It’s easy to get angry behind the wheel. When someone else is driving irresponsibly, you may feel you’re entirely justified in feeling a little irritated with them.
However, you can’t let that irritation turn into road rage. If someone is driving poorly, contact the proper authorities and let them know. It’s not your job to police the roads.
Don’t overlook the importance of this point. Statistics indicate approximately 66% of traffic fatalities can be attributed to aggressive driving that may be the result of road rage.
In other words, if you’re the type to get angry at other drivers, you need to learn how to control your road rage. These tips will help.
How to Control Road Rage: Essential Tips You Need to Know
Stay Healthy & Happy
Do you find you’re somehow more prone to road rage (regardless of how other drivers are behaving) at certain times without quite understanding why that’s the case?
There are many potential explanations. However, it’s not uncommon for people to experience road rage because they aren’t in an ideal state of mind or health.
Maybe they didn’t get enough sleep. Perhaps they were irritated with another situation when they got in the car, and that irritation carried over into their driving. Maybe they’re getting over an illness, and don’t have the energy to control their emotions.
Keep that in mind when you’re going to be driving. You need to make sure you’re feeling as healthy, rested, and calm as possible when you get behind the wheel.
Pay Attention to Your Music
This may sound like an odd point, but there’s research to back it up. Quite simply, studies consistently show that listening to aggressive music makes people behave more aggressively, regardless of the particular situation they’re in.
That means if you’re listening to angry music while driving, you may be more likely to experience road rage. As fun as it might be to blast your favorite rock tunes on the road, something a little more calming might just be the better option from a safety perspective.
Breathe
Road rage can be so difficult to control because it’s an immediate and evolution-driven response. Your body pumps full of adrenaline and you stop thinking about your safety (or the safety of others on the road).
Luckily, you can combat this by focusing on your breathing. Taking slow and deep breaths will calm your body down, calming your mind and emotions too as a result.
Don’t Give Them the Power
Some people actually don’t want to let go of road rage because it makes them feel weak. They believe they can’t let another driver “get away with” bad behavior on the road.
These people need to see it from a more mature perspective. Allowing another driver to anger you to the point that it makes you ignore safety precautions is weak. Assert your strength by remaining calm.
Once again, it’s important to remember these tips are essential. Road rage can be very dangerous. However, when you know how to control road rage, it’s less likely to lead to an accident.
