Road Rage - Stress - Coping

[jaybird0827]

Everytime I get behind the wheels of a car and head out I find that driving is getting more and more crazy and dangerous... People are driving faster and faster, cutting people off, Almost side swiping people, tail gating, and just to hurried.

Lately, I get stressed out every time I get behind the wheel and head out to the highways. How are Christians suppose to cope with Road Rage, Anger, and Stress from Driving? It seems like it gets worst and worst every day....

Just the other day I was driving to Baltimore for wood pellet stove parts and found that I can barely drive the beltway system anymore without getting way to stressed.....


Any thoughts?

OK ... I will answer this from a Christian law enforcement officer's perspective; a perspective that has dealt with road rage from all angles. I have personally felt the anger that leads to road rage and I have personally been on the receiving end of road rage. I have taken people to jail for taking their anger too far. The one that stands out the most was a man that decided to point his Colt Python at the man that was tailgating him! I have also cleaned up the tragic scenes where deaths have occurred in connection to road rage.

Some of these suggestions have been mentioned above, but I'll say them again.

1) Pray before you leave that God will grant you safe passage to your destination. Pray that he will give you a patient spirit when confronted with the difficulties of other drivers and that you will bring glory to Him by your actions.
2) Leave your house way earlier than you need to. If you get to your destination early, read your Bible and pray.
3) Eliminate all distractions that take your attention away from driving (e.g. cell phone, make up, food etc.)
4) Know your route well. (Don't always trust Google maps )
5) Obey the traffic laws.
6) If somebody decides they are going to engage you in some road rage contest, do not get involved. Pull over and let them go. If they stay on your tail, drive them to a police station. If you don't know where a police station is dial 911 on your cell and update the dispatcher of your location until an officer gets there. DO NOT get out and confront the person. DO NOT get into some sort of driving contest with them.


Proverbs 14:29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.

... this as good advice as you'll ever get. If nothing else, #2 will always give you a less stressful trip.

In our home we implemented the 10-minute rule. You figure out when you have to leave and subtract 10 minutes. That was 25 years ago; maybe it should be 15 minutes now.

Also a plug for #4. That goes for Mapquest as well.

 

[Grymir]

Yes Thundaer, I invented the Bible Bazooka for just such occasions. You get behind the idiot driver, press the button, and the Bible Bazooka will fire a KJV bible, smashing through the morons back window, and land on the seat open to John 3:16, so he can read it. (This is actually from my younger years, shortly after my conversion)

 

[JBaldwin]

Something else that I have done in addition to listening to the Bible or music on cd. We often check out good books on cd from the library and listen to them while driving.