How to avoid road rage

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by kpzen

MS Sharma. Thanks
You have shared some Very valuable tips on avoiding road rage.
The current driving manners of ppl are simply patience testing.
I've found that a good ICE setup in the car with appropriate music being played helps avoiding road rage too.

good suggestion on ICE,but you to be careful while driving dont get too much involved with the music.

it actually helps when you are not listening to traffic, that noise itself is very irritating.

keep your mirrors rightly placed so that you are always aware of the traffic, and keeping the volume low is good idea while driving.

Take care

God bless.


Manu

[cypher]

msharma -thanks for a great article. I was thinking of writing this myself for the last couple of days, but you beat me to it.

I want to share a few things that I have started practicing recently -

1. Start your journey with a good Attitude -

(a) Tell your self that other drivers face the same inconvenience, traffic and infrastructure problems that you see. It would make their behaviour a little more explainable, and will avoid you getting annoyed with them. e.g. If someone cut in front of you, it may be that some other vehicle forced them to make a sudden maneuver.

(b) Listen to music that has a calming effect on you.


2. Courtesy -

(a) Smile whenever possible. It completely removes the stress in a situation.

If you are looking in a particular direction and someone looks directly at you, smile, so that they do not mistake your look as a call for aggression.

I've had some good experiences recently, after I started doing this - in bumper-to-bumper traffic, a call-center cab walla actually rolled down his window, returned a smile and motioned for me to go ahead of him.

If someone cuts in front of you, or you have to sudden cut in front of another car, smile and signal a "thank you" gesture. You do not loose anything.

(b) Let vehicles that are stuck, pass by.

You usually do not end up loosing more than a few seconds, by letting other cars pass. It will end up making traffic smoother and in fact may open up your own lane that is blocked up ahead.

(c) Give way to vehicles that signal to change lane.

Usually drivers, speed up to close the gap, not allowing someone to change lanes. This usually results in the signalling car slowing down to an almost halt and stopping the smooth flow of traffic. Give way, again it does not cost you more than a few seconds.

[Sahil]

Thanks i need these tips the most but it's easier said than done in my case

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Thanks i need these tips the most but it's easier said than done in my case

trust me it is not that difficult , although your signature suggest otherwise, cypher's suggestion are very practical.

one more thing which my mother and now my wife do regularly is that they never allow me to get out of the house in a bad mood. no matter what is the issue they get me glass of water before i leave try to calm me down.

basically i am very aggressive person have looked for trouble in the past many a time and found it just waiting for me,

but after seeing what happend to Dr. Diwan the whole out look changed.

[n_aditya]

Those tips are really helpful. Nice find. Thanks.

Although it takes a lot of effort to work all those pointers its worth a try.

[GTO]

I dont remember which movie it was, but I cant get over how the late Sunil Dutt made a brilliant comment....the kind of scene which you never forget. There was some chap getting trashed by a bunch at a railway station. Sunil Dutt walks up to the guy getting trashed and said "Dont worry, these people are not angry at you. They have too many other frustrations in life and are merely taking it out on you."

I think this exemplifies the reasons behind road rage the best. Improve your attitude toward daily life and road rage will automatically be cured. I mean, what is the big deal if someone unintentionally scratches your car or cuts you off. Many times that I have gotten rear-ended, I didnt even step out of the car. Is abusing someone on the road befitting of our upbringing and education? If someone banged my car unintentionally, is beating him going to undo the damage?

That said, good music and an effective air-conditioner can work wonders at reducing road rage.

[moralfibre]

Originally Posted by GTO

I dont remember which movie it was, but I cant get over how the late Sunil Dutt made a brilliant comment....the kind of scene which you never forget. There was some chap getting trashed by a bunch at a railway station. Sunil Dutt walks up to the guy getting trashed and said "Dont worry, these people are not angry at you. They have too many other frustrations in life and are merely taking it out on you."

The movie is Munnabhai M.B.B.S.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by GTO

I mean, what is the big deal if someone unintentionally scratches your car or cuts you off. Many times that I have gotten rear-ended, I didnt even step out of the car. Is abusing someone on the road befitting of our upbringing and education? If someone banged my car unintentionally, is beating him going to undo the damage?

Rightly put GTO. I have had many such instances in my car. Just to relate one here... Christmas day, me & my family all decked up & in a very cheerful mood head out to church. There was a slight traffic crawl ahead & all the vehicles came to a stop. A few seconds after i have stopped, i hear a loud thud & discover an auto rickshaw attached to my car. Got down & saw that my bumper was broken. I did not want the day to be spoilt, so just asked the auto guy to park his vehicle by the side & i went on my way. he must have been puzzled with my reaction. But better not to shout & build up a rage when you know you are not going to benefit from it.

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by GTO

I dont remember which movie it was, but I cant get over how the late Sunil Dutt made a brilliant comment....the kind of scene which you never forget. There was some chap getting trashed by a bunch at a railway station. Sunil Dutt walks up to the guy getting trashed and said "Dont worry, these people are not angry at you. They have too many other frustrations in life and are merely taking it out on you."

