You are driving the legal speed and enjoying your journey, until . . . someone creeps up behind you, rides your bumper, honks, and tries to force you to go faster.
- Touch your brakes quickly-not enough to decrease speed but enough to give the other driver room for pause, reminding him or her that it's never a good idea to follow that closely behind someone
- Slow right down. Do the opposite of what the other driver wants. The other driver is trying to control your behavior. Don't give in to it. In most cases, the controlling driver will get fed up and will pass you, leaving you in peace to enjoy driving within safe speed limits.
- If the previous two measures haven't worked, pull over to the side of the road and wait until the other car has gone by, then continue on your way
- You are now behind the aggressive driver. Use caution because he or she may try other controlling or unsafe tactics against you. If the driver continues to give you grief, take note of the license plate number.
It's night. A driver creeps up on you and turns the headlights on high beam. This is another form of intimidation.
- Angle your mirror so that the lights shine back on him or her
- Slow right down. Think about it: the other driver is trying to force you to go faster. (I've had this happen when the roads were icy.) If there is any kind of incident, you can always claim that the other driver was blinding you with his high beams and you slowed down for safety's sake, which would be completely true.
- If you have to, pull to the side of the road and let the aggressor go by. Why give him or her any further satisfaction?
A driver starts screaming obscenities at you through your window.
- Crank up the radio and purposely drown him or her out. Start bobbing your head to the music and completely ignore the other driver.
- If the bad behavior continues, roll up your window and deprive him or her of an audience
- Put as much distance between yourself and the other driver as possible. Verbal abuse can quickly escalate into physical violence. Removing yourself from close proximity to the aggressive person may be the safest course.
Each person will have to decide which is the sanest and safest course when implementing these strategies. You don't want to trigger violent behavior or end up in an accident; however, keep in mind that allowing an aggressive driver to control your driving habits could also lead to a speeding ticket or worse-case scenario.
