Every driver has been there. Minding your own business, driving to an appointment, following the traffic rules courtesily...when someone cuts you off.
What is your first instinct? Speed up and cut the inconsiderate driver off? Hurl obscenities and hand gestures? Are you filled with road rage?
While you are sitting in your comfortable chair, take a minute to think about it. Your thought process is the key to raveling road rage into a pile of fluff. What you do next could make your drive safer.
It's not about you.
Yes, an insolent driver cut you off. No, it is not personal. Could it have been one of these?
- A medical professional on the way to an emergency.
- A volunteer firefighter whose light is not visible from behind.
- A parent en route to a child who needs help.
- An impaired driver who may not have seen you.
- A driver who forgot that pesky blind spot before changing lanes.
It's not forever.
That driver did not take you away from the world. When you allow yourself to get angry, you place yourself in a dangerous position that could take you away. What are you gaining by being angry? Be honest: Anger is a waste of Vitamin C.
What did you really lose? You may not catch the next green light, but statistics for 40 years show he won't catch the one after that. You are the smart driver who left on time with a cushion for unexpected delay. Today, the delay is not mechanical; it's organic.
You are in control.
The road is filled with unpredictable obstacles: Unannounced road closures, wrecks where others lost their lives and wildlife irritated at the highway intrusion on its rightful habitat. Shift your focus to things you can control, like the distance between you and the problem driver.
Walk in other shoes.
No, don't put yourself in his place (even though it might not hurt your thinking). What would you do in shoe leather? Picture you and Mr. Impolite on a sidewalk. He is carrying baggage which is impairing his ability to navigate. He steps in front of you.
Are you going to scream and curse at him? Are you going to roll your eyes and give him a wider berth? Or are you going to help him realign his packages, so he does not trip anyone when he drops them?
What if it was you?
Have you ever been abominably late? Maybe you were worried about where you were going and not about how to get there safely? Been preparing to arrive (practicing what you are going to tell your chronically late secretary) and oblivious to everyone else on the road?
- Be forgiving. No one ran you off the road when you were not being so considerate.
- Be a little understanding. One day it could be you on the way to the emergency.
- Be grateful. Your stress-o-meter is not so full you are putting yourself and others in danger. You have heard it: "Smile. It could be worse."
Avoiding road rage is 100% about being safe in your own driving (defensive driving, that is). Give Mr. Impolite a little extra room. It could be the difference between his one-car-crash and your joining in his statistics.
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