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"Think how embarrassed
you'd be if you ran into this (oth-
er driver) at a party."
Instead of getting angry,
Nerenberg says drivers should
"have some compassion."
Most of the time, those ma-
neuvers considered aggressive
or rude — switching lanes with
no warning, tailgating or run-
ning a stop sign — are uninten-
tional mistakes made by a
distracted driver.
"Stop and say to yourself,
`Sure, I could get back at you,
but it's not worth it. I am not go-
ing to let this escalate and turn
these feelings into action,' "
Nerenberg said. "It's not neces-
sary to humiliate the other dri-
ver because he made a mistake."
Or you can do what San Diego
Police Department spokesman
Dave Cohen does when con-
fronted with a discourteous dri-
ver — smile sweetly and blow
the other driver a kiss.
"That really gets them be-
cause it's not what they're ex-
pecting," Cohen said.
If you are on the receiving end
of another driver's frustration,
road safety experts say your best
move is to stay out of their way.
"Acknowledge your mistake
(if you made one), slow down
and move over to another lane.
Just avoid that person alto-
gether," said Mark Gregg, pub-
lic affairs officer for the
California Highway Patrol in
San Diego.
Not only is screaming and
gesturing at another driver rude
and a waste of emotion, it can
also be dangerous. Freeway vi-
olence incidents often start out
as "pay back" for another mo-
torist's careless error.
"One person cuts them off, so
then they cut off the other per-
son. It just keeps escalating,

sometimes to the point of some-
one brandishing a firearm,"
Gregg said.
"On today's freeways, it's not
worth your life to fight for a
point of honor. When it comes
down to a simple mistake, just
let it go."
One of the best ways to avoid

advised.
"It's important to
watch out for the
other driver because
they probably won't
be watching out for
you," he said.
"You can lower
your aggression this
way because you
won't be so sur-
prised if they do
something like cut
in front of you."
Nerenberg says
what's -needed is
some kind of a uni-
versal sign of apolo-
gy on the road. He
suggests a hand to the forehead
while making eye contact with
the other driver, as if to say,
"Oops. My fault. Please forgive
me."
"I honestly believe that 20
percent of road rage problems
would disappear with an apol-
ogy," Nerenberg said.
Nerenberg hopes to work with
the California Department of
Motor Vehicles to implement an
official apology gesture. ❑

SPEC

.

Controlling road rage re-
quires patience, alertness
and compassion. Safety ex-
perts offer some tips for tam-
ing the driving demons:
Drive defensively. If you're
watching out for the other
driver, abrupt , and stupid
moves may seem less abrupt
-- but no less stupid.
Don't take it personally.
Chances are the driver who
cut you off wasn't targeting
you
tha t the driver

ot ~ ?

, off is in-

se 0 0,:.0

lit a cocktail
azTassing.
If you e a mistake
on the rodway, try to signal
an apology. Mouth "I'm sor-
ry," shed a guilty tear or
wave your hand in self re-

-

proach.

Just make sure your sig-
nals can't be confused with
any other meaningful ges-
ture.

If somebody starts raging
at you on the roadway, give
him room to chill out.

Move into another lane
and slow down to get away.
If he persists, get offthe road
at the next busy, well-light-
ed exit and call 9.1.1 if you feel
threatened.

