Self Defense For Women – Road Rage Safety
Protecting yourself around your home and on the street takes different types of self-defense techniques, but what happens when you are on the road and have been confronted by road rage? This particular situation is not often talked about but more often than not, the majority of motorists are likely to experience the effects of road rage. Such a situation can be very dangerous and presents unique self-defense problems than other situations would. After all, when confronted with a potential two ton machine, what exactly to you do? Perhaps the most important thing to remember is not to panic. While that is usually much easier to say than do, remaining calm in situations where road rage is involved can only aid your chances of remaining safe and sound.
The American Automobile Association or what many people refer to as AAA, reports that cases of road rage have increased sharply within the past ten years or so. The number of new vehicles being produced each year alone means that there is a potential increase in road rage statistics. In fact, every person has the potential to experience someone’s road rage several times a day with the majority not actually reporting the incident to police. If one can relate to road rage, imagine how many times you have encountered such hostility and the number of times you yourself reported the incident. In essence, the percentage of occurrences could be a lot higher than first originally expected. A possible consequence of this, for example, is that a female may be more likely to be a victim of road rage than any other attack against you elsewhere.
The speed and raw size of a motor vehicle are essentially what puts you in potentially deadly situation. In light of the different nature of road rage hostility, it becomes clear that you need to employ different techniques to avoid a possible confrontation. The greatest danger is that a vehicle is in the hands of someone brimming with hostility, in such a case, vehicle can become much more dangerous than a gun. When faced with the road rage of another, it is important to note that when you panic and give into trying to ‘outrun’ your dangerous opponent, you are doing more harm than good, increasing your risk of injury and death. As mentioned, remaining calm in situations where road rage is involved can only aid your chances of remaining safe and sound.
What may be comforting to know and keep in mind is that during a road rage situation, by being inside your own vehicle, you are in the best position possible as you are not only protected by your own doors, but also glass, bumpers and more. While a vehicle can potentially be a powerful weapon to be used against you, being inside your own car provides great protection. Remember, your car has the power to slow down, exit and find safety. Given that you remain calm do not panic, you can then navigate away to safety.
Ok, so what can be done do to protect oneself in the event that road rage that is being directed at you? The first thing that should cross your mind is to slow down the vehicle to a speed you are more comfortable with. What this does is allow the offending person the chance, and hopefully they take it, to continue on their way and leave you be. What should be avoided unless absolutely necessary is to speed up. Speed in general can be a killer and speeding up to avoid confrontation in the form of road rage may have the effect of increasing your chances of accident and injury. As any police officer will tell you, when you slow down, the attacker typically must slow too and you will have more control over your own vehicle to make smart decisions. High speed chases result in high speed collisions and more than likely, death. Do not let yourself get into the position where the vehicle you are in control off can be the source of a collision. It cannot be stressed enough the power and clarity of a calm mind in a distressing situation.
If you are being antagonised by someone with road rage or generally anyone up to mischief, at the very least you can try and make it look like you are calling the police. Make a big production about calling the police. Pursuers do not want to get caught and just the potential of it happening will have them taking off and leaving you alone. If possible, try and memorize their licence plates anyway to report them and cops will try to alert each other to be on the lookout for them. We can only imagine how much safer our streets would be if people were able to report such an even as it happens.
Perhaps one of the biggest no-no is to get out of your car or stop as this is an open invitation to angry, rage-filled people who will put you in harm’s way. If they take it a step further and physically hit your vehicle with their own, or bump or block you, keep on moving. Under no circumstances should you stop and get out of the vehicle. While damage to your car may cost you money to repair, your safety should never be compromised and remain paramount. If you must, drive up the curb or across the median if you have to or slam on your brakes so that they end up slightly ahead of you. While it may not always be possible to do this, it could well give you that small window and buy you enough time to get around them travel along an alternate route out of there. Keeping up with traffic around you allows you to be safer in numbers. The greatest benefit this can provide is that it may deter the offending driver because more and more people can witness the behaviour. In turn, it will be more likely for the offender to be reported.
Overall, there are really only two things you can do to state safe on the roads. The first thing you can do is buckle up and ensure your car is in good working order. The second thing you can do is stay alert while driving and always keep an eye out for potentially aggressive problem drivers and take appropriate action to avoid them. While we cannot control the actions of other motorists sharing our roads, we can do ourselves a favour by remaining calm, collected and confident. By doing so, we can only help ensure our safety.
** This is an extract from the book – Self Defense For Women
