Police Department Posts Reminder About Brake Checking

I'm still not the calmest when I drive, but my handling road rage by road raging is a lot better than it used to be.

Get our free mobile app

It took me too many years to realize I need to not knee jerk react to idiots on the road.  Some of the worst road rage incidents apart from someone shooting a firearm, are the tailgating and brake checking ones.

Those incidents sometimes start out not even on purpose, but with someone just driving too close and the one in front reacting by tapping the brakes.  From there, it will escalate, and I've seen it go from light tapping all the way up to full on brake lockups on the highway.

Obviously, it's dangerous for both vehicles involved but also the other traffic.  The Grand Forks Police Department dropped a reminder this week about tailgating and brake checking:

I like how they call it "vehicle dating advice".  It's a great reminder as I was told years ago that in most road rage court cases, the judge will slap both parties with some kind of penalty, no matter who started it.  That's if you're lucky enough to not kill or seriously injure someone while road raging.

As we enter into summer, also known as construction season in the Duluth and Superior areas, try to remember to be patient in traffic.  As rammy as other drivers can get, especially in tight traffic areas, just relax and don't engage with similar behavior.  Even if they deserve to be pulled out of their vehicle and beaten, it's just not worth the potential outcome.