Handling the Road Rage

June 22, 2010 by jameslucas.

By Brenda Williams

Road rage is something that many of us will encounter in one form or another at some point during our driving tenure. Road rage can range from anything such as getting angry because someone cut you off to weaving in and out of traffic because you feel as if other drivers around you are simply “too slow”. Whatever the reason, cause or excuse, each year, road rage causes more vehicular accidents as well as pedestrian related deaths, which is why special attention needs to be paid to avoid it.

So, how exactly do you avoid the road rage bug? For some people, remaining calm while driving is easier said than done. Sometimes road rage can be sparked by a phone conversation. Maybe your significant other called with some bad news or maybe you are arguing with someone one the phone. As a direct result of your attention being split between the road and the conversation, you don’t even realize that your driving has become dangerously erratic. If you think that you haven’t seen road rage, think again. You probably don’t have to think back too far to the last time that you were in your vehicle and saw someone purposely run a red light, cut someone else off or lay on their horn to try to encourage someone else to move. In many instances, one person’s road rage can adversely affect others around them as it provokes other people and causes agitation. If not dealt with properly, road rage can produce a seemingly endless cycle of negative feeling among other drivers, not to mention dangerous results.

If you are trying to get a handle on your own road rage, one way to begin is to start by listening to calm, soothing music. While distractions are usually not a good thing while driving, music that distracts you from feelings of anger while behind the wheel is a good thing. Re-focus your energies on what is playing over your radio versus what the person is doing in front of you to make you angry. For example, when you find that someone is making you upset while driving, crack open one or more of your windows, listen to the radio and/or practice some deep breathing exercises. Believe it or not, deep breathing exercises will actually force you to slow down your heart rate, thus making you feel more calm; and calm is what you want to be when you are behind the wheel of a car. Research as well as logic shows that the more calm you are, the more clearly you are able to think; and the more clearly you are able to think, the better reaction you will have.

Driving with someone who is experiencing road rage can be an extremely frightening experience, perhaps more so than having to deal with it in any other fashion. There is a feeling of a lack of control as you wonder whether the person you are driving with is going to get you into an accident. In situations like this, use your judgment and directly confront the person about their road rage. Point out the positives in the situation. For example, you could say something like, “You know, that person probably didn’t mean to cut you off; they probably just didn’t see you is all…” Suggest ways for the person to calm down so that safe driving can be resumed.

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Article Source: Brenda Williams

Handling the Road Rage

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