The last time I wrote about road rage was about two years ago, when I cited research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that found unsafe driving behaviors rose from 2020 to 2021. That survey study also showed that road rage is a growing concern, with 23% of drivers surveyed admitting to driving aggressively by switching lanes quickly or tailgating very close behind another car.

Road rage includes purposefully tailgating, yelling at another driver, honking, making angry gestures, trying to block another vehicle from changing lanes, cutting off another vehicle on purpose, getting out of the vehicle to confront another driver, and even bumping or ramming another vehicle on purpose.

Many people confuse aggressive driving and road rage. Aggressive driving generally involves a violation of a traffic safety law and can escalate into road rage. Road rage often involves the breaking of a criminal law with more serious consequences.

In that article of two years ago, I included stories from two readers who shared their encounters with road rage.

Anyone driving has likely encountered some degree of driver anger or even road rage in the last week or so.

My good friend in traffic safety, David Stewart, recently shared a story about avoiding road rage that ended in a very profitable result. Stewart teaches the 6-hour “Smart Driver” course for AARP. Taking the course in New York State can earn drivers a 10% reduction in the base rate of their automobile and motorcycle liability and collision premiums each year for three years.

Here’s that positive story: On June 3, a motorist was traveling on a street in South Orange, N.J., when the day went in a different direction. As the driver tells the story: “There was a car stopped and didn’t get going again, and I was just waiting. I honked. Rather than moving, the other driver just sat there and I could tell he was glaring at me. I did not want the drama, so I decided to pull into the 7-Eleven that was right there. I said to myself ‘Let me go get a lottery ticket.'”

That proved to be a smart decision as the player bought a Colossal Crossword for $30 and won the top prize of $600,000 by matching 10 words.

The next time you are facing a potential road rage situation, simmer down. You might not be next to a lottery ticket store, and you might not win, but at least you avoided a road rage encounter.