Few people get as angry as they do when they are behind the wheel. The common term for it is "road rage," and judging by the expletives that some normally calm people can dole out when encountering discourteous drivers, the term is not too far off the mark. Students are not exempt from the effects of road rage, whether they are the ones receiving the verbal abuse and vehicle harassment or the ones dispensing the vehemence. Those who must commute to campus on a regular basis are especially liable to encountering nightmarish traffic conditions, but luckily, there are ways to lessen the drag of driving to campus.
There are many theories behind why normally quiet people become so angry when they are putting the pedal to the metal, but the simplest explanation is one of miscommunication. Unlike in the streets, where people who are accidentally discourteous can quickly apologize to one another through something as little as a meeting of the eyes, there is no way for big, hulking vehicles to "apologize" for their actions. As a result, every driver who accidentally cuts someone else off or drives too slow or too fast appears to be doing so intentionally, and worse so, appears to be acting out of malice. The instinctive response for such ill behavior then is anger on the wronged party’s part. Many students who drive to campus do so three to five times a week, putting them at constant exposure to bad driving and ill tempers.
The best way to avoid bad driving conditions that are conducive to road rage is to avoid driving when there are many people around. This means that you should sign up for classes that would allow you to drive on the road either before or after rush hour traffic. Heavy traffic conditions make for worse commutes, so if you can, make it so that your commute times are during lighter traffic hours. It will not only make your commute shorter, but it will also prevent you from encountering too many other vehicles. If you cannot avoid driving during rush hour, be sure to give yourself plenty of time for the longer commute. Driving is much more stressful when you are running late, so give yourself more time to reach your destination.
As you drive and encounter other drivers on the road, try to remain calm, collected, and focused. Do not succumb to rage whenever someone does something discourteous because you never know what kind of driver you are dealing with. If someone else harasses you as you drive, remain calm and get out of their way as soon as you can. You do not want for that person’s road rage to potentially ruin your day or cause physical damage to your vehicle.