December 18, 2007
Self Defense for the Road Warrior
Hello everyone, this is John Vesia from Martial Views. BBM asked me to contribute something here while she’s mending herself after her ACL surgery. I’m flattered that she considered me for the task and I’m going to do my best to oblige. Enjoy!
What pushes your buttons? For many, it’s the (mis) behavior of certain types of drivers. The somewhat anonymous nature of driving combined with reckless tendencies can create a fertile ground for mindless road confrontations that can get pretty ugly (OK, that’s an oxymoron). The real tragedy is that the majority of times these events are totally avoidable. In the martial arts the best stratagems are borne of preventive measures, not some block-and-strike techniques.
If somebody is bent on cutting in front of you, let them have their way and give them plenty of room. Don’t tailgate. If an offensive driver attempts to engage you in some way, avoid eye contact, don’t make or return an obscene gesture or pull over to settle things. Road rage is always a lose-lose situation and judging from news reports it seems to be on the rise. All rageholics have adopted anger as a coping mechanism. They see flipping out as not only cathartic but justifiable. They lack compunction and common sense, but above all they’re dangerous. As long as you’ve developed the habits of a cautious and courteous driver you’re halfway home. If you do find yourself in the presence of a road rager, use a calm demeanor as an antidote to diffuse the situation.
Road rage is the result of aggressive driving, so it’s the latter we need to be cognizant of. Here are three groups that I feel fall into the aggressive driving category:
18 – 26 year old males
Cabbies and bus drivers (especially from New York)
Almost anyone on a Ninja motorcycle
Of course there are responsible drivers that fall under these headings, I’m just basing this on my own experience. The first group is a verifiable statistic. If anyone has taken a cab in Manhattan, you know what I’m talking about. One night when I was driving home from work I had a pair of those 2-wheel Ninja rockets pass me on the Bronx River Parkway doing about 150 mph, and that’s no exaggeration. Actually the speedometers for those bikes go up to 200. Maybe 150 is just cruising for these guys.
The holiday season is here, and this can be an uptight and stressful time for many of us. People rushing to and from the crowded malls to take care of last minute shopping and office partygoers who may have had a few too many can contribute to a special (i.e. risky) kind of traffic on our roads. Some people can become extremely indignant when they’re behind the wheel, so watch out for these nuts. In summation, I’ll leave you with a piece of driving wisdom my father once shared with me: “Idiots have the right of way.”
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Hi, John,
One of my fellow students joined my martial arts school immediately after he was involved in a road rage incident that came to blows. Neither of them hurt the other, but my friend felt the need to learn self defense.
What he also unexpectedly learned, he told us before his black belt test, was the confidence that allowed him to de-escalate such situations.
I guess he’s an aggressive driver, and shortly before his test another driver got mad at him and they pulled over to the side of the road, as had happened before. But my friend kept his distance, kept his cool, spoke soothingly to the other driver, and they ended up having a very friendly conversation where both drivers apologized and went on their way.
It’s one of those incidents that shows the benefits of martial arts go well beyond self defense.
Hey John,
I am so glad that you posted about this topic, as I am going to try and talk about it during my future self defense classes.
Refusing to engage and encourage the disgraceful behavior is extremely important. Here’s another tip I’ve learned-If you are being followed by a psycho/idiot driver, DON’T go home. Instead try to pull into a police station or crowded well lit area. That should get rid of them.
Hi, John
Anyone tempted to take action in a road rage situation or any other crises take a moment to breathe slowly and deeply.
Nice post and great information especially during this time of great stress, the holidays!
Thanks John, those are good tips for anyone to use to prevent being a statistic, especially here in S. California, where it’s road rage central. One guy cut me off recently and then slammed on the brakes, almost forcing me to rear end them. I didn’t back off like you suggested & almost wrecked my nice car, and now I do.
We plan on linking to this article in our self defense blog tomorrow. It’s always good to try to diffuse the situation, and when it gets out of hand, your martial arts training, in addition to non-lethal self defense products like a pepper spray will take care of preventing you getting hurt. We made a short video to introduce someone to pepper sprays, what are they and how do I use them. A basic introduction, no Hollywood production, video posted on web page below…
Christopher Winkler
Provider of Self Defense Products
http://www.defendthyself.com/pepperspray.htm
Yep, it’s a bit crazy out there.
But then, the 5 extra minutes you have to wait in your car?
Put in one of your cd, volume up. Sing along. Those five minutes will contibute to your health and to everyone else’s health.
Stress is this century’s ailment. Road rage comes from those.
as for the ninjas:
I rode a ninja-like bike for two years. I’ve used very fast speeds to get to where I was going. Yes, 120mph becomes a cruise speed. But you have to choose where you do those stunts.
If one chooses to behave like an idiot, it should be in an intelligent manner. There are tracks for that. The city is not where it should be performed.
Numerous friends ended up in the hospital. Heck, my brother ended up in one.
You want to jeopardize your safety? fine, go ahead, you’re helping with the gene pool.
You want to jeopardize other people’s life? You’re crazy.
😀
I fully agree regarding rage on the roads. I’m a very mellow driver, only getting worked up when it seems someone is willfully endangering not just themselves, but others around them.
That said, I do have a few categories of people that I consider most likely to incite road rage in others. That is, not people likely to become enraged; rather, these are people that do things either intentionally or not that seem to provoke more incidents of rage than any other.
1: Women in SUVs, especially when they’re alone. This is almost universal. I don’t know why, for sure, but my best guess is that they feel safe and powerful, and as a result tend to tailgate, cut people off and drive more aggressively than they might otherwise.
2: Anyone in a Volvo. And it’s been my experience that kids are almost always in the cars.
3: I’d expand your Ninja Motorcycle category to include anyone on any cafe racer style bike. Not only are these guys prone to acts of roadrage, but they drive in such a way as to provoke it as well.
Just my 2 cents. 🙂