Road Rage: When Emotions Take Over

Road rage is incredibly dangerous.  When emotions take over our driving the consequences can be dire.

On Wednesday a man hit a fellow motorists car with a bat in an alleged road rage incident.   The incident took place on I-87 in Ramapo, NY.  Daniel Bosquez of Woodmere in Nassau County allegedly intentionally caused damage to an occupied vehicle while using a wooden bat. Bosquez was arrested at the scene and taken into custody.  Because of his poor choices he is facing felony charges and court dates.

Road rage is aggressive or violent behavior stemming from a driver’s uncontrolled anger at the actions of another motorist.  Some examples are:

• Hitting their vehicle with your car.
• Running them off the road.
• Pulling over, getting out, and engaging in a physical confrontation.
• Inciting your passenger(s) to fight the other driver.
• Using any sort of weapon to inflict harm on another driver or vehicle. (I.E. The case of Mr. Bosquez)

Oftentimes, aggressive driving escalates road rage. Some examples of Aggressive Driving are:

• Tailgating.
• Cutting others off.
• Not using turn signals.
• Mentally or verbally cursing other drivers.
• Speeding.
• Honking.
• Flashing your headlights.
• Brake checking

When you feel your emotions taking over while driving there are things you can do to make sure the situation doesn’t escalate to road rage.

• Take some deep breaths
• Put on calming music
• Pull Over
• Get into the mentality that you are sharing the road, and nobody’s perfect!
• Keep a good amount of space between yourself and other drivers.
• THINK IT THROUGH

You can always take a defensive driving class to make sure that you are prepared, because unfortunately road rage does happen!

In conclusion it isn’t worth the criminal record! Always remember Road rage is never worth it.  Stay tuned to this blog spot for more info. And as always, DRIVE SAFE!