How professional drivers can spot and prevent road rage

High heat, heavier traffic, teen drivers on the road, prevalent road construction, bicyclists, and pedestrians—these are all reasons why traveling during the summer months can be more challenging for professional drivers.

Summer heat also contributes to overheated engines, tire blowouts, and other equipment-related stress, Adam Lang, Netradyne’s customer advisory services director, said. But there’s something else that heat affects that isn’t vehicle-related: road rage.

Road rage is more common in summer months than any other season, according to the Association for Psychological Science. Further, “96% of Americans reported witnessing road rage in the past year, while 89% said they had been victims of road rage incidents,” Lang said, highlighting the dangers of road rage.

How can professional drivers detect road rage, and how can they protect themselves from it while sharing the road with others?

Road rage behaviors

Not every bad driver is a road rager, and not every road rager is a notoriously bad driver. But how can you distinguish bad driving behaviors from road rage behaviors?

Lang said the biggest difference between bad driving behavior and road raging behavior is that one is unintentional, while the other is intentional.

“Bad drivers will often drift between lanes, fail to signal, speed, and/or tailgate other vehicles,” Lang told FleetOwner. But road rage includes “yelling, repetitive honking, obscene gestures, chasing, blocking, or intentionally hitting another vehicle.”

Bad driving is a result of inattiveness, fatigue, or inexperience (which is also worth looking out for, especially as more teen drivers take to the streets this summer). However, intentional actions “are typically triggered by frustration, anger, or perceived provocation,” Lang explained.

What’s more, bad behaviors can often be corrected with training, coaching, or experience behind the wheel. Road rage, on the other hand, requires emotional regulation, conflict avoidance strategies, or perhaps even intervention from law enforcement to correct, Lang said.

Lang cautions professional drivers to look out for these common road rage behaviors:

Tailgating
Honking or aggressive gestures
Running red lights
Cutting off other vehicles

Don’t be a road rager

A common rule of summertime survival is staying cool and hydrated. Turns out, the same can be said for road rage as well. Because higher temperatures increase irritability, Lang suggests that one of the easiest ways to keep a cool head is to keep your head cool.

“Staying hydrated and keeping the car cool with air conditioning or open windows helps maintain a calm demeanor and better decision-making,” Lang said.

Another way to keep yourself calm during summertime traffic is to leave at an appropriate time.

“A driver who leaves 15 minutes early for work can calmly navigate around a slow driver or a detour,” Lang said. Yet “someone running late might tailgate or honk excessively, potentially provoking a road rage incident.”

While fatigue is a symptom of a bad driver, it can also increase road rage among professional drivers as it “reduces patience and reaction time, making it easier to misinterpret other drivers’ actions as hostile,” Lang explained. Combat fatigue by taking breaks.

“On a long road trip, a driver who stops every couple of hours to stretch and rest is more alert and less likely to react aggressively if someone merges abruptly in front of them,” Lang said.

Finally, professional drivers can avoid becoming professional road ragers by simply practicing a little patience and not taking poor driving behaviors personally.

“If someone cuts you off, instead of retaliating by speeding up or flashing your lights, take a deep breath and let it go,” Lang said. “They may be distracted or in an emergency; responding with patience keeps you safe and in control.”

How to protect yourself

One of the best ways to protect yourself from a road rager is to avoid traffic altogether. While traffic can’t always be avoided, it’s worth planning ahead to see if there are alternate routes with less traffic congestion.

For routes that don’t have alternatives, Lang suggests that professional drivers simply do not engage drivers with road rage behaviors.

“Avoid eye contact with aggressive drivers,” he said. “No gestures, yelling, or racing, and report dangerous behavior to authorities if it’s safe to do so.”

As road rage heats up along with the summer temperatures, ensuring safe summer travel begins with preparation.