Most of the time we are mild mannered and well mannered when we are behind the wheel of an automobile. Then comes that one idiot or situation created by an idiot that suddenly lights our fuse. Even the kindest,quietest, most church going among us turns into a screaming lunatic. That my friends is road rage. Almost all of us experience it.

Don Redmon, a spokesman with the American Automobile Association, suggested in his comments to the Louisiana Radio Network that the situation described above is more common than we'd like to believe.

Typical signs of aggressive driving are purposely tailgating to get someone out of your way or yelling at another driver, honking your horn, making obscene gestures.

Usually that is as far as it goes. However, some eight million Americans admitted in a recent Triple A survey that they have gotten out of their vehicles to engage another driver. It's not surprising that most of these incidents involve male drivers.

They just find someone else on the road who responds to aggression, and all of the sudden it becomes a very personal situation.

Redmon says you can't help what other drivers happen to do. You can keep the incident from escalating by following this advice.

You don’t want to escalate their aggression by responding with obscene gestures, making eye contact, doing things that are only going to infuriate them more.

Should you feel it necessary you can dial *LSP on your mobile phone. That will connect you to the nearest Louisiana State Police District. They can dispatch a unit to your scene or transfer your call to local law enforcement.

 

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