Road rage. That moment in time when your adrenalin floods your body with tension and your blood pressure skyrockets because someone did something stupid. The busier society gets and the more traffic we have to deal with, the harder it is to avoid road rage.
This particular brand of violence in on the increase. While you can’t avoid it completely, especially if you are the ragee and not the rager, there are ways you can minimize it.
- Play soothing music. If you are in afternoon traffic don’t play heavy metal with an energizing beat. Choose classical music which has proven to relax people and even increase their math scores because of the way it affects the brain. A few minutes of Mozart will have you breathing normally.
- Expect stupidity. Everyone makes stupid driving moves once in a while – even you. Expect that it is going to happen and when it does, just take a deep breath and give yourself a brownie point for not reacting.
- Give yourself time. If you are like most people, you are constantly late for something. Try to schedule a little extra time to allow for slow traffic and stupid drivers.
- If you inadvertently cut someone off and they get angry, you should try not to make eye contact with them. You don’t know what is going on in their life that day or what they are dealing with. Whatever you do, don’t respond in anger or try to get them back!
- If someone seems to be following you, drive to the nearest police station – don’t go home.
What are some techniques you have for dealing with road rage in yourself or others?
photo credit: Tony Fischer Photography
