Road rage is real, and if you’ve been driving for even just a day, you will most likely have experienced it first hand or seen in out on our roadways. While we may not have the worst traffic in the U.S., road rage rears its nasty head everywhere. Waze, a handy traffic app, published their findings of the top 5 best and worst place to be a driver in the U.S. and Lexington ranked in the top 5 BEST places! Even so, Lexington drivers know that traffic is a major challenge in the downtown area due to lack of freeways, the university, and all the commuters coming in from outlying areas.
What, exactly, is road rage? Angry, aggressive, and sometimes violent behaviors stem from aggravation caused by another driver on the road. It can include running into the car ahead, running a vehicle off the road, verbal and/or physical confrontation, or the use of a weapon to inflict harm or damage to the other driver or their vehicle. There was an incident at the intersection of U.S. Highway 25 and Kentucky Highway 204 back in March where a senseless tragedy occurred due to a blocked roadway.
The best way to avoid road rage and to not become a victim or an aggressor is take some simple precautions:
- Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you need to be.
- Have a calming or fun playlist at the ready when things start to get stressful.
- Don’t cut people off or engage in any other type of aggressive challenging behaviors.
- Say a prayer or meditation that helps calm you down.
- Be the bigger person and let it be their bad day, not yours.
- Leave plenty of room between you and the driver in front of you.
- Breathe… focusing on your breathing can help ease your anxiety and anger.
Don’t become a statistic. All you have to do is type in “Lexington road rage” to see just how often it’s happening in our local communities and how dangerous it is. The friendly team of trusted auto mechanics at Auto Excel wants to make sure you stay safe on the roadways this summer and always! Let us keep your car moving so you can practice keeping calm. May God bless you all and keep you out of harm’s way.