Staying calm on the road
Discussion
Hello all,
Reading through the forums here it seems there is no shortage of things that annoy us - tailgaters, dawdlers, lane hogs, people who can't maintain a steady speed, people who cut you up on roundabouts etc.
Often I find myself getting more and more exasperated on my drive home which can leave me in a bad mood long after I arrive home. So the question is, what do others do to stay calm behind the wheel?
Matthew
Reading through the forums here it seems there is no shortage of things that annoy us - tailgaters, dawdlers, lane hogs, people who can't maintain a steady speed, people who cut you up on roundabouts etc.
Often I find myself getting more and more exasperated on my drive home which can leave me in a bad mood long after I arrive home. So the question is, what do others do to stay calm behind the wheel?
Matthew
Interesting question.
I've just got back from a month of driving around Thailand and with the lack of any driving license, car insurance, death-trap cars and scooters driving on the wrong side of the road / straight across the road into your path - I interestingly didn't get frustrated or enraged once, but only 5 minutes back on UK soil I started to notice myself getting frustrated.
Very odd and I can't quite put my finger on why UK roads frustrate me so much.. I don't get angry or road-ragey, just frustrated at people's inability to drive.
I've just got back from a month of driving around Thailand and with the lack of any driving license, car insurance, death-trap cars and scooters driving on the wrong side of the road / straight across the road into your path - I interestingly didn't get frustrated or enraged once, but only 5 minutes back on UK soil I started to notice myself getting frustrated.
Very odd and I can't quite put my finger on why UK roads frustrate me so much.. I don't get angry or road-ragey, just frustrated at people's inability to drive.
Poko said:
Interesting question.
I've just got back from a month of driving around Thailand and with the lack of any driving license, car insurance, death-trap cars and scooters driving on the wrong side of the road / straight across the road into your path - I interestingly didn't get frustrated or enraged once, but only 5 minutes back on UK soil I started to notice myself getting frustrated.
Very odd and I can't quite put my finger on why UK roads frustrate me so much.. I don't get angry or road-ragey, just frustrated at people's inability to drive.
You make a good point - I drove briefly in Taiwan and wasn't frustrated at all by the apparent anarchy on the roads. Perhaps because there is the illusion of 'anything goes' you just learn to put up with it (there are rules there by the way - just nobody knows them), where as in the UK it is much easier to spot someone doing silly things and become affronted. So I suppose in a way it's a good reflection on UK driving that bad driving is still worth remarking upon!I've just got back from a month of driving around Thailand and with the lack of any driving license, car insurance, death-trap cars and scooters driving on the wrong side of the road / straight across the road into your path - I interestingly didn't get frustrated or enraged once, but only 5 minutes back on UK soil I started to notice myself getting frustrated.
Very odd and I can't quite put my finger on why UK roads frustrate me so much.. I don't get angry or road-ragey, just frustrated at people's inability to drive.
The water idea is an interesting one too, might give that a try.
My view on remaining calm on the road is to consider the act of driving as a professional activity. Something to do dispassionately and to the best of your ability.
I've been on no end of driving training courses - all of which I have enjoyed - and constantly seek to better what I do on the road.
Then, when confronted with the inevitable t
ttery of the British road system, one can rise above it, determined to make smooth, fast, and unobtrusive progress through the melee that others are making for themselves.
Be where the accident isn't. Be fast when it is safe. Be smooth. Find ways to make better progress - without behaving like the idiots - just by being smart.
Turns it into a challenge. Good fun. Much better for my blood pressure.
...and I still swear under my breath at the ones that seem to be trying to kill me....
I've been on no end of driving training courses - all of which I have enjoyed - and constantly seek to better what I do on the road.
Then, when confronted with the inevitable t
ttery of the British road system, one can rise above it, determined to make smooth, fast, and unobtrusive progress through the melee that others are making for themselves.Be where the accident isn't. Be fast when it is safe. Be smooth. Find ways to make better progress - without behaving like the idiots - just by being smart.
Turns it into a challenge. Good fun. Much better for my blood pressure.
...and I still swear under my breath at the ones that seem to be trying to kill me....
Purity14 said:
Dave Hedgehog said:
Sump said:
By driving a better car than everyone else.
Faster than everyone else 
Apart from in Italy, when i was doing double the speed limit through a village, when I got over taken by just about everything.
Then i learnt that in Italy you need to do 2.5 times the speed limit just to keep up.
Otispunkmeyer said:
for me, I used to just set cruise to 60-65 and then sit in the first lane. Let all the idiots get on with it. Invariably I'd be home about the same time anyway and I'd be more relaxed.
Very true; for me it boils down to just not putting yourself in the position of being in a hurry. I have also never gone anywhere further than my local town on a bank holiday.
When I realised that getting angry or frustrated added absolutely no value to my day or life. I just sit back and take in the sheer incompetence or whatever and ensure I'm aware of my surroundings so I can react accordingly.
Soothing music always helps as well. Anything heavy or fast will automatically make you more aggressive whether you realise it or not.
The most important thing is to get where your going without involving the police or aggro about insurance companies and damaged cars, such a faff to deal with.
Soothing music always helps as well. Anything heavy or fast will automatically make you more aggressive whether you realise it or not.
The most important thing is to get where your going without involving the police or aggro about insurance companies and damaged cars, such a faff to deal with.
On my 220 mile weekly commute from Lincolnshire to Hampshire, I always know the certain sections that are going to irratate me. The 40mpher in a 60 NSL, always gets me. I don't mind a 50mpher but a 40er just seems to take forever. Trying to time the drive to avoid certain bottle necks helps too. M25 is, well...
Edited by PaulG40 on Wednesday 23 July 10:05
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff