I was in your shoes many years ago. I got very aggressive when people “did me wrong” on the highways. I’d drive aggressive, tailgate, and it got to the point where I pulled a knife. That was a turning point for me. I had to sit down and assess the situation. I have a wife, kids, good job, etc etc etc. While in the moment, my only concern was winning whatever pissing match I had with the other driver, so when that happened, I thought to myself, if things go sour and I get arrested or worse, I’m going to lose everything I had.. and for what? To “win” against some stranger on the highways. It’s just not worth it.

Another thing to keep in mind is to not take things personal. If the idiot behind you wasn’t tailgating you, they’d be tailgating the person in front of you, and the person in front of them. Whatever reason they have for acting the way they do has absolutely nothing to do with you. Perhaps, they are just a shitty person and the world has a lot of them in it. Is it worth losing the things you love to “win” against a stranger? Absolutely not.

I blame my Dad for a lot of my road rage issues. He used to go berserk at other drivers on the road.. (flashing his gun, etc, even with me as a child in the car). Over time, this behavior became the “norm.” It’s best to “unlearn” those behaviors as soon as possible.

Personally, I’d get rid of the bat, but keep the pepper spray as it can be a very useful (non lethal) means of self defense for numerous situations (carjackings, etc).

Next time you get in a situation where your road rage gets triggered, just be the bigger man and de-escalate the situation. When you let that person pass, you’ll see that they didn’t “win” anything and their bad driving will ultimately just move on to the next person in line.