• Don't take it personally when another driver makes a mistake and don't assume that you need to teach anyone a lesson for making a mistake.
• Always avoid conflict.  If another driver challenges you, get out of the way.
• Rather than seeing the other driver as the enemy, have some compassion ("That poor guy must really be having a bad day.")
• Drive courteously, even if the other driver does not.
• Never underestimate the other driver's capacity for emotional instability...or for carrying a dangerous weapon.
• Understand that as a driver you are unable to control traffic...but you can control your reaction to it.
• Keep away from drivers who are acting erratically and avoid eye contact with them.
• Never make obscene gestures.
• Allow yourself plenty of time for a trip, take breaks from driving when you can, and make your vehicle comfortable (play soothing music or motivational tapes to inspire a positive focus.)
• Use courteous driving techniques: Don't use your horn unnecessarily and don't inflict loud music on other cars.  If you are traveling slowly, pull over to let other cars pass on a two-lane road. Don't block the passing lane or a right hand turn lane, and always use a turn signal to switch lanes. Don't park illegally in disabled spaces and never take more than one parking space. Don't bang your car door against another parked car.  Avoid using high-beam headlights unless you absolutely have to.

     If you truly know your own anger, you may never have to become the victim of road rage.  Your anger can motivate you to confront constructively the situations that initially aroused the anger... in a manner that does harm to nobody.  You can think differently about the things that trigger your anger.  You may decide that there are some things that just are not worth getting angry about.

 And you can learn to communicate your thoughts and feelings effectively when anger is present.

Take a look at some ways to manage anger.

     Our attitude toward a situation influences whether or not we allow our anger to be triggered. We sometimes have automatic hostile thoughts when we confront a threatening situation: "That driver is deliberately trying to cut me off."  A thought like this one is probably untrue. The other driver may be clueless and absorbed in her own thoughts.  Rather than getting angry, based on a fallacious thought, take a moment to question your anger-producing thoughts.  If you can change your thinking about the situation, you can change your response.

     Ask yourself whether this situation is important enough to get angry about.  Is it going to make any difference half an hour form now?  Or a year from now?  Could I try to understand what is really going on?  Could I be misinterpreting the situation?  Do I really need to get angry just because one driver is doing something that drivers do all the time, whether they should or not?  Am I confusing my feelings now with something from the past?  Is it more important for me to be right or to be healthy and alive?  If I rear-end her car, are things going to be better?  Am I taking something personally when it has nothing to do with me and everything to do with someone who is a rude, stressed, ill, or unaware driver?"

     If you really feel that your anger can help you change an uncomfortable situation, then look for rational and effective solutions to the problem.  Most of the time, however, venting your anger without examining the situation merely increases the probability of getting angrier, endangering your health, damaging your relationships with other people, and, if it occurs while driving, having an accident.

     If your anger cannot change the situation, try to change your thinking about it.  Then, to combat the lingering anger you may still be feeling, distract yourself with pleasant thoughts unrelated to the angry situation.  For example, think about a happy moment from the past day or two.  Or think about something positive you are looking forward to.

(Continued...........)