When push comes to shove ... would you behave in the street in the same manner as you behave in your car?
Most drivers will embark on the journey to enhance their driving by choosing to learn new skills and techniques to improve their overall driving performance.
The key to being a great driver however, is mastery of the mind.
The Core Components of Driving
The driving task contains three core components – Attitude, Knowledge and Skill.
In my experience the attitudinal element is left untouched, never thought about, left in the proverbial gutter as ‘not of significant importance.’
You’ll debate the merits of understeer and oversteer over a pint, but what about the truly emotional elements of driving – road rage, anger, tempers flaring, aggression and hostility. A drivers mindset affects everything we do when driving. We can be led astray and allow it to compromise our decision-making processes.
Day to Day
How in control are you of your emotions on a day-to-day basis? Are you able to restrain your responses irrespective of provocation? Do you need to prove other drivers are “in the wrong?”
It’s a simple question but one that needs addressing, if you want to be a great road driver.
Let me state this: poor driving attitudes and uncontrolled emotions contribute significantly towards crash causation and significantly influence road rage and hostility behind the wheel.
Revenge
Driver’s attitudes can be described as their ‘values and beliefs’ and how they ‘think and feel’ and ‘act and react’ to problems they encounter on the road.
Mood swings can switch people from friendly to total hostile in a split second. Once a driver makes the decision to retaliate, safety factors are forgotten and aggression rules the roost and any ‘safety critical decision-making processes’ take a back seat to retribution, revenge and ramifications.
Think about that. It’s a bloody ridiculous state of affairs! This is not how a great driver behaves. Consider this - “everything on the road doesn’t need your immediate emotional reaction!”
One rule for them and another for you?
When drivers suddenly switch into a retaliatory mode, their mind and their purpose enter the world of ‘anything goes’ and they suddenly become the judge and the jury determining what is wrong with other road users.
Their emotional stability becomes a melting pot of allowing their feelings to create mayhem and turmoil on the roads and they care little how it affects others on the road.
Is that you? Are you that driver?
Forgotten Dangers
To some degree, drivers don’t know they are driving in a potentially dangerous manner.
For example, tailgating might send a “much needed” message to the driver in front, but if you really consider the dangers involved, you’d drop back immediately. Unfortunately, it’s too easy to let yourself fall into the trap that this is acceptable behaviour. It isn't and never was, as you’re putting everyone's safety at risk!
Attitude is 70%!
Our attitudes account for around 70% of safety behind the wheel, with skill and knowledge factors, making up the remaining 30%. That offers significant opportunity for most people to improve their lot dramatically.
A forgiving and compassionate approach to other road users is vital. It contributes immensely to your ‘self-preservation’ and ‘survival safety’ on the road.
Nobody is perfect behind the wheel and we all make mistakes. Most are genuine errors, but some are emotionally driven - like the vast majority of drivers who ‘fly off the handle’ at the smallest provocation.
If retaliation crosses your mind, challenge yourself and ask: ‘WHY’ am I doing this ... before you do it!
Pause, create time to consider a defensive approach, instead of an attack mode response. Decisions made in an emotional haze, are generally negative and can be life-changing if or when things go wrong, as they often do.
Be the Master Driver
It is totally possible to make changes, starting your very next journey.
Don’t be critical, be forgiving, be the safety instigator, the peace maker if you will. Challenge yourself to inject safety into any driving situation.
Self-Evaluation
Evaluating your own driving safety performance has always been a great way of recognising your talents and become more aware of any frailties.
This is a good starting point for you to take control of your feelings and gain emotional stability - providing a massive improvement to YOUR safety!
Score yourself out of 10 at the end of each drive. Recap on the drive by asking yourself 3 questions:
1) What stood out on that drive?
2) How did it affect other road users?
3) How could it have been safer?
The key objective here is to observe, evaluate and learn to be better next time, instead of responding negatively.
Always control your safety irrespective of provocations or hostility. I constantly practice these ‘mental stability control techniques’ on every drive – these include the emotional, attitudinal and behavioural aspects of expert safe driving. Experts never get involved – instead they stay out of and away from confrontations on the road. They are the safety instigators. It’s how great drivers behave.
Set yourself a challenge and become the better driver who is able to deploy total restraint in any situation or circumstance when driving – irrespective of the cause.
By showing restraint to others misdemeanors on the road, you will be far more in control of your actions and reactions towards others, by staying calm and cool. Never get involved in irrational or unfriendly behaviour with others on the road.
Paul’s Top Tips for Success
Predict and don’t allow anyone to trigger your feelings and emotions.
Ask yourself if your current state of mind is ‘Fit for Purpose?’
Self-evaluate and learn from your own mistakes.
Give yourself time - stay calm and temper your frustrations and mood swings.
Enjoy the change; anger and frustration are largely avoidable. You can do this!
Paul Ripley
September 2024
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