Armah - A Quick Guide
- Triggers of road rage
- 8 key tips to manage road rage
- 1. Do not excessively beep your horn
- 2. Try alternative strategies
- 3. Monitor your thoughts
- 4. Practice deep breathing at the moment
- 5. Do not curse someone using physical gestures or curse words
- 6. Report dangerous drivers to the traffic police
- 7. Avoid glaring at others
- 8. Maintain a distance
- 9. Manage your reactions to provocation
A Quick Guide
Road rage is when emotions of anger and frustration go overboard and spill out in the form of hostile/aggressive reactions towards other drivers on the road.
Triggers of road rage
Road rage may happen in the following situations:
- You have been stuck in traffic for quite some time.
- Recently, you experienced a stressful event. So you displace your emotions on others on the road.
- You are getting late from somewhere.
- You have a low frustration tolerance.
- Some other driver insults you, cuts your way or curses you.
- Another driver breaks the traffic rules which pisses you off.
These situations may trigger anger which may build up and blow out into an aggressive response For instance, car chasing, arguments, purposefully hitting another car, cursing, or physical fights are common outcomes of road rage.
8 key tips to manage road rage
According to Jeffery S Nevid and Spencer Rathus (2013), keep the following tips in mind to manage road rage.
1. Do not excessively beep your horn
It’s natural to express your frustration by pressing the horn of your car, but remember even this simple act can be offensive and insulting to others. If you wouldn’t like it when others bleep their horn at you, try to not do the same to them.
2. Try alternative strategies
If you want to release your frustration, try some other means to do. For example, turn on some calming music. Express your frustration to your partner in the car, practice mindfulness, etc.
3. Monitor your thoughts
Road rage happens when we don’t monitor or regulate our thoughts. Thus, the simple feeling of annoyance can gradually build up into extreme rage. Identify and manage your thoughts at the moment to prevent that from happening.
4. Practice deep breathing at the moment
Release your stress by breathing deeply and calming down your body. You may follow a set-by-step guide or try a deep breathing exercise by installing an app on your phone.
5. Do not curse someone using physical gestures or curse words
If your curse others or use obscene gestures, it can trigger them and escalate the situation. Be aware of your urge to do so and avoid it by all means possible.
6. Report dangerous drivers to the traffic police
Instead of taking it on yourself to teach someone a lesson, report to the traffic police if a driver is breaking traffic rules, driving dangerously, or being a threat to other drivers.
7. Avoid glaring at others
Again be aware of the consequences of glaring at other drivers when you are frustrated and avoid doing that.
8. Maintain a distance
Keep a safe distance from other cars if you anticipate you are angry. Park your car aside and pause for a few minutes if possible, to compose yourself.
9. Manage your reactions to provocation
If someone else provokes you or does something insulting, do not respond in the same way. Be aware of your emotions and acknowledge them but let the moment pass.
We hope the above tips are helpful for you in identifying and managing road rage.