Risk Management Magazine

There’s no doubt that the time Americans spent cooped up due to the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected many of us.

It’s hard to drive today without occasionally being exposed to some form of road rage. Impatient motorists driving along congested highways sometimes take out their anger on those around them. When you’re behind the wheel, you can choose not to engage and try to distance yourself from an aggressive driver. But what about when you’re a passenger? In this incident, what role, as a passenger, could I have played in keeping a highway confrontation from turning into a crash?

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 36 percent of vehicle collisions occur at intersections. Many of those happen in left-hand turn lanes with a flashing yellow arrow. I know this because that’s how I totaled my car.