TRANSPORTATION TUESDAY

Your boss shouted at you. Your son misbehaved at school. Your dog made a mess in the kitchen.

You’re already 3 minutes late and the traffic is a nightmare.

Your life is out of control.

You cannot control what other people do in your life … you can only control how you react AVOIDING ROAD RAGE TAKES SELF CONTROL

ROAD RAGE TRIGGERS

Anger …

- at fast drivers - at slow drivers - when cut off - at broken traffic lights - at traffic jams - when others tell you to calm down - at tailgaters - at your passengers

Impatience ...

- waiting for passengers to get in - at stop lights - waiting in lines (car wash, bank, roundabout) - waiting for parking space - as passenger, impatient with driver - when the vehicle ahead slows down - if behind schedule on a trip - driving in slow lane - with pedestrians crossing street - when multilane highway narrows

Competition ...

- with yourself - with other drivers - with other cars in traffic jams - with drivers who challenge you - to amuse yourself when bored - challenging other drivers - racing other drivers - drag racing at stop lights

Punishment ...

- Do you "punish" bad drivers? - Complain to passengers about other drivers? - Curse / make obscene gestures at other drivers?

- Block cars trying to pass? - Block cars trying to change lanes? - Ride another car's tail? - Brake suddenly to punish tailgater? - Use high beams to punish bad driver?

Transportation Tuesday

CALM YOURSELF AND OTHERS

When the driver next to you yells or makes a finger gesture towards you, think about road rage triggers - he/she must really be having a bad day...and the good thing is that you are not.

Be courteous. The next time someone lets you cut in front of them ... lift your hand in a sign of thanks! We’ve all let someone cut in front of us when we really did not have to, and not getting thanks just ticked us off. So learn from your experience. And be a bit kinder when someone needs to cut in front of you.

When you are feeling out of touch with your anger while driving take a deep breath and try to think of something better. Amuse yourself by turning on the radio instead of venting your anger.

Change your attitude towards other drivers’ mistakes. They probably don’t mean to cause harm, threaten, or endanger others. They’re probably inattentive, forgetful or extremely fatigued.

Transportation Tuesday

ROAD RAGE QUIZ

(1) You are driving in the fast lane and the person in front of you is driving the speed limit. Do you: a - slow down because you realize you are speeding b - slow down, turn on your signals and move into the other lane, and eventually move back into the fast lane c - tailgate the idiot d - turn on your high beams, honk your horn and tailgate e - zip into the slow lane; pass on the inside and then slow down in front of them (2) A person is tailgating you. Do you: a - as soon as it is safe, signal and pull into another lane b - continue on because you are going the speed limit c - stick your hand out the window and give them a signal d - slow down even more and make it impossible for the idiot to get into another lane e - slow down, then speed up, then slow down again and slam on the brakes.

(3) When you are in your car how often are you ranting and raving: a - almost never b - occasionally c - most of the time d - 99% of the time e - 100% of the time in the car and 50% of the time outside of the car Transportation Tuesday

ROAD RAGE QUIZ

(4) My driving skills are: a - good b - great c - better than most on the road d - superior e - I am the best ; no one comes close to my skill (5) I find driving to be: a - fun and relaxing b - relaxing when I'm alone on the road, but nerve wracking in city traffic c - challenging but dangerous d - a good place where I can really let loose and express myself e - a place where I show the rest of the world Give yourself the following points : "a" : 0 points "b" : 1 points "c" : 2 points "d" : 3 points "e" : 5 points what a bunch of incompetents they are 0-3 points : Well done. If everyone drove like you there would be no problems.

4-10 points : Pretty good. You have good and bad days on the road. Perhaps some mild road rage.

11-15 points : You can be seen by others as scary at times. Watch yourself.

16-20 points : You are dangerous. Reconsider the way you act as a driver.

21-25 points : We don’t want to know if anyone scored this many.

Transportation Tuesday

Transportation Tuesday