Road rage is something most drivers have felt at one point or another.
Whether it’s a slow driver, being stuck in traffic or the driver who is next to you who is texting and driving, road rage can be caused by anything that proves to be a nuisance to us on the road. Here’s a look at the most common causes of road rage compiled by the GasanMamo Car Insurance Malta team:
Four of the Most Common Causes of Road Rage:
Slow Drivers
Whilst speed limits are there to be followed, you can sometimes find drivers whose speed is so far under the speed limit that you might be questioning whether their car is moving. These kinds of drivers are one of the most common causes of road rage, especially if they’re in the outer lane.
Although many might react by hooting their horn, tailgating or aggressively overtaking the slow driver all these methods are actually other causes of road rage. Our suggestion? Calmly overtake and get on with your day.
Mobile Phone Users
A sight that’s become all too common is people using their phones as they’re driving – an activity which is both illegal and also a top cause of accidents on the road. So it’s hardly surprising that law-adhering drivers will get angry as soon as they see someone using their phone whilst driving.
We’re sure to work emails or texts from your family and friends can wait, so put the phone away and focus on the road ahead. You won’t only be reducing the chances of an accident, and the likelihood of using your car insurance but you’ll also be reducing road rage.
Multitasking
Similar to using your phone at the wheel, you shouldn’t be doing anything that distracts you from the road in front of you.
So whether it’s putting on makeup in rush hour traffic, eating or focusing on the children yelling in the backseat anything that takes your focus away from the road is one of the most common causes of road rage. Do yourself and other drivers a favour and don’t give in to any distractions which can see you losing focus on driving safely.
Indicating
Another common sight on Maltese roads is the use of indicators, or shall we say the lack of them. It seems that many Maltese drivers forget that their cars have indicators and when they do remember it’s either 2 seconds before they turn or when they switch on their hazard lights obviously to indicate that they’re illegally parked on the side of a very busy road.
Having someone want to merge into your lane without any form of indication can be frustrating, especially if you have to slam your brakes to prevent an accident. Our tip? Unless you want to cause an accident and use your car insurance we suggest you use those handy indicators no matter what.
Final Thoughts on Road Rage from GasanMamo
Whilst our car insurance policy will protect you should you have an accident, we also expect you to act diligently on the road.
If another driver has done anything to instigate road rage just remember to control your anger and not take aggressive drivers or traffic problems personally.