5 Ways to make a fellow driver’s day
A few small behavioural changes can reduce your own driving stress and those of your fellow drivers.
05/04/2024
There’s something about driving that can make
even the mellowest among us see red. Whether
it’s because we have been cut off in traffic,
have not been let into a lane you desperately
need to get into, or have been overtaken by
someone driving way over the speed limit, we
have all had moments where we have leaned on the
hooter, flashed our lights, or screamed at
another driver.
That anger, while
understandable, doesn’t help either. As Keletso
Mpisane, head of digital vehicle insurance at
MiWay Blink, points out, driving angry comes
with increased risks to you and other road
users.
Mpisane explains, “Angry driving
is distracted driving. If you’re focused on what
someone else did to you two intersections ago,
you’re not concentrating on your own driving and
your surroundings. That can easily result in you
hitting another vehicle or even a pedestrian.
Things can get even worse if you decide to apply
your own retributive justice and chase after a
driver who you feel has wronged you.”
Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. As
Mpisane points out, a few small behavioural
changes can reduce your own driving stress and
those of your fellow drivers.
1. Give yourself enough time
“A major cause of
stress when driving is the worry of arriving
late at a destination,” says Mpisane. “While
there will always be unforeseen incidents, you
can virtually eliminate that stress by ensuring
that you leave for your destination on time.
That also means you’re less likely to pass your
stress on to other drivers.”
If you’re
unsure how long it will take you to get to your
destination, mapping tools like Google Maps can
give you a good indication. You can even look up
what time you need to be at that destination and
Maps will give you a “leave by” time.
2. Set yourself up for happiness
Similarly,
you can make your own and other drivers’ trips
more pleasant by setting yourself up to be in a
good mood before embarking on your trip.
“Outside stresses at work or home have been
shown to play a role in road rage,” says the
MiWay Blink head. “If you can, it is a good idea
to try and leave those stresses behind before
getting behind the wheel. Take a few deep
breaths, load up your happiest playlist, and set
off as calmly as possible.”
3. Smile and wave
One big factor in road rage is that
there are many more barriers between you and the
driver who you feel has wronged you. That’s only
magnified when you can’t see the other driver’s
face. Suddenly, that person ceases to be a
fellow human being and becomes an unknown force
that’s out to wreck your day.
“While you
cannot eliminate those barriers,” says Mpisane,
“you can mitigate them by catching the other
driver’s eye and being as open and friendly as
possible, especially if you’re asking to be let
into a lane or intersection. Suddenly you’re not
the person who rudely pushed in but the one who
asked nicely.”
4. Be courteous
“Simple courtesy can go a long way when it comes to making another driver’s day,” Mpisane says. “Making it easy for someone to merge into your lane or to overtake safely, for example, are simple courtesies that we should extend to other drivers, but all too often do not. Even if you feel the person is in the wrong, it is better to assume they’ve made a simple mistake than that they are acting out of any kind of malice.”
5. Resist the urge to hoot
One of
the first things that many drivers do when they
want to express their anger at another driver’s
transgressions is sit on their hooter. As
Mpisane points out, while that impulse is
understandable, it’s an impulse that drivers
should look to curb.
“Your hooter is a
safety feature,” she says, “try and reserve it
for situations where you really need it. While
you may get temporary satisfaction from hooting,
it could easily antagonise other drivers and put
you and others in danger.”
Roads are meant to be shared
Mpisane concludes, “it is important to remember that our roads are a shared resource. They only work if everyone remembers that and treats fellow drivers with courteousness and respect.”