Dealing with Road Rage

While you may not feel that the term "road rage" accurately describes the way you drive, being angry on the road certainly does pose a threat to everyone around you, as well as to yourself.
In many cases, people end up calling a car accident lawyer because someone who was a little bit too hot under the collar caused an accident that could've been avoided. Driving angry can lead to driving in a negligent fashion. If you do drive in negligently, be aware that any wrecks you cause may end up with you getting sued. The key to not falling prey to road rage is to learn how to stay calm, even when everything about the traffic around you seems determined to make you angry.

Step 1: Breathe

Breathing actually calms our minds down. To calm yourself, breathe deeply and be sure that your breathing in a way that makes you feel like you're pulling the air into your belly, not in a way that involves pulling short, sharp breaths into your chest. Most people can't even do this 10 times without getting a little bit exhausted, and that exhaustion tends to dissipate your anger a little bit.

Step 2: Remember that we're all human.

One of the reasons that people have an easy time hating the people on the road around them is the fact that those people are completely anonymous. Remember that, behind every one of those steering wheels that operate the vehicles around you, there's a human being. You don't drive perfectly, either, and it wouldn't be beneath you to cut people around you a bit of slack when they hit the brakes a little bit too early or cut into your lane without giving you adequate warning.

Step 3: Wave

In many cases, a bad exchange in traffic ends with some fairly spirited hand gesturing. If you want to prevent yourself from getting way too angry, force yourself to smile and wave at the person you would normally throw a different gesture at. You'll be genuinely surprised at how much this calms you down and how quickly the people will generally reciprocate your action and give you an understanding smile. Again, remember that you're dealing with a bunch of human beings, not a bunch of machines.
If someone's road rage has caused a car accident that you are involved in, call us today at (214) 651-6100.