Aggravating Drivers and You: Your auto insurance agent may warn you of the issues of the road, but there is a good chance they are not going to teach you how to safely handle aggravating drivers. Everyone on the road has handled a driver that is far beyond aggravating at some point in their driving career. Yet, some of these drivers can be of major concern to you and your auto insurance rates. Have you ever run into the following:

• The green light sitter. The green light sitter is that person that just chills out at green lights. You may have just sat through the red light of eternity, but these people just enjoy sitting there. The issue with this driver is that if people are not fully paying attention, a green light to some is a sign of not slowing down. This in turn can lead to nasty auto accidents at green lights due to the green light sitter getting rear-ended. If you are broken down at a green light, turn on your hazard lights and do your best to safely get off the road. Everyone and their auto insurance will thank you for this courtesy.
• The flasher. Have you ever been on the road, went to pass someone, had a person four miles back all the suddenly appear on your behind and start flashing you? This is not only annoying, but it’s also extremely dangerous. Flashing people at night can cause them temporary blindness, thus increasing the potential for an auto accident. Flashing people can also scare them into thinking there is a cop behind them, and then the person veers to a different lane in a hurry. Unless you are an emergency vehicle, there is no good reason you have to be flashing people in front of you.
• Rubber-Necker. These are those people who slowdown and gawk at accidents in a different lane. It is human nature to want to look, but if you are on the road this becomes a very dangerous act. Gawking at an accident does a few things to driving skills. First, it takes your eyes off the road in front of you. Second, it changes your speed, sometimes dramatically. Third, as you look at the accident you have a tendency to swerve in the direction you are looking. All of these are auto insurance no nos. Keep your attention on what is in front of you or you run the risk of becoming yet another auto insurance statistic.
• The blinker lover. You know these people as the person driving down the road with their blinker constantly going. This act is a true test of driving skills. Some people will see the blinker and assume the person is turning. Thus, an auto insurance nightmare takes place due to the inevitable accident from on person pulling out in front of the other. Be mindful of your blinkers to help keep from confusing people and ending a great road trip in the auto insurance office.

It’s everybody’s job to be mindful and nice on the road. Maybe some of these driving quirks struck home. If they did, you can easily correct them and save everyone a headache from an accident and the correlating auto insurance hike.