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
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.
I remember when I lived in Sheffield I used to drive home to Cumbria every weekend. Because I'm male I used to time it and drive it at different speeds. When I used to hammer it I could shave off maybe 15 mins, usually bad luck would end up with me stuck behind some 40mph daydreamer anyway, and for all the extra fuel/stress I did question myself what I was actually rushing back for anyway. Unfortunately it took its toll on my 1.3 Polo and the head gasket went on the way down there one weekend, I got a lift home and got a dodgy scrap dealer from the North East to take it away from Scotch Corner 
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