Road rage

Dealing with road rage


By Jimmy Henderson BA Hons(phil), MA (Psychology), CHRP

In our modern and fast-paced world we are all experiencing heightened stress levels due to the pressures of having to juggle relationships, work and family matters, cope with financial and economic concerns, and in this country in particular, experiencing high levels of crime. Unfortunately, psychological research has shown that stress accumulates and can remain for long periods of time. Add to it the frustrations involved with peak-hour traffic and one can easily understand that many people are running close to empty when it comes to their coping resources.

A stress overload can produce a situation in which one reacts to any perceived threat with a set of behaviours classified as the ‘flight or fight response’. This means that a person will, depending on his/her individual characteristics and resources, either avoid the situation by fleeing the scene as quickly as possible, or in the case of a more assertive personality, actually be prepared to stand and fight, literally as well as figuratively.

When confronted with a perceived violation of his or her ‘road rights’, in stressed individuals this ‘fight’ response could easily activate and translate into aggression, abuse and violence, which is commonly known as ‘road rage’.

Fortunately, there is also a cognitive (thinking) component that underlies and influences our actions, a set of self-instructions called ‘schemas’. These are simple scripts for our responses which exist at a subliminal level of the mind and have been formed from our past experiences.

In the case of road rage, these scripts would most likely be along the lines of; ‘I cannot allow this’, or ‘I must confront this person’, or ‘I have to put a stop to this nonsense’. These imperatives, involving words like ‘cannot allow’, ‘must stop’ ‘ought to do’ or ‘have to’, can create major problems when it comes to behaviour, as they are shortcuts which often bypass the use of reason.

Keeping this research in mind, there are therefore two possible ways in which road rage could be prevented. First, a person’s general stress level can be reduced and managed with relaxation exercises, which will prevent the ‘flight or fight’ response from activating during an altercation. In this regard, research has shown that meditation is effective in reducing stress. Some meditation techniques can change one’s level of awareness and should be reserved for quiet periods at home. However, the particular meditation exercise which follows is so simple that it could be applied even when driving, to produce a more relaxed state of mind.

Begin to breathe in and out to a count of one to five. Clear your mind and focus on nothing else but the counting (either aloud or in your mind). Breathe in 1,2,3,4,5, hold your breath, 1,2,3,4, 5, breathe out 1,2,3,4,5, hold your breath 1,2,3,4,5, breathe in 1,2,3,4,5 and so on. Continue with this counting and breathing until your mind is quiet and you feel more relaxed. If you wish, you can increase the effectiveness of this breathing exercise by repeating suitable affirmations over and over while you drive. For example, ‘I am relaxed and at peace’.

The second method is to change the content of the underlying schemas or word-scripts which are sustaining the stress and feelings of aggression. This is not so easy, as they usually exist at an unconscious level and are quite resistant to change. However, once again, if we are successful in creating positive new scripts by continuously using affirmations, it will be possible to have more conscious control over our actions.

Examples of suitable affirmations would be:
‘I cannot be bothered by this incident’
‘I do not have to respond to this’
‘I am not prepared to fill my mind with these thoughts or emotions’
‘I simply do not wish to upset myself with this person’
‘I consciously release these negative thoughts’

Such affirmations would have to also be repeated continuously verbally or mentally until they become assimilated into our network of schemas. We will know that this has happened when, during a traffic altercation, these are the thoughts that come to mind.