Driving Tips

• Stay out of the way. Give aggressive drivers plenty of room to get around you.
• Drive defensively. Do not assume other drivers will follow traffic rules.
• Do not insist on your right-of-way if another driver is challenging you.
• Give a tailgater an opportunity to pass you by changing lanes.
• Be alert to those who are putting on makeup, talking on car phones, reading, eating or otherwise not paying attention to driving.
• Give cars room to merge ahead of you.
• Follow these tips to avoid rude or aggressive driving tendencies yourself.
• Don't make eye contact with an aggressive driver.
• Don't use obscene gestures.
• Use your horn sparingly.
• Don't block the passing lane.
• Don't switch lanes without signaling.
• Avoid blocking the right-hand turn lane.
• Do not tailgate.
• Don't get distracted by the car phone.
• Don't play the radio excessively loudly.
• Allow plenty of time for your trip.
• Driving is transportation, not competition. Want to compete? Find a racetrack.
• Be courteous, even when other drivers are not. Retaliating won't get you where you're going any sooner. Don't assume the other driver is out to antagonize you; he or she may just be in a hurry, too.
• It's not your job to teach others to drive. If, for example, you block a speeding car to slow it down, you might be inviting trouble. Leave law enforcement to the police.
• Make time good instead of making good time. If it takes 25 minutes to get to work, why leave yourself only 15? Leave earlier and don't play beat the clock. If driving makes you impatient, play music or listen to a book on tape to pass the time.
• First and foremost make every attempt to get out of the way.
• Put your pride in the back seat. Do not challenge them by speeding up or attempting to hold-your-own in your travel lane.
• Wear your seat belt. It will hold you in your seat and behind the wheel in case you need to make an abrupt driving maneuver and it will protect you in a crash.
• Avoid eye contact.
• Ignore gestures and refuse to return them.
• Report aggressive drivers to the appropriate authorities by providing a vehicle description, license number, location, and if possible, direction of travel.
• If you have a cellular phone, and can do it safely, call the police.
• If an aggressive driver is involved in a crash farther down the road, stop a safe distance from the crash scene, wait for the police to arrive, and report the driving behavior that you witnessed.