Almost all permit holders have experienced road rage at some point. To most of us, people are just garden idiots, tailgating or flipping the bird. But every now and then, an incident of road rage suddenly turns into real danger – and with increasing frequency, according to statistics.

In a TikTok, a former CIA agent offered some tips on how best to deal with road rage, methods he learned during his career in intelligence and the military. Although it may sound a little counterintuitive, her advice could save your life if you meet someone truly confused.

Former CIA agent offered tips on how to handle road rage like an agent.

Tracy Walder is an author and former FBI and CIA agent whose book “The Unexpected Spy” details her time as a counterterrorism special agent. So you could say she knows a thing or two about dealing with aggression and danger.

Walder was inspired to share her thoughts on road rage following the harrowing story of Ohio woman Megan Keleman, who was killed in August during a road rage incident at a Taco Bell by a man, Jason Williams, which he pulled in front of him. to enter the drive-through line.

After hitting Keleman’s car first, Williams got out of the vehicle and shot Keleman before turning the gun on him. For Walder, Keleman’s story is a cautionary tale, especially as violent incidents of road rage continue to rise nationally and at much steeper rates in some parts of the country.

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The CIA agent shared the two-step procedure that was taught in law enforcement — and it starts by not responding at all.

“The biggest thing we learn at the CIA,” Walder said, “is when we have situations where we are in our vehicles and face dangersis to actually get away from X.” This is a military term that means getting away from an incident or point of attack as soon as possible.

“I know that goes against the human inclination to respond sometimes when presented with these aggressive situations,” she said. Most of us usually twist at least one finger instead, if not worse. “But we have to try to overcome that and get out of X, out of danger.”

In Keleman’s case, that might have seemed like ditching the car entirely, if possible — though of course that’s not often an option in many drive-through models, and Walder emphasized that he wasn’t criticizing how Keleman handled her situation.

But if there’s an option to get out, Walder said write down the person’s license plate number if you can and then get away, even if it means leaving the scene of the accident, as in Keleman’s case.

“Because the reality is, if someone is that angry and that disgruntled … that’s not someone that, in my opinion, is safe to engage with, even exchange information with,” she said.

Once you got away from the person, she advised finding a safe place to pull over, calling law enforcement and reporting the license plate number and the incident. She also said to make it clear that you are in danger.

But it is essential not to respond otherwise. “I know when you’re in a very aggressive situation like this, you want to do and say something, but in my opinion, it’s not worth it,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many times someone rides my tail and I just move. I know it’s frustrating, but… you don’t know what that other person is thinking.”

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Incidents of road rage have increased rapidly, especially in certain parts of the country.

Road rage has long been a problem, but in the past decade it has skyrocketed — including road rage incidents like Keleman’s that involve shootings, which have grown at a shocking rate. 449% since 2014.

Texas seems to be among the worst states in the country when it comes to traffic accidents. In a recent Washington Post exposurethe newspaper spoke with the leader of a nonprofit traffic safety organization in the state, Dean DeSoto, who attributed it all to one thing: whatever happens in the country happens on the roads.

DexonDee | Shutterstock

What he means is that the excessive stresses of recent years, from the pandemic to, perhaps especially, the political climate that is tearing us apartit manifests itself in increasingly dangerous situations on the road.

DeSoto even said that he sees the road rage reports as a kind of barometer of how high these tensions are. It’s a heartbreakingly honest barometer of the state of our mental health in society when you really think about it.

Unfortunately, the statistics back up DeSoto’s theory. Rage shootings nationwide have doubled since 2018, according to a gun safety organization the Post spoke to, the Gun Violence Archive. In fact, shooting deaths have increased by 89% since 2020 alone.

One day, of course, we will overcome this dark time, and if DeSoto’s theory holds true, incidents of road rage will begin to decline. Until then, Walder’s advice not to get involved is essential. Things are just too chaotic there and not worth the risk.

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John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer covering pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.