[skandyhere]

i'm really proud to be a part of a forum that's consistently against on-road heroism. road rage has its roots in the need for speed, apart from a few others perhaps. nearly every little problem we face on the road, every angst and every grimace is caused for this mad fetish for speed.

but how do you get people to realise???

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

msharma very well put. The need of the hour is being sensible in hostile situations.

I am copying this and sending it to all my colleagues. Hope you don't mind.

thanks a ton bro, spread these words as far as possible, anyways no need to ask for that, there is nothing new written up there