Battling road rage
Whether it was because someone cut us off in traffic or was driving too slowly when we were trying to go somewhere quickly, there seems to be no end to the number of people who seem to be experiencing some sort of problem with road rage and road rage incidents.
Chances are very good that at some point you will encounter someone who is suffering from road rage. For example, one of my first encounters with road rage came from driving around with my father. Notorious for his impatience, my father would wave at other drivers as if urging them to drive faster when he felt that they were driving too slow. Additionally, he would tailgate drivers, also just to urge them to drive faster and get out of the way. What was the big rush anyway? I’ll never know. It is only now (years late), that my father’s driving has calmed down and he seems to be just as content driving around at normal speeds, ignoring other drivers and their slow driving. However, this is just one example of how people can become easily flustered or frustrated when behind the wheel.
A few years ago, I was visiting my grandmother. My aunt and her husband were also visiting, and the four of us were getting ready to go to a graduation party for my cousin. The drive was only supposed to take less than a half hour to get to where we needed to go. However, there was quite a bit of traffic due to some road construction that was taking place. What ensued at that point was an hour of straight complaining from both my grandmother and my aunt while my uncle and I sat in silence. My uncle was driving the car, and it was everything that he could do to not say something he would later regret. When you are driving with people, you have to learn how to sometimes shut them out in order to focus on the roadway and what is going on around you. Had my uncle allowed the complaining to get to him, he might have been so distracted that we would’ve all been put in danger.
Learn to control your frustration by using music, deep breathing or meditation to stay focused. Remember that you not only have a responsibility to yourself to be a vigilant driver, but you also have a responsibility to the other drivers around you.