SITUATIONAL AWARENESS & ROAD RAGE
What to look for/how to avoid and what to do
Audience:
How do you know when someone is road raging?
Some jerk cuts you off - honks excessively AND flips you off!
You smash into them ` they hit a pole - they are injured AND you get arrested.
WHO WON??!!
We all have bad days but that doesn’t excuse us for allowing our pride and hypersensitivity to get in the way of good and sound judgment.
Ways to prevent yourself from becoming a rager:
Ways to protect yourself if you are a target:
What you can do if you are the target of a road rager:
Illinois Law on Road Rage
Destroying someone else's property can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.
The level of the charge depends on the value of the item damaged:
https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/road-rage-statistics/#what-is-road-rage
https://illinoisrecklessdriving.com/law-penalties/
https://www.kenallenlaw.com/2020/07/road-rage-accidents-in-illinois-and-indiana-rising-risk-of-driver-violence/
What to look for/how to avoid and what to do
Audience:
How do you know when someone is road raging?
- Tailgating
- Yelling
- They are challenging you
- Honking a lot
- Cuts you off
- Makes angry gestures
- Tries to block another person from changing lanes
- Bumping or ramming another vehicle
- At stop sign/light aggressive driver gets out of car to confront another driver
Some jerk cuts you off - honks excessively AND flips you off!
You smash into them ` they hit a pole - they are injured AND you get arrested.
WHO WON??!!
We all have bad days but that doesn’t excuse us for allowing our pride and hypersensitivity to get in the way of good and sound judgment.
Ways to prevent yourself from becoming a rager:
- #1 way to prevent yourself from becoming a rager is to NOT DRIVE! Lol
- Become safety-minded: That’s when your mind, mouth, and body are in harmony; Soften your grip of the steering wheel, unclench your jaw, remind yourself to relax, and pray for friends, family, and the other drivers
- Have a plan before you even get into your vehicle
- Give yourself PLENTY of time to arrive at your destination
- We need to have empathy! We have no idea why someone is driving slowly; perhaps they are ill, lost, scared, just lost a loved one, sick child, lost job, received a cancer diagnosis
- Stay SAFETY FOCUSED! Your family and friends want you to arrive home safely!
- Don’t take your personal or work issues with you on the road
- Remind yourself that you are not entitled to an easy road trip. There will be some goofy -not to so - and slow drivers
- Your journey is not more important that the next person’s
- Listen to calming music
- Have a calming scent in your vehicle like lavender oil
- Listen to an audiobook
Ways to protect yourself if you are a target:
- Do not allow your ego to get in the way. It’s just not worth it!
- Slow down, move over, let the rager go on around you
- Aim to deescalate - let it go!
- Don’t fixate on who is right or wrong. Winning or losing #1 priority to personal safety!
- Roll with the punches, if you are in the wrong, give a FRIENDLY nod but no eye contact
- Eye contact may further provoke aggression
- Take a deep breath and back off
- Never try to keep up with an aggressive driver. Do not try to be a hero!
- A rager is more likely to stay committed to aggression if they have passengers
- Unless a rager gives you an absolute reason to defend yourself, there is no need to engage with him or her
What you can do if you are the target of a road rager:
- Call the police have the description of the car and the plate number
- Hey Siri, make a note: aggressive driver yellow pinto license plate 666
- Do NOT engage
- Never make eye contact
- Do not go home
- As soon as possible, pull into a gas station because they have a lot of cameras
- Lock your doors
- Keep your windows up
- Never ever ever get out of your vehicle
- Keep your car in such a way for a fast exit
- Keep your car in drive and your foot on the brake
Illinois Law on Road Rage
- Class A misdemeanor charge when a person drives recklessly
- Class 4 felony charge when conduct results in bodily harm to a child or a crossing guard while performing their official duties
Destroying someone else's property can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony.
The level of the charge depends on the value of the item damaged:
- $500 and below is a Class A misdemeanor, which could result in up to 1 year in jail
- Between $501 and $10,000 is a Class 4 felony, and a conviction carries a prison term of up to 3 years
- Between $10,001 and $100,000, a Class 3 felony, with a conviction carrying a prison sentence of up to 5 years
- Over $100,000 is a Class 2 felony and could result in a prison term of up to 7 years
https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/road-rage-statistics/#what-is-road-rage
https://illinoisrecklessdriving.com/law-penalties/
https://www.kenallenlaw.com/2020/07/road-rage-accidents-in-illinois-and-indiana-rising-risk-of-driver-violence/