How to Cure Road Rage

A big battle occurs every minute of every day on every road in the world because the roads are a war zone that pits you against every knucklehead and moron who crosses your path while you are behind the wheel of your car. Eventually every driver on the road may be categorized as a knucklehead or moron if you let your emotions get out of control when you climb behind the wheel of a car.

The actual facts are somewhat different because most drivers are basically pretty good drivers, but they will go largely unnoticed because good drivers do not cause problems in traffic. We tend to focus our attention on the handful of bad drivers on the road and subsequently label every driver as an incompetently dangerous jerk on the road. It is a bad habit that can become a big problem because it makes driving unnecessarily stressful for anybody who cannot separate the majority of good drivers from the handful of bad drivers.

I have two simple driving solutions that can help alleviate the stress as well as save wear and tear on the car horn, middle finger and even fists in extreme circumstances. The first exercise is to recognize the large number of good drivers that also share the road. Notice the guy who signals his intentions and gives plenty of room before he changes lanes. Notice the woman who let you into her lane and wave your thank you to her. Notice that most drivers do respect the speed limit, traffic lights and stop lights on the roads.

This formerly invisible army of competent, courteous and safe drivers will suddenly be very clear to you if you make an effort to notice them instead of the handful of bad drivers scattered about the roadways that currently get your undivided negative attention. We can remedy a tendency to focus on the negative and not pay enough attention to the positive. Ask every news service about this basic motto of journalism: “If it bleeds it leads”, because good news does not sell newspapers or bump TV news ratings. We just have to remember that we are not selling bad news for a living and we do not need to see the worst in a situation, including something as simple as driving a car.

My second exercise is to make your time in a car as comfortable as possible, especially when heavy traffic means delays on the road. Never lose sight of the fact that your car is also a four-wheeled sanctuary from the outside world while you are behind the wheel. You get to pick the music style and enjoy the sounds from your favorite radio station or MP3 file for as long as you are in the car. It is your own personal concert hall and you are an appreciative audience while traffic eventually sorts itself out in front of you. In the meantime just enjoy the amazing personal entertainment atmosphere you have created for yourself in your car.

You might even choose an audio book for your time in heavy traffic because the narrator does all the reading while you do all the listening in your car. Remember, personal sanctuary here, so you get to make all of the entertainment choices in your car while you experience a well-deserved pause in your day. Your car has become your oasis so enjoy the ride.

It all boils down to your perspective while behind the wheel and whether or not you want to find more positives than negatives during the drive. It can be just that simple and easy for you.