Road Rage Will Get You Nowhere

The other day, I was driving back from my boyfriend's parents' house at night. Because I've been trying to save on gasoline, I was actually doing only two or three miles over the speed limit (as opposed to fifteen or twenty!). As I was driving, I couldn't help but notice all of the people who were practically killing each other on the road just to get around each other. It was ridiculous and wholly unnecessary.

Whenever I see people speeding, I wonder what the major emergency is. Sometimes I think it would be fun to follow one of these speeders back to wherever it is they're in a rush to get to just to see what the situation is. Perhaps they have a loved one who just called them from the hospital. Perhaps there is an emergency with their pet or child. After giving it some thought, I've reasoned that I bet it is none of those things. I bet people speed because a) they really have to go to the bathroom b) they're just in a bad mood c)they hate driving so much that they can't wait to get out of their car and hit the couch for a little rest and relaxation in front of the television. My guess is that nine times out of ten it's probably the last choice....or it could be road rage.

I remember being an athlete in high school when I first got my driver's license. It was strange to suddenly be on the roadways, sharing the road with other, more experienced drivers. I remember being a little upset if another driver would pass me in another lane. I was extremely competitive in sports and didn't like getting beat, and wouldn't you know that it tentatively transferred over to my driving? As a form of recourse, I would speed up in my car in order to stay ahead of other drivers who apparently thought little of my driving. Before it got too out of hand, I realized that what I was doing was silly. My dad would reprimand me every time I would return with his car saying, "You've got a lead foot!" It seemed that everyone who drove with me noticed that I liked to speed and that I was starting to get annoyed with the "slow drivers". I remember thinking that slow drivers shouldn't be allowed on the roadways.

Road rage affects all of us at some point in our lives. I am lucky that my stint with road rage didn't result in me getting into any accidents. However, other people aren't quite as lucky. There are a few mental techniques that we can try in an effort to soothe these outbursts of emotion that we feel while driving. The first thing that we have to remember is that driving is a privilege, not a right. When you are operating a vehicle, realize that it can be used as a deadly weapon to kill someone if you are negligent, not paying attention or driving aggressively.