Do You Drive Safe?
“I am in a hurry to get things done. I rush and rush until life’s no fun. All I really got to do is live and die. I am in a hurry and don’t know why.” – Popular Country Song
I caught myself speeding again. For no other reason other than the adrenaline push was on. I wasn’t late. I was just rushing. Can you relate?
Have you ever had a bad day and then while driving home some “jerk” makes you even more angry?
These are the conditions that are perfect for road rage. Almost everyone has experienced similar situations and we can find hundreds of news articles on incidents of road rage.
Commuting Stress
Many of us get to and from work and a study by Clark in 2000, reported that the average commute by Canadians was 62 minutes. Commuting can be a stressful activity, producing several signs of stress even when the person does not report feeling particularly stressed out. Stress can arise from traffic, weather, road conditions, navigating, noise, vibration, passengers and fatigue. This stress can lead to us being frustrated, angry and doing something that we may regret.
Road Rage
The frustration and aggression is not caused by traffic, no matter how heavy. Road rage is a learned cultural habit of retaliation. By the time they get their driver’s license, adolescents have assimilated years of mild to severe road rage type behaviours.
Safe Driving
To protect yourself and others requires safe driving. You have to get control of your emotions and expectations. It is choice that we need to exercise.
Christer Gustafsson, Senior Safety Engineer at Volvo’s head office in Gothenburg, Sweden stated “there comes a point when drivers must take personal responsibility for their actions. In the end, how we control our anger is the best offense/defense against this growing problem.”
Tips For Keeping Your Commuting Cool For Safe Driving
1. Allow adequate time to get to your destination. Better to arrive early and safe. Do not obsess about the time
2. Avoid blaming – “This traffic is impossibly slow. What’s wrong with these jerks, they’re driving like idiots.”
3. Have a plan for gridlock – practice a speech, listen to your favourite music, or book
4. Learn to breathe deeply and often
5. Do not take it personally – if so you may be ‘killing’ the wrong person’ – you are only harming yourself
Beverly’s Hot Tip For Building Resiliency and Celebrating National Safe Driving Week:
Remember that people do make mistakes and that anger is something that we choose. So Let It Go and arrive safely.
If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!
Additional Resources:
Bereaved Parents Awareness Month
National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month
National Personal Safety Month