Avoid Road Rage While Riding Your Motorcycle
The world is changing and so is respect on the roadway. We are talking about road rage while riding your motorcycle, and the instant your day starts to turn bad because of someone else. Whether you are riding a motorcycle or driving a cage, it is something that we are all faced with. The definition according to Wikipedia is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by a driver of a road vehicle.
Several factors depend on you, the person in control of your vehicle. 
So ask yourself these questions before your start your journey on the public road to avoid road rage:
- Will you be the aggressor?
- Are you willing to let other peoples actions dictate how you will react?
- Can you defuse the situation?
- Will you defuse the situation?
- What will happen if I choose to participate in the rage?
Conquering road rage begins before you even get on your motorcycle. Be determined ahead of time to have a cool head. Think about the consequences of becoming involved with another car or motorcyclist that is aggressive. Isn’t it better to make it home alive and in one piece than to fight for your honor on the road. The headache of a police report or time spent in jail for bad behavior can ruin what would have been a relaxing, fun experience. Worse yet you don’t want an accident with injuries or death to be something that you could have had a hand in avoiding!
Just as important as a pilot’s pre-flight checklist before each flight, implementing ‘having a personal talk with yourself’ as part of your ‘preflight planning’ could go a long way toward the the degree of enjoyment derived from your ride. Don’t worry, … be happy!
So how can you avoid road rage by aggressive drivers on the road?
- Don’t automatically use hand gestures
- If you are being tailgated pull over and let them pass
- Do not tailgate
- If you are being followed, head to the nearest police station or public area with lots of people
- Wear a helmet camera
- Stay in your zone and be the better person (listen to music)
- Give yourself plenty of time to get to where you are going
I know in spite of all the above there will still be jerks on the road. Maybe they are having a really bad day, or have a screaming baby in the back seat, or the people in their lives are toxic to them. For more tips, we turned to our state DMV page, which is in Oregon. https://www.dmv.org/how-to-guides/road-rage.php
Update for 2022
Great article about “Road rage statistics 2022” https://www.bankrate.com/insurance/car/road-rage-statistics/
Whatever the reason don’t let others affect you, your life, or your passengers! Stay calm, be safe and enjoy the ride!
The Crampbuster Team
addendum: Just one week after this article was written a motorcyclist was killed in our town. From the news accounts road rage was the reason, truck driver versus a motorcyclist. The motorcyclist lost, and he was killed. So senseless, our condolences go out to the families involved. Police say road rage led to fatal I-5 crash
