Dealing with road rage!

Most riders in Lagos will agree with me when I say in Lagos we experience aggressive, inconsiderate, rude, uneducated, distracted, dangerous and plain incompetent drivers on the road everyday. However, does that call for road rage?  Hell no!

Motorcyclists are vulnerable road users and in road rage situations, we can easily come off second-best.

Road rage is violent, its immature, its offensive and yes its criminal. One could face serious charges. And with cameras in the vicinity , there may be some conclusive and damning evidence.

So what do we do when this truly immature and in-considerate driver gets in your face on the highway? 

Nothing!

Yea I said it... Sometimes we're full of vengeance and want to make this person feel as bad as you did. But really by doing that you put yourself in more danger. Banging on a door or windshield and smashing up his side mirrors don't make it go away. What he has done still stands. 

A friend of mine (Larry) was upset at someone's driving and rode up ahead to report to lastma officials who stopped the perpetrator to caution him. Now that is one way to go...

TIPS FOR HANDLING ROAD RAGE

    If you find yourself feeling unsafe as a result of the actions of another road user, the first priority is to remove yourself from the situation as safely as possible. Unfortunately far too often incidents of poor behaviour by one road user to another are only exacerbated when the ‘victim’ retaliates. If another party chooses to yell at you, beep their horn or flash their lights – so what? Let them get it out of their system and get on their way. Inflaming the situation by ‘biting back’ rarely assists, and often only makes the situation more unsafe for everyone.

    However if the other party continues to behave in a manner that makes you feel unsafe, then consider your environment. Perhaps pull into a service station, licensed premises or shopping centre. This will often discourage the aggressor from taking the matter further.

    If no such place is available, continue to ride at a safe distance without reacting to the aggressor until a place of safety is available to disengage from the situation as best and safely as you can.

    If you feel that you are in imminent danger, pull over or take a side street. I would have said call the cops at this point but we all know how that'll turn out.

    If you carry any kind of video recording device, ensure the footage is set aside so that it doesn’t get recorded over before being provided to an appropriate body. Make sure you don’t just secure the footage of the incident – also keep footage leading up to and beyond the incident to help clarify any potential counter claims by the other party that it was actually you that was the aggressor.

    If the situation is over, but you are still of the belief that the matter warrants investigation with a view to action by police, you always have the right to report it. You can either attend your nearest open police station to speak to someone, contact the general emergency  number which is 112 in Nigeria. 

    Be mindful, however that any complaint of an incident involving one person upon another without any supporting evidence is often difficult to successfully prosecute. Especially in Nigeria. A successful prosecution requires sufficient evidence being presented to a court to determine that an offence was committed 'beyond reasonable doubt'.

    However, this should not prevent you from reporting the matter, but is something to keep in mind if police determine there is not sufficient evidence for a matter to proceed. It doesn’t necessarily mean the police doesn’t believe you! If you provide the police force with a video recording you must be willing and able to give evidence.

Ride safe Pals...