The Stress of Road Rage: Are You A Lunatic Driver?
An Autoexpress survey has found UK drivers to top the charts for the angriest drivers on the road (1)
British motorists are exposed to more road rage than those of any other nation in the world, a study shows. According to The Daily Telegraph (2) a startling 61 per cent of motorists say they have suffered a physical or verbal attack while driving, according to the research undertaken by Tyre Shopper. Three quarters said that they'd experienced a "threatening gesture" from another road user. In total, 80 per cent of drivers have been the victim of some form of road rage aggression.
Men are apparently the worst offenders, with the majority of abusers being males with an average (estimated) age of around 37
How people first show up at work is normally an indication for how the rest of the day goes. Do you arrive at work smiling and happy, or tired and stressed? There are several factors which can contribute to this. However, I’m going to focus on just one aspect of this: the pitfalls of driving to work.
I live in a part of Hertfordshire where the lack of driving etiquette is way beyond simple frustration
I have been fired up and ready to get out of the car a few times! Let us take something that has happened to me several times in the past few months. There I was driving along, minding my own business, pretty relaxed and generally happy with life. I get to the end of the road and need to turn right to be on my way. Alas, a mobile traffic light had been put up about 100 metres to the left of the junction, stopping the traffic going in the opposite direction to where I needed to go.
As the traffic comes to a stop there is a great opportunity for the car in the queue to simply stop a few metres short and let me out. It makes sense to me. They are not going anywhere anyway and I am not looking to get in front of them, simply pull out and go in the opposite direction, where the road is clear. And it is not going to cost them any time.
I saw the driver glance me a look and pull his car right in front of mine
This was my red mist moment. I knew he knew I was there before he moved his car in front of me and the only possible reason for him doing this was to stop me pulling out. Whatever reason he had for doing this I did not care but as the fight or flight chemicals flooded through my body my instinct was to get out of the car and confront this idiot!
This was not the relaxed, easy-going stress management consultant who knows how to easily reverse the effects of stress, this was almost a sub-personality, flooded with hormones which made me ready for fight or flight for my life. Since this man had blocked my path to flight I found myself thinking some very violent thoughts to him as he sat smugly in front of me staring forward as though I wasn’t there.
I have not hit anyone since I was 12 years old, and yet I found myself in a condition where I could quite easily have justified stepping out of the car and giving the man in front of me cause to regret being so selfish
Then came the voice of reason: “Adam, you’re a stress management consultant and you are being tested to see whether you really can quickly reverse the effects of the stress response here. Suddenly I realised that I could never look people in the eye and tell them that they can easily reverse the symptoms of stress if I could not do it myself. I had simply been given an extreme test of my own to really see whether it was possible.
I held my breath for as long as I could and slowly exhaled
After a few deep breaths I started to feel less violent towards my inconsiderate friend, and tell myself that the few minutes that this had cost me was a good reminder to stay calm in even the most testing of circumstances. Slowly, my positivity returned and I had appreciated the chance to slow down and focus on my breathing.
The incident reminded me of how little things in adverse circumstances can make a big difference to your mood and energy
Once I was moving again I started to become more aware of how me letting people out of junctions started to make me feel better. Would I have been so considerate to others if someone had not been so inconsiderate to me? I’m not sure, but one thing that I am sure of is that road rage is a dangerous place that can turn easy-going citizens into raving lunatics.
I get the same response every time I experience selfish driving, though I am yet to get out of my car or make angry gestures. Had I not been a stress management expert, this would probably not be the case. If driving is causing you extreme reactions it may be time to start considering your alternatives. If however, driving is a necessity for you and you are particularly prone to red-mist moments, start remembering to take deep breaths and hold them.
Whilst this technique will not work instantly, it is the best technique I know that you have to help whilst you are fired up and stuck behind the wheel
(2) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/two-thirds-drivers-have-suffered-road-rage-attack-women-main/