anger and your driving
Your driving and anger management
Title: Anger and your driving
Author: Dr. Tony Fiore
Article:
Are you driving under the influence of impaired emotions?
Dateline: December 4, 2002. Orange County ,California. A 29 year
old man was shot to death, an apparent victim of road rage.
According to newspaper accounts, he had a reputation for never
backing down from a fight.
The man and his half brother were heading home from a plumbing
job when the trouble began. Apparently, three men in another car
zoomed in front of their car. These men started hurling
profanities and flashing obscene gestures at the brothers, who
returned the insults.
Things escalated until a gun was pulled. Rather than backing
down, the man got out of his car and began walking toward the
gunman. Two shots rang out, missing the man who then continued
to walk toward the gunman until he was shot and killed.
While this tragic incidence is illustrative of an extreme case
of aggressive driving, there are thousands of lesser cases in
the United States yearly. According to he AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety, incidents of aggressive driving have increased
by 7% every year since 1990; however, few courts mandate anger
management treatment for traffic offenders.
FIVE ZONES OF AGGRESSIVE DRIVING
Research by Dr. Leon James at the University of Hawaii reveals
five categories of aggressive driving. Which zone do you or a
loved one fall in?
THE UNFRIENDLY ZONE - Example: closing ranks to deny someone
entering your lane because you’re frustrated or upset.
HOSTILE ZONE - Example: Tailgating to pressure another driver to
go faster or get out of the way.
VIOLENT ZONE- Example: Making visible obscene gestures at
another driver.
LESS MAYHEM ZONE- Example: Pursuing other cars in a chase
because of provocation or insult.
MAJOR MAYHEM ZONE - Example: Getting out of the car and beating
or battering someone as a result of a road exchange.
DO AGGRESSIVE DRIVERS SEE THEMSELVES AS SUCH?
According to Dr. James and his research team, drivers who
consider themselves as almost perfect in excellence (with no
room to improve) also confessed to significantly more
aggressiveness than drivers who see themselves as still
improving. What this means is that despite their self-confessed
aggressiveness, 2 out of 3 drivers still insist on seeing
themselves as near perfect drivers with almost no room to
improve. These drivers see “the other guy” as the problem and
thus do not look at their own aggressive driving behavior.
WHAT CAUSES AGGRESSIVE DRIVING BEHAVIOR?
While there is no one standard definition for aggressive
driving, many psychologists see anger as the root cause of the
problem. Regardless of the provocation or the circumstances
related to problems on the road, it is ultimately our emotional
state, our stress levels and our thinking patterns that either
cause us to drive aggressively or lead us to be the victims of
others.
In short, many of get us get in trouble because we are driving
under the influence of impaired emotions, especially anger. Like
drunk driving, aggressive driving is more than a simple action
or carelessness; it is a behavioral choice that drivers make. It
is normal and natural to feel angry when certain events
frustrate us on the road. But, how do you deal with these angry
feelings to cope with the situation more effectively?
TWO WAYS TO COPE WITH IMPAIRED DRIVING EMOTIONS: Research
clearly shows that reducing stress and changing your self-talk
can help you cope.
1.REDUCE YLUR STRESS. Driving is emotionally challenging because
unexpected things happen constantly with which we must cope. We
often drive under the pressure of time, or the pressure of
congestion and delays which add to our general stress level.
Suggestions include listening to relaxing music or educational
tapes on the road, leaving 15 minutes sooner, and getting up
earlier so you are less rushed.
2. CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE with different self-talk. As a result
of earlier life experiences, we all have “automatic” thoughts
that are generated by our mind when certain “triggers” occur
when driving. We can change our perspective and thus our angry
feelings by consciously changing this “self-talk.” For instance,
if cut off in traffic think something like …that “jerk” may
actually be a single mother who worked nine hours that day and
is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the
laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.”
CONCLUSIONS: If driving under the influence of impaired
emotions, you can make a personal decision to cope with your
angry feelings in a more effective way. This will help you avoid
aggressive driving or becoming the victim of another aggressive
driver. Reducing your stress level and learning to change your
self-talk are effective and powerful tools to cope with the
challenges of driving in our fast-paced society.
About the author:
Dr. Tony Fiore. The Anger Coach, is a clinical psychologist and
anger management trainer and facilitator in Southern California.
Subscribe to his free monthly newsletter "Taming The Anger Bee"
on his website at http://www.angercoach.com
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