Encountering intense anger and explosive actions while on the road often frightens unprepared drivers. This phenomenon is commonly known as road rage, and is the cause of many severe accidents.
Learning the signs of road rage is one way to keep yourself and others safe.
Disregarding traffic rules
When a driver near you swerves suddenly or runs a stop sign, you may wonder what is wrong. Some people act aggressively in order to intimidate other people on the road, but it often ends up leading to a crash. A driver switching lanes without using a turn signal is another common problem.
This form of anger leads to impulsive and dangerous choices. Seeing someone run red lights, flash his or her high beams at you or take corners too sharply are all signs of road rage.
Yelling and screaming
Seeing someone scream through their window at you can be frightening. Other common forms of intimidation include the driver making rude gestures and yelling obscenities from out his or her window.
If the situation escalates, the driver may even exit his or her vehicle and attempt to walk over to yours in order to engage in a more heated conversation.
Following too closely
Tailgating, or driving extremely close to another car in front of you, is another problem you may need to deal with on the road. People with road rage often seek to scare others by following them to their destinations. Many serious accidents occur because the upset driver tailgated another car without proper following distance and could not break in time when the other driver came to a stop.
