What to do if confronted by an aggressive driver?

  • First and foremost, make every attempt to get out of their way.
  • Put your pride in the back seat. Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold your own in your travel lane.
  • Wear your seat belt. It will hold you in your seat and behind the wheel in case you need to make an abrupt drying manoeuvre and it will protect you in a crash.
  • Avoid eye contact.
  • Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
  • Report aggressive drivers to the appropriate authorities by providing a vehicle description, licence number, location and if possible, direction of travel.
  • If you have a cell phone and can do it safely, call the police.
  • If an aggressive driver is involved in the crash scene further down the road, stop at a safe distance from the scene, wait for the police to arrive, and report the driving behaviour that you witnessed.

This advice is intended to help people avoid confrontations with aggressive drivers and to support the law enforcement efforts to reduce road rage incidents.

Driver Self Restraining Behaviours

  • Leave home 15 minutes earlier than usual -- action
  • Increasing the following distance -- action
  • Signalling sooner before changing lanes -- action
  • Driving less frequently in the passing lanes --  action
  • Reducing cruising speed by 5 to 10 K/Hour -- action
  • Contradicting yourself each time you think that some drivers are fools, airheads, and sons-of-you-know-what -- thoughts
  • Reinforcing the idea that your passengers have their rights -- thoughts
  • Repeating to yourself that pedestrians always have the right of way, even when jaywalking --  thoughts
  • Contradicting your belief that it's OK not to wear a seat belt because you probably won't need it -- thought
  • Avoiding getting angry when forced to brake by another motorists -- emotions
  • Avoiding feeling hostile when your progress is impeded by congestion -- emotions
  • Avoiding retaliation when another motorists driver insults you -- emotions
  • Not letting yourself enjoy thoughts of revenge and torture -- emotions.