Whether you’re driving a car, riding a bicycle, or are a pedestrian walking down the street, you’ll eventually encounter a dangerous and aggressive driver. It could be someone that’s driving too fast, swerving around the road, or recklessly driving through an interaction with a red light. While you could call 911 and file an incident report, most people don’t want to endure the inconvenience. However, there is an easier way. Report a dangerous driver with one of these smartphone apps. 

Anonymously report dangerous and aggressive drivers with a smartphone app

These days, there’s an app for nearly everything, and the same goes for reporting a dangerous and aggressive driver. There are three good apps for anonymously reporting a dangerous driver: Bad Driver Database, Nexar, and Sherlock. These apps enable you to report a dangerous driver without giving away your identity. 

Bad Driver Database

Bad Driver Database, which is available on Google Play and the Apple Store, enables you to voice your frustrations about bad drivers, as detailed by Traffic Safety Store. For the app, the user takes a picture of the license plate of the dangerous driver’s car. After saving the driver’s information, it will be added to a growing online database. 

Also, one can reference the database to find out if other people previously reported the driver. Additionally, Bad Driver Database includes the ability to use voice commands to give the license plate information, which is more convenient than typing. 

Nexar

Nexar, available for iPhone devices, enables you to monitor and record surrounding traffic. To use Nexar, you’ll need to mount your smartphone on the dashboard of your car. If the app recognizes dangerous driving, such as sharp braking or swerving, it will invite you to start recording. 

After recording the video, Nexar will load it into a central database. This enables the app to monitor repeat offenders and inform drivers when the app spots dangerous drivers with the camera. 

Sherlock

While Sherlock isn’t a smartphone app for directly reporting dangerous drivers, it’s very useful for theft prevention, particularly for bicycle riders. It’s a small GPS-enabled tracking device that you can place on the handlebars of your bicycle. Each tracking device has a unique identifier for your bicycle, which connects to a user profile and the bike profile on Sherlock.

If your bicycle gets stolen, you can use the GPS location device to track it. Also, with your user profile, you can prove to the authorities that the bicycle is yours once it is found. 

How to deal with aggressive and dangerous drivers

When you encounter aggressive and dangerous drivers, the most important thing is to remain calm. Avoid making eye contact and behaving aggressively yourself, which can further inflame the situation. If the aggressive driver tailgates you, change lanes. Let the dangerous driver pass and keep a safe distance.

Along with reporting a dangerous driver with an app, you can dial #77 from your phone. Also, if you are in immediate danger, call 911. Additionally, if the aggressive driver follows you, then drive to the nearest law enforcement agency or a public place. 

Furthermore, there’s one crucial piece of advice that you should follow when using these smartphone apps. Don’t become a dangerous driver yourself by using the smartphone apps while you’re driving. Distracted driving is also dangerous, so make sure to pull over to the side of the road before using them.