I think this exemplifies the reasons behind road rage the best. Improve your attitude toward daily life and road rage will automatically be cured. I mean, what is the big deal if someone unintentionally scratches your car or cuts you off. Many times that I have gotten rear-ended, I didnt even step out of the car. Is abusing someone on the road befitting of our upbringing and education? If someone banged my car unintentionally, is beating him going to undo the damage?

That said, good music and an effective air-conditioner can work wonders at reducing road rage.

the big boss is right, yeah and the movie was munna bhai.

[simply_sunny001]

very nice and informative thread

and these are the things that we actually need in today's life to enjoy rather than spoiling mood and maybe more by indulging in road rage

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Rightly put GTO. I have had many such instances in my car. Just to relate one here... Christmas day, me & my family all decked up & in a very cheerful mood head out to church. There was a slight traffic crawl ahead & all the vehicles came to a stop. A few seconds after i have stopped, i hear a loud thud & discover an auto rickshaw attached to my car. Got down & saw that my bumper was broken. I did not want the day to be spoilt, so just asked the auto guy to park his vehicle by the side & i went on my way. he must have been puzzled with my reaction. But better not to shout & build up a rage when you know you are not going to benefit from it.

you did good boss,

it has happened to me recently also, my car was parked in a local market place and i was in the market. suddenly there was lot of noise near my car. one guy in his brand new swift had scratched my car's bumper and was trying to push my car forward to avoid more damage.

knowing haryanvi people he was sh**t scared as the people around him were actually getting agressive, seeing me coming people got exicited that some action is on the way,

they grabbed him and started telling me how he did it.

obviously i was upset as my car is blue lagoon xeta and scratch was really bad, but when i looked at his car it was worst.


he did not do it on purpose and he wanted to take care of the damage, but the people around wanted him to pay there and then,

i told him that i will get an estimate of the damage from tata and will fax it to him, from there onwards he can take it up with the company on how to reduce the cost.

estimate is of 2400 and he is actually in discussion with the agency.

i would like to trust him but even if he does not do the right thing it is burdon on his soul not mine.

[cypher]

This thread is turning out to be really great.

As GTO rightly said, it all has to do with attitude to daily life. Due to various factors, most of us have gotten conditioned to be agitated the moment we step out of the house.

I've realized that it takes a very small but conscious effort to our part to change our instinctive behaviour. The best part is that this has a positive rub-off effect on those around.

I'm sure 13,000 members on Team-BHP can make a huge difference to the traffic experience on our roads here.

[kchatt]

This is a very good thread. It made me remember the old days. When either on bike or car I'd be get into a rage at the minimum instigation. But it feels so foolish now. In fact its due to this I had engaged a driver for sometime and stopped driving. But now I make it a point to enjoy every time I am behind the wheel. I have music on all the time. On the roads of Hyderabad with all the flyover building going on we need to literally crawl to cross the Panjagutta signal and the green lands signal. I just move along with the crowd enjoying my smoke. The only time I get slightly worked up when a puny moped suddenly decides to cut across my lane. Earlier it sure would have made me swear or honk buut now I just ask him whether he has informed his family that he will not return and keep going.

[msharma_79]

Originally Posted by msharma_79

you did good boss,

it has happened to me recently also, my car was parked in a local market place and i was in the market. suddenly there was lot of noise near my car. one guy in his brand new swift had scratched my car's bumper and was trying to push my car forward to avoid more damage.

knowing haryanvi people he was sh**t scared as the people around him were actually getting agressive, seeing me coming people got exicited that some action is on the way,

they grabbed him and started telling me how he did it.

obviously i was upset as my car is blue lagoon xeta and scratch was really bad, but when i looked at his car it was worst.


he did not do it on purpose and he wanted to take care of the damage, but the people around wanted him to pay there and then,

i told him that i will get an estimate of the damage from tata and will fax it to him, from there onwards he can take it up with the company on how to reduce the cost.

estimate is of 2400 and he is actually in discussion with the agency.

i would like to trust him but even if he does not do the right thing it is burdon on his soul not mine.

the guy who scratched my car paid me for the repair of the car.

the world is not that bad anyways.

being nice pays, actually he told me that he did not expect me to be so calm about the whole issue and that impressed him.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Rightly put GTO. I have had many such instances in my car. Just to relate one here... Christmas day, me & my family all decked up & in a very cheerful mood head out to church. There was a slight traffic crawl ahead & all the vehicles came to a stop. A few seconds after i have stopped, i hear a loud thud & discover an auto rickshaw attached to my car. Got down & saw that my bumper was broken. I did not want the day to be spoilt, so just asked the auto guy to park his vehicle by the side & i went on my way. he must have been puzzled with my reaction. But better not to shout & build up a rage when you know you are not going to benefit from it.

Whats the case E_L, if its not a chirstmas day