Often it is scary. Sometimes it is a turn off.
Road rage – where the fiery rage mixes with the two-ton engines – continues to be a problem on America’s highways, causing accidents, assaults, and sometimes even murder.
This is a confusing problem partially because it can occur anytime and anywhere involving roads and vehicles, but specific statistics on its frequency are hard to come by.
But, other than that, there are solutions that can at least reduce the number of road rage incidents. People who are easily angered by slower drivers, detours, and other traffic distractions can be taught to be more aware of their responses and modify them to reduce their risk of accidents, according to research published this year by the Society for Risk Analysis.
This let’s-calm-down approach has been praised by Scott Morofsky, author of “The Daily Breath: Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time” and “Wellativity: In-Powering Wellness Through Communication” (www.Wellativity.com).
“Sometimes there is a tendency to slam on the brakes when someone is following us, or to use an obscene gesture on an aggressive driver,” says Morofsky, who developed the concept of Wellativity, which helps people overcome any behavior that’s hindering their health.
“But when you encounter an aggressive driver, you don’t want to engage them or do anything to further agitate them.”
What are some of our behaviors that could distract other motorists? The number 1 culprit is texting drivers, according to a 2015 Road Rage Report by Expedia.com, a travel site. The texting driver pissed off 26 percent of us.
The other offenders, in descending order, are tailgaters, left lane hogs, slow drivers, and multi-tasking drivers.
Of course, these examples represent situations that can lead to your ire once you get behind the wheel. Often, the groundwork for road rage is laid before you even get in the car. Maybe you had a fight with someone before. Maybe you are stressed because you are late for an appointment.
“Maybe we’ve all been angry and someone wisely told us to take a deep breath,” says Morofsky. “That’s actually good advice because breathing and inhaling oxygen play an important role in every area of our health and well-being.”
Morofsky offers these tips for avoiding angering yourself or avoiding angering others:
• Do not turn the ignition key. If you are feeling stressed and anxious before you even start your journey, then the time to cool off is now, not after you are on the road. Get a grip before you start the car, says Morofsky. Take those deep breaths you have all the time heard will do the trick. You could even try counting from one to 10, inhaling one, exhaling two, up to 10 and back to one again. “You want to relax before heading out,” he says.
• Stop right there. If you have been driving, and you feel your anger starting to affect your judgment, take a moment to pull over. “Take a deep breath and ask yourself, is my problem important enough to risk your life?” he says. “Taking a few mindful breaths can prevent catastrophe.”
• Don’t react or reply. You cannot control those other drivers, but you can control how you react to them. If someone is following you, driving you mad, or simply pissing you off with their bad driving habits, ignore them, says Morofsky. Getting into some kind of street fight will only raise your blood pressure further, and can be dangerous in some circumstances. This is just yet another chance to take a deep breath, he says.
About Scott Morofsky
Scott Morofsky is the author of “The Daily Breath: Transform Your Life One Breath at a Time” and “Wellativity: In-Powering Wellness Through Communication” (www.wellativity.com). Morofsky created the concept of Wellativity, which uses 12 principles to target cross-disease such as obesity, smoking, lethargy, procrastination and any behavior that hinders health. He is nationally certified as a personal trainer by the American Council on Exercise and a number of other certifications in health and fitness. She is a New York State licensed massage therapist and a graduate of the Swedish Institute of Massage and Allied Health Sciences. For more than 30 years, Morofsky has maintained a private practice specializing in joint replacement rehabilitation and physical training for seniors, in addition to fitness training and massage therapy, and has given lectures and taught seminars on these subjects.
