Rhode Island driving lesson · Sharing the Road Safely
Aggressive Driving: Avoid It, Don't Feed It
A 3-minute lesson from the Rhode Island course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Aggressive driving incidents—where an angry driver tries to hurt someone over a traffic dispute—have increased every year. Certain habits have triggered violence before. Avoid them, and don't react when someone else behaves badly.
Aggressive driving (broad sense)
Any incident where an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures, or tries to injure, another motorist, passenger or pedestrian over a traffic dispute.
A driver who thinks you cut him off follows you for several miles, flashing his lights. Don't go home or stop to argue. Keep doors locked, drive to the nearest police station or a busy public place, and use your horn if he approaches.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
Which of these behaviors does the handbook list as one that has resulted in violence in the past?
Driving 5 mph under the limit
Using high beams in heavy traffic
Signaling well before a turn
Leaving a 4-second following gap
Answer: Using high beams in heavy traffic
Using high beam headlights in heavy traffic areas is on the list of behaviors that have resulted in violence.