So, keeping your cool behind the wheel and ensuring the actions of other motorists don’t alter your own driving style. How do people do it?

I’m generally very calm and collected behind the wheel, and I only ask after an incident that happened yesterday has been playing on my mind.

I’m on my way to drop my car off at the garage when I approach an intersection at the end of a dual carriageway managed by lights. It’s very busy and there’s only about 3-4 cars getting through from each lane per cycle. As I approach the lights they’re still on green but with nowhere to go I stop as I don’t want to block the intersecting traffic (mostly buses from the central interchange) from the right when the lights go red.

So I’ve been stopped for about 2s when a girl behind in a Tigra, starts going mental beeping her horn shouting out the window and giving me the finger to move. I turn round and raise my hands as if to say where the **** do you want me to go like?! But she continues booting right off.

It literally took every ounce of restraint in my body not to jump out and start screaming and shouting at the petulant creature behind me.

Just before the lights went amber I spotted an opportunity to get across the intersection as I could see cars 5-6 ahead starting to move so I took off rather agressively leaving her sat at the lights.

Now if it wasn’t for her I would have just waited for the next cycle of lights and calmy completed my journey, so I guess I’m guilty of both not keeping my cool and letting others affect my driving style.

Should have reversed into her then accused her of running into you 😈

I’m getting better, since I got a big, slow, comfortable car , but driving is getting worse so it is difficult.
Tend to mostly just laugh at people these days – works doubley in that it winds them up more and stops me getting annoyed.

It literally took every ounce of restraint in my body not to jump out and start screaming and shouting at the petulant creature behind me.

You sound like you’re the one with the problem… 😉

Ignorance rules the roads nower days 😥

It literally took every ounce of restraint in my body not to jump out and start screaming and shouting at the petulant creature behind me.

Can you not simply get out, have (act) your rant at her, then calmly get back into your own car?
Works for me.

Driving brings out the worst of human behaviour IME. Forums are getting closer to that honour, though.

Didn’t the RAC once state that a little toke might prevent many road rage incidents and then retract it rather quickly due to pressure from on high…

You sound like you’re the one with the problem

well, gosh Holmes, maybe that’s why he asked for help eh?

You do have a choice in these situations – they’re the ones getting stressed, just let them get on with it. You can drive on being calm and content, they’ll be wound up for the rest of the day.

Blow a kiss and take your time…either defuses the situation of sends them over the edge….usually it’s the latter 🙂
I’m a master of winding people up and looking all innocent!

I agree with mrcrispy, smile and wave like the queen, make big elaborate gestures explaining that you’re really sorry but you can’t hear what they’re saying and maybe they should shout a bit louder. I’ve driven for a living for about 15 years now and in the last few years the level of stress and outright mentalness amongst drivers has increased so much. Is it the weather, the financial pickle,the fact there’s too many of us on the roads? Buy a slow steady diesel and watch the stress just seep away

I’ve always been a bit easy to wind up until recently. I had a bit of “robust debate” with another driver which didn’t end well for him. It got me thinking that I actually have a lot to lose, it was a stupid thing to do, I didn’t/don’t feel good, and although I didn’t instigate it, I should have drove away.
Since then I’ve made a concerted effort to be calmer, I’ll never flash lights, beep horn or give hand signals.
Not proud of myself.

Sounds like a comedy situation, I’d have been laughing at her, getting so ridiculously irate at something so trivial 🙂

Smile and wave, smile and wave.

Driving turns perfectly nice people into nobbers. It’s best to ride a bike instead.

Some interesting insights here. Laughing it off and ignoring her would probably have been the best course of action I feel. And importantly, not taking a risk in my own car by flooring it across an intersection.

I’ve got a slowish big comfortable petrol car which does help, however its getting traded in shortly for a slower comfier diesel car so I will see if the above theories work for me!

I totally agree the comment about driving bringing out the worst in people, it really does. It’s just so frustrating when people are completely 1 dimensional in their driving behaviour, this girl seen green for go and that was it for her even though there was nowhere to go. Guess I just need to accept the irrational behaviour seen on the roads sometimes.

I find that gross public indecency tends to break the tension

Ignorance rules the roads nower days

Nowadays.

Switch off engine, and switch on hazard flashers, pretend youve broken down.

or for real stop at set of traffic lights and actually break down, broken earth cable, switch on hazards, and phone AA, lift bonnet and wait for very angry woman to appear behind, sounding horn, flashing lights , and then finaly jumping out of car and banging on passenger side window telling me to move.
I calmly wound the window down and told her to go else where as i was broken down thats why the bonnet was up, she then went back to her car reversed almost into the arriving AA van.

Finally just saw a mototcyclist, hit by a car on a roundabout today, 3 police cars and 2 ambulances, i bet the driver will now be wishing he had waited.

I’ve got a slowish big comfortable petrol car which does help, however its getting traded in shortly for a slower comfier diesel car so I will see if the above theories work for me

Diesel does not necessarily equate to slow. 😆
Had a bit of a boy racer moment the other day 🙄 At one set of lights in town there is a dual lane which then tapers into a single lane after a few hundred yards. I am on inside lane, boy racer cruises up on my right in a 1.6 Astra giving it the blip, blip routine 🙄 sure you can guess the rest 😈

Totally agree re the standards of driving nowadays. I have been driving for 40yrs and the current mutters driving to and from the local college are some of the worst we have encountered. At a mini roundabout down the road drivers have been known to bounce over the white dot rather than give way ❓ I have been 1/3rd of the way round when someone straight lined it 8O. They had their window down as I did so I called “excuse me”…. They just smiled, waved and carried on :|. Luckily and for some reason I had anticipated the manoeuvre and avoided the inevitable collision…

You sound like you’re the one with the problem

well, gosh Holmes, maybe that’s why he asked for help eh?

Silly me, wish I was as awesome as you…. 🙄

Driving brings out the worst of human behaviour IME. Forums are getting closer to that honour, though.

I concur.

davidjones15 – Member
Can you not simply get out, have (act) your rant at her, then calmly get back into your own car?
Works for me.

Don’t do this you will end up knocked out or arrested.

I much prefer Dezb’s suggestion of laughing – if it’s a girl then blowing them a kiss usually works wonders.

Equally effective is to just ignore them.

BTW – by being considerate and not blocking the junction you did the ‘right thing’ so don’t beat yourself up about it. Muppets are everywhere.

wrecker – Member
I’ve always been a bit easy to wind up until recently. I had a bit of “robust debate” with another driver which didn’t end well for him. It got me thinking that I actually have a lot to lose, it was a stupid thing to do, I didn’t/don’t feel good, and although I didn’t instigate it, I should have drove away.
Since then I’ve made a concerted effort to be calmer, I’ll never flash lights, beep horn or give hand signals.
Not proud of myself.

So basically you’re wanted for assault/breach of the peace/criminal damage… 😈