ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — It’s the most wonderful time of the year…So, can someone please tell that to all the angry, aggressive drivers out there? We’ve noticed a significant lack of holiday cheer out on the roads around Tampa Bay, so we wanted to ask an expert about the best way to avoid road rage during the holiday season.
“More people on the roads, especially now with school being out, you have more people shopping, more people out and about for the holidays so, you just have more people on the road trying to get to places in a quicker amount of time,” said St. Petersburg Police Traffic Lt. Patrice Hubbard. “[Stress] is definitely contributing to people being more agitated, just because there are more people on the road and everyone’s concerned with what they’re trying to do at that particular moment.”
Research done in the last few years by AAA shows that millions of drivers across the U.S. engage in aggressive driving behavior: everything from tailgating someone on purpose and making angry gestures at other drivers to ramming another car intentionally.
“You don’t want to engage in any type of confrontation, that’s not going to go well, and if you can avoid it, avoid it by either turning on to a side street, getting to an area that’s well-lit especially if it’s late at night, or come to the police station, go to an area where there are lots of witnesses around. I’m not going to advocate using your cell phone, but if you have a care where you can call and call the police and give a description of the car or, just keep yourself safe. That’s the priority,” added Hubbard.
“Safety is the most important thing that people should be worrying about, you just never know who you might encounter on the road so, my main suggestion would be: pull over, if they’re in a hurry, let them get around you, wherever you’re going is going to be there waiting when you get there, so there’s no hurry to get there and, generally, the person that’s trying to speed around you locally on the city streets, by the time they pass you, you’re going to catch up to them at the next light anyway," Hubbard said.
And if you notice yourself being the one to get angry behind the wheel...
“Just being self-aware,” said Hubbard. “Look down at your speedometer, see how fast you’re going, take a look around you, if you’re the one that’s leading the pack, why are you leading the pack? Take that time to take a few seconds to take a good, deep breath, breathe, look around and if you’re the one that’s leading the pack then maybe you should slow down.”
AAA offers three specific tips for helping to prevent road rage:
- Don't offend other drivers
- Be tolerant and forgiving of other drivers
- Don't respond to other drivers who are angry or aggressive. Try to avoid eye contact, don't make any gestures toward them, and pull over and call 9-1-1 if you have to.
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