Perhaps you are just getting out of work and are driving for no more than five minutes before you are immediately stuck in traffic. Situations like these can be both incredibly frustrating for drivers as well as hazardous to other drivers and pedestrians pending the outcome of how well the driver controls his or her emotions while behind the wheel.
Every day, we hear stories or reports in the news of people getting into motor vehicle accidents either with themselves or with other people simply due to the fact that they are either distracted, in a rush to get to wherever it is that they are going or because they are experiencing some sort of road rage. In fact, I am willing to bet that at some point in all of our lives, we will be able to witness such an event taking place. My boyfriend still recounts the time when he apparently cut another driver off in traffic. Then, as he was driving, he was wondering why the person behind him was following him so closely. When he (and his passenger) arrived at their final destination, the car that had been behind them was still following them, and when they parked their vehicle, the other driver (a woman) got out and ran over to them, screaming at them.
Situations like these can be extremely frightening for someone who has no idea what they may have done as well as for those who simply have no idea what the other person is going to do. In that particular instance, my boyfriend remained completely calm and waited for the woman to finish her ranting. Then when she was done, he simply told her that she was acting extremely immature, and then he walked away. The woman, dumbfounded, reluctantly retreated to her car and drove away.
If you stop to think about every single move that every single driver is making while you are sharing the road with them, it would be enough to drive you crazy. It is important to remember that like it or not, the road is not yours for the taking. Rather, we have to learn how to better deal with other drivers' lack of skill- something which requires us to behave more as 'defensive' drivers while behind the wheel. In these situations, we have to base our driving on how well or poorly others around us are driving. If someone in the lane next to us isn't paying attention and swerves into our lane, do we stay where we are and let them hit us to teach them a lesson? Or do we react accordingly and get out of harm's way?
These and other types of situations are the very sorts of things that we have to look out for when we are driving. Knowing details such as when the roads become heavily trafficked in the area that you live in can help reduce your anxiety and frustration because then you will know what to expect as well as when to avoid them. Do what you can so that you don't drive yourself crazy.
