You know this terror.
You’re cruising along the highway, keeping an eye out for trucks, lane changers and exit signs when suddenly you look in the rearview mirror and see a driver so close to your bumper you can practically see the whites of his eyes.
Your heart starts racing. Your blood pressure begins to rise. All you want to do is get to your destination, which for me, often enough, is visiting my grandchildren, a journey that sends me across three local expressways on a fairly regular basis.
Get off my bumper, you shout into the mirror, as if the man in the white sedan can hear you.
But he doesn’t. He stays there, whether you speed up or slow down. Suddenly, you’re hyper-focused on the bully. It begins to feel like you’re in a crazy video game.
Only the stakes are very real.
You grip the wheel tighter and feel your own rage start to rise.
It is an obvious attempt to intimidate you, to get you to move, even though he is clearly the one in a hurry.
It’s also a show of disrespect, as if his mission is so much more important than even your life.
He’ll take the risk of tapping another car which, at 70 miles an hour, would likely send both of you into a death spiral.
His need to be first is so great he can dismiss all the time/money/aggravation that goes with getting into an accident. Or maybe he’s so skilled that he’s confident he’ll be able to maneuver his way around any kind of barrier — other vehicles, flying debris, guardrails and ditches.
If you’re wondering why I refer to “him,” it’s because every single one of the bully drivers who have done this to me are male, or appear to be at close proximity.
Illinois State Police data supports this observation.
Aggressive driving is not an aberration. The ISP say that while it’s hard to put actual data to this behavior because there is no specific citation for road rage, anecdotally, they are seeing more of it, especially on Chicago-area highways. And more often than not, the perpetrators are male, although women are just as capable of being aggressive.
“In 2023 the ISP observed an increase in road rage incidents, particularly in the Chicago area, with road rage being a factor in a growing percentage of expressway shootings in recent years,” said Trooper Jayme Bufford, of the Illinois State Police Public Information/Safety Education Office.
Bufford said data gathered by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that men and younger drivers are the most likely to speed, tailgate, merge dangerously, and make rude gestures or honk at other drivers.
While there is no citation in Illinois specifically for road rage, some of the violations seen and possibly related to it include following too closely, improper or erratic lane changing, illegal driving on the shoulder of the road, failure to obey traffic laws or yield right of way and driving too fast for conditions. All of these violations carry a $164 fine, Bufford said.
But that will only happen if they get caught.
Meanwhile, what should a law-abiding driver who simply wants to survive the experience do?
“Don’t engage,” Bufford said.
While you may be tempted to slow down or tap the brakes or even use a hand gesture to express your own growing rage, don’t.
“If a speeding driver is tailgating you, safely change lanes when able,” Bufford said.
“If another driver is acting angry, don’t make eye contact,” she said. Making gestures might even fuel the anger.
Instead, Bufford said, create distance and avoid confrontation.
It’s tempting to let your own anger at being bullied get the best of you.
Instead, I pretended the tailgating car was headed to a fire as it raced down the highway. And then, I pretended it was actually on fire and I couldn’t get away from it fast enough.
If that doesn’t work, take solace in this observation from AAA: “Contrary to common perception, speeding does not save time on the road. The average amount saved on a 5-mile trip, driving 65 mph on a 45-mph posted road, is only 1.9 minutes.”
As much as you may want to take a stand, it’s safer to simply keep your eyes on the prize and not try to correct the behavior of someone who clearly has power issues.
In my case, the prize is cuddling with those grandbabies.
Donna Vickroy is an award-winning reporter, editor and columnist who worked for the Daily Southtown for 38 years. She can be reached at donnavickroy4@gmail.com.
