With icy road conditions impacting our region, the risk of car accidents has increased. Virginia State Police has seen a major uptick in car crashes since Winter Storm Blair, and with a higher risk of car accidents, there’s an increased risk of road rage.
Progressive defines road rage as "an aggressive reaction to other drivers, pedestrians, or cyclists." This can be as simple as rude gestures, following intentionally closely, and yelling at another driver. Progressive suggested the following if you’re involved with an aggressive driver:
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- Don’t make eye contact
- Let the other driver pass
- Contact authorities
- Don’t go straight home: This is in case the driver follows you for an extended period of time. Find a location to safely stop and call authorities.
Many of these sentiments were also echoed by those at AAA.
“If there is some sort of an incident and you start to see an aggressive driver that threatens to turn into a road rage incident, avoid engaging with that person. Don’t make eye contact, don’t give any gestures, don’t be pulled into whatever they’ve got going on on the roadway. Move over to that righthand lane, slow down, let ‘em go on by. If they start to target you, start to follow you, pull into a very busy place, like a grocery store, a big box store, or if you’re close to a fire station or a police station, pull into those, and make that call to 911.”
Morgan Dean, AAA Spokesperson
Stay safe while driving in these conditions, keep calm, and make sure you know what to do in a road rage incident.