How to combat Roadrage.

By Kenny Beghtel

    For those of us who drive a VW, driving it can be a lot of fun. Wind blowing through the windows. Engine purring along. The car behind you, following so close that all you see is the antenna. It seems that whenever your having fun cruising along, someone wants to ruin it. Maybe it's at night and the guy has his bright lights on. What can you do to combat this? What can you do to make your drive fun again? Here are some things a person can do to combat ROADRAGE! Keep in mind that all of these "Tricks" are defensive driving maneuvers not to be done on innocent people, old ladies, truck drivers, farm animals, etc, etc,. Don't attempt this without a full sense of responsibility. . Noone but you excepts responsibility for your actions. This article is intended for entertainment only. In other words, Don't try this at home.    Well if the guy is tailgating, there is a lot you can do without slowing yourself down.  Like dodging imaginary objects in the road. Just pretend that your swerving carefully to miss a rock or something in the road. If you do this correct. The guy behind you will assume something is wrong and back away. Another "Trick" is to ride your brakes a little bit. Just enough to get your taillights to work. For us Bus and Vanagon owners; you can hog the center line of the road. That way the guy has to slow down to see around you because of the high profile of our vehicles. Another good thing to do if the traffic is light, is to activate your emergency flashers for a few seconds. The best way to combat a tailgater is to just let go of the throttle. Then speed back up to your cruising speed. Do this a few times and noone will follow you close.

    Other forms of  annoying driving techniques include, cutting people off, dirty looks, and what I call Beaming. Beaming is when someone passes you with their bright lights on to prevent you from passing the car in front of you when you want to pass. This is a new form of Roadrage that can be real annoying. For us VW enthusiasts, driving around can be hard to do. People don't care if our cars are underpowered. We could drive 90 MPH but unlike most who participate in Roadrage, but our cars are paid for. Many times over. Some of us even build our own cars and we would do anything to protect our pride and joy. If you try these "Tricks" keep in mind that you doing it for your own good and the safety of your passengers. Who knows maybe you'll save a life or two by slowing down the guy behind you. The guy who might have misjudged that turn in front of you and crashed into a shopping mall filled with holiday shoppers. Remember to drive safely no matter what. Even though we love our VW's, They don't love us back in a collision. Drive safely.