How to handle an aggressive driver who’s making you nervous
In a perfect world, every driver would put safety above all else. But in the real world, things don’t work this way. There will always be people on the road who aren’t interested in your safety. They’re going to do whatever they want, whenever they want.
If you find yourself in close proximity to an aggressive driver, it’s natural for your nerves to flare up. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to calm them. Do the following:
- Don’t lose focus: You still have to focus on the road and what’s happening around you. Don’t let this one person throw you for a curve.
- Create space: You don’t want to drive closely to this person, such as directly next to them on a highway. Create space by moving up the road ahead or falling back, whichever is safer.
- Pull over and call for help: This is a judgment call. Sometimes, it makes sense to call for help, such as if the person is a danger to everyone on the road. Other times, you’ll cool off after the person is gone. The decision is yours, but it never hurts to err on the side of caution.
Even if you take these steps, you could still suffer an injury as the result of another driver’s aggression or negligence.
Should this happen, take steps to stabilize your health, file an insurance claim and protect your legal rights. The accident has the potential to affect you for the rest of your life, so you need to obtain all the compensation that’s owed to you.