Wednesday, May 6, 2015
3:10 PM | 
Posted by
Kaplan Center for Health and Wellness
About angry
drivers…
Paz
Etcheverry, Ph.D.
On a sunny and humid April Monday morning in Florida, as I
was peacefully driving through a very lovely and quiet neighborhood, heading to
a nearby supermarket to get some bananas, the car right in front of me stops to
chat with a friend who was in another car, travelling in the opposite
direction. I waited ten seconds, which seemed like an eternity to me, and then
politely honked my horn to get the driver’s attention. Mind you- I know how to
do a polite, ‘wake up’, I-am-right-here-behind-you-in-case-you-did-not-notice
honk. My civilized honk failed to get any reaction from the driver; therefore,
I proceeded to honk again, this time a little bit longer. Nothing. The driver
seemed to think that he had the entire right to stop in the middle of this
residential road to chat with his friend. I could not drive around him, and, while
I often dream about this, my car is not equipped like the Batmobile to fly the
friendly skies. At least not yet. Bummer.
I honked again. Unlike my previous attempts, this time I did
get the driver’s attention, but not the one I was hoping for. Instead of him
waving goodbye at his friend, he looked at me and yelled some profanities,
which I will not share with you. Anger overcame me, I have to admit, and I also
yelled some profanities back, which, again, I will not share with you, dear
reader. At that moment, the driver waved goodbye at his friend and began to
drive away at the speed of shifting tectonic plates, in a clever move to
irritate me even further. I realized at that point that I was indeed dealing
with a driver who was irate and irrational. Not a good combination. I made a
U-turn and took another yet longer route to get to my supermarket.
Doesn’t this annoy you when it happens? Why block the entire
road when drivers could leisurely talk at a park or in the comfort of their own
living room? Why not park and chat? Why be inconsiderate and insensitive to
others? I was not proud of the way I reacted. When I got home later that
morning with half a dozen bananas, I did a search online about irate drivers. I
learned that anger on the road is very common, which means that we need to learn
how to deal with difficult and angry drivers. I learned that there are certain
things that I should not have done in this situation including insult the man.
Here are some tips for all of you lovely drivers:
1.
Do
not engage in a rant of profanities. If the driver wants to call you every name
on the book, please count to 10, 100, 259, or 1,948,001 if need be, but do not
engage.
2.
Do
not participate in a dance of hostile and rude gestures. Keep your eyes ahead
and ignore the angry driver.
3.
Remain
in your car, and if
approached on foot, roll up the windows and lock the doors.
4.
Do
not take it personally. As Don Miguel Ruiz wrote in The Four Agreements, nothing that others do or say is about you,
but a reflection of their own reality.
5.
If
you feel threatened, grab your cell phone and call 911.
6.
Additionally,
report the aggressive driver by calling #77 or 112.
Safe travels, everybody!
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