METRO DETROIT (WXYZ) — With all the orange barrels and traffic backup, it's hard to keep your cool. But sometimes tempers flare and it can lead to road rage. It's what's driving people crazy out on our roads, and we want to help you keep your cool before things escalate.
This all started after a viewer emailed me, saying the behavior of other drivers is driving him crazy. Dustin Thurston, a viewer from Northville, wrote me in email, saying in part "What drives me absolutely nuts while driving is that so many people are so aggressive on the road these days. And the thing is, I almost can't blame them.” He said he believes all the construction and back-to-work mandates make driving so frustrating. He ended his email with “I think we live in a very high stress society right now where folks can hardly get by, let alone actually find time to take care of their mental health and learn how to self-regulate.”
I took Dustin's concerns to a psychology professor at Wayne State University to find out what's really behind road rage and what we can do about it.
Watch Ali's report below
Road rage is becoming more common on our roads, and sometimes it gets so bad, it's hard to wrap your head around the behavior.
"(I've seen drivers) pulling up the middle finger, rolling down the window and throwing items at other cars," said Detroiter Tamiko Creswell.
“Speeding, cutting people off changing lanes like crazy," said Gary Goldberg from Southfield.
“What do you think drives someone to act that way?” I asked Gary.
“I wish I knew. I don’t know if they are just in a rush, or if they’ve had a bad day," he responded.
I turned to Tim Bogg for some answers. He's an Associate Professor of Psychology at Wayne State University and has 25 years of experience in psychology.
“Traffic is a stressor — but like most stressors not everyone is going to react to it the same way," Bogg said. “It also may not be controllable, and that is another factor of stressors that we are concerned with is, is there something you can actually do about it, and is there is no other way you can go and you have to be somewhere at a particular time you don’t have an alternative, you have to wade into those stressful conditions.”
Not feeling in control can be triggering, especially when faced with traffic backups or an aggressive driver. But the key is to be able to shift your thinking. Bogg told me that using distractions like music or podcasts can help reframe the stress. He also said to be mindful of your inner dialogue.
“Some of that you can try to reframe in advance, like going out on the roadway, nobody knows who I am on the roadway, I don’t know who they are right, its this depersonalized context so I can only remind yourself to only take things so personally.”
It's not only what's happening in your mind, but's what happening on the outside too. Bogg said something as simple as breathing can help de-escalate a bad situation.
“Deep breathing, and it sounds like a very simple thing to do, and it is, but it is a hard thing to do in that moment, but it is one of the more effective ways that we can start to regain some control over our physiology.”
Bogg says deep breathing can help decrease your heart rate and blood pressure, so that way, you don't engage, which is easy for Southfield resident Keneisha Spencer.
“I normally drive with my kids and I am always thinking about their safety, so whenever somebody does that I just slow down and let them go because I guess they’re in a rush, I’m not so you know I let them proceed," Spencer said.
Remember, you can't control what other drivers do, you can only control what you do. So relax and remind yourself that getting from point A to point B safely is the most important part of driving.
