How to deal with road rage 

With roads becoming increasingly crowded and with more and more road users sharing the space, road rage has become a serious problem. 

When you think of road rage you immediately think of an angry word, a gesture or a honk on the horn to let someone know they are in the wrong. The fact is that this is at the lower end of the scale when it comes to road rage and at the extreme end there are life threatening acts taking place. 

Extreme road rage, in most cases, results in people that already have emotional disturbances. The interaction while driving is simply a stressor that triggers their emotional response like any other potential stressful situation. 

Minor road rage, while not deadly, is still dangerous as it is a distraction from the road and the task of driving. 

So how do you stop road rage in yourself and avoid situations that could be dangerous for you and other road users?

• Firstly you need to be able to identify signs in yourself that you’re feeling angry. Recognising the beginnings of road rage will help you to control it.
• If you are starting to feel irritated slow down, take deep breaths and try to rationalise the situation. Perhaps it was just a case of poor driving or a mistake that has got you all wound up. You do not have to react to it. 
• Stay safe! The moment you take your mind off the road and start focussing on other drivers you are distracted and this is dangerous. Don’t give bad drivers the time of day. Focus on keeping yourself safe. 
• Is it really necessary to yell out the window, flip them the bird or lean on your horn until their ears bleed? How does this kind of behaviour make your look? What would you think if you saw someone else doing this?
• Never fight bad driving with bad driving. The minute you start to cut people off in revenge or follow too closely you put everyone else around you in danger. You’re car is not a toy or a weapon it is a highly powerful piece of machinery that can quickly become out of control with one slight mistake. 
• Manage your emotions. Do you get angry just when driving or are there lots of situations where your anger gets the better of you? If that is the case you may consider anger management strategies.
• If someone else is driving aggressively the best thing to do is get out of the way. It is not up to you to tell them about it. Getting into altercations whilst driving is very dangerous. Let go and let live. If you feel they pose a danger to others on the road try to get their number plate, pull over and report it to the police.