Contrary to popular belief, most vehicle accidents are completely avoidable. And perhaps more surprising is the fact that many accidents are actually self perpetuated by a driver who is “having a bad day” and therefore, is not focusing as they should behind the wheel of their car. Or, in some cases, the driver is distracted because they are experiencing symptoms of road rage that often accompany road construction sites, traffic accident backups, slow drivers or any other host of reasons. With that said, the following are four simple steps that you can take to help reduce the rage, thus increasing your chances (as well as others around you) of safety:

4 Steps to Reduce Road Rage

1. Deep Breathing- It sounds silly, I know. However,  studies have proven that deep breathing is highly effective at calming you down. Think meditation. Think Yoga. Think about anything that will calm you down and take your focus off of whatever is going on around you.
2. Plan Ahead- One of the first things that I did when I moved into the town that I a currently living in is I took my car out and together we went “exploring”. I purposely allowed myself to get lost (sort of…I mean, I had a map), this way I would be forced to find alternate routes back to where I wanted to go. This proved to be EXTREMELY helpful on a few occasions where the traffic was backed up. The same applies to other drivers. If you know that a particular area tends to get congested, thereby leading you into a tailspin of road rage due to frustration and other bad drivers- know what the alternate routes are out of there!
3. Personal Attacks- Just because someone kinda’ sorta’ cut you off doesn’t necessarily mean that they had it out for your car and your car alone. It may have been a simple mistake. Maybe you were in their blind spot, etc. In any case, keep your cool. Turn on the air conditioning perhaps.
4. Follow Your Own Tune- Turn on the radio and obey the rules of the road. No matter what bad driving habits are being displayed around you, remember not to follow too closely or to honk your horn unnecessarily. Remember that bad traffic doesn’t last forever; and it is better to be safe than to be sorry.

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