Are you someone who feels like there are times when you just can’t seem to control your temper behind the wheel?  Are you consistently appalled by how other people drive and can’t help but let them know about it?  If you are concerned about how upset you get behind the wheel or you have someone in your life you are concerned about who struggles with road rage, I have some important information for you.

Road Rage is An Epidemic These Days

It has been this way for a while now, but it is only getting worse.  As many people drove less during the early stages of Covid-19, they got back out on the road with driving skills that served to exacerbate the problem.  In my former hometown of Austin, the number of accidents and fatalities went up in 2020 despite the traffic rates going down.  In reaction to the hazardous or reckless driving of others, many people get upset about this and take it out on the road.  I have been in the ranks of those individuals myself, and have learned some things about it that have helped me and others to be less of a road-rager.  Sometimes it’s more a matter of seeing how others ignore the rules of the road and how unfair that is to others that’s the cause of road rage.  

The Causes of Road Rage

Whatever tends to set you off, the problem is primarily emotional.  Either you feel endangered by the driving of others, or you feel someone has unfairly cut you off or otherwise disregarded the rules of the road.  In the first instance, the primary reaction is one of fear and getting angry is an old hardwired reaction you have to try to protect yourself from danger.  So you honk your horn or shake your fist or make some obscene gesture.  That’s the first kind of cause of road rage.  The second is when you get cut off in traffic or someone fails to signal and you feel the unfairness of whatever just happened.  That results in a kind of emotional pain that causes you to get angry as well and do the same things as in the first situation above.  They result in the same thing, but are significantly different because of the emotions that are fueling them.  

How To Cope With Road Rage

1.  Try to avoid driving in situations where you are agitated or otherwise emotionally upset.  This serves to ensure you aren’t already in a bad frame of mind before getting behind the wheel.

2. Use some form of relaxation on a consistent basis.  One of the best and simplest ways of relaxation is to use deep breathing, or box breathing as some people choose to practice it.  Doing this regularly for up to 5 minutes at a time is probably the best way to ensure you aren’t inclined to go off on a ‘hair trigger.’  You may also be able to do this while you are driving if you get good enough at it.  

3. Only use your horn if you feel like your safety is threatened, not to express your feeling of anger or unfairness.  Some people may choose to not use their car horn at all, and you can do that if you feel it works for you and keeps you from experiencing or acting on feelings of road rage.  

4. Have a systematic way of processing your emotions that isn’t harmful to yourself or others.  One of the best and most popular ways to do this is by journaling, where you write and write as much as you need to about what you are angry about until you are able to end on a positive or neutral note.  

5. Talking to others who care about you about your road rage incidents:  spouses, friends, caring family members.  Venting can be very helpful in dealing with your incidents of road rage to help keep them from getting taken out on others or getting any worse.

What To Do If Your Road Rage Doesn’t Get Better

Sometimes using all the available resources doesn’t help with road rage and it becomes necessary to talk to a mental health professional about it.  I’ve been helping people in overcoming anger and irritability for my entire 12-year career as a social worker.  Often there are other problems like depression or PTSD that play into these issues, and treating the whole problem in addition to issues like road rage can be extremely important in resolving the anger and irritability.  I hope you will feel free to call the number at the top of the page or fill out the inquiry form below to get a free 20-minute consultation with me to find out for yourself if you think I can help you with your problem.  You’ve got nothing to lose, and possibly your life or the lives of your loved ones to save by preventing the consequences of road rage from getting worse.  

Visit our page on depression therapy to find out more about how Scott can help you with road rage. 

About the author:  Scott Kampschaefer, LCSW is a private practice therapist in Frederick, Maryland.  He has an extensive background in working with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder at a clinic for older adults with these disorders in Austin.  He now works with adults and adolescents 14 and up in private practice. His most recent book is titled The 5 Pillars of Addiction Recovery and is available for purchase on Amazon and in paperback on this website.