You’ve been stuck on the same mile long stretch of Route 340 for over 45 minutes. A sign posted about two miles back warned you (and those around you) that construction is blocking the right lane ahead. However, instead of everyone around you getting into the left lane then, they’re all riding the right lane up until the construction point, causing the left lane to be at a standstill.
For the first 30 minutes, you kept your cool and tried to find the humor in the dozens of drivers who figured they should be ahead of you, because...well, just because. Now, however, when it’s nearing the hour mark and you’ve moved 20 feet, you can feel yourself getting angrier and angrier with every car that passes you.
There has got to be a way that your lane can continue moving, even though the right lane traffic has to merge. So how can that happen, before you blow a gasket and begin screaming at passersby?
Kindergarten Rules Help Road Rage: Taking Turns to Prevent a Collision
Traffic can be irritating enough without people intentionally trying to push ahead of you in droves. The simple truth of the matter is that when traffic is down to one lane, congestion will get worse when the traffic in the blocked lane has to move over. This congestion can be simply handled by taking turns, instead of people pushing in to get ahead of everyone else. The taking turns method is simple:
- When one lane ends and the traffic from that lane has to get over, allow one car to merge in front of you; the car behind you should allow the next car in front of him, and so on and so forth. This way both lanes will continue to move, without the people in the “correct” lane (the one that isn’t blocked) being forced to wait for all the people in the blocked lane to get ahead of them
- When you know your lane is going to end, get over as soon as possible; do not wait until the last possible second to force your way over. Not only will this prevent irritation from those you’d be cutting off, but it will make the people in the other lane more likely to let you over.
- Lead by example: although other drivers may be oblivious to their surroundings, you shouldn’t be. If someone needs to change lanes, let him; if someone is trying to enter traffic, slow down and let him in.
- Be considerate! Although you may want to get home as soon as possible, the other driver probably doesn’t want to be forced off the road, nor have to wait for the one person who doesn’t want to get home to let him in.
Driving can be brutal, both physically and mentally. Try to think about how your fellow drivers feel before you cut them off, keep them from moving over, or cause them to have to wait even longer because you felt that you were more important and needed to get ahead of them. When you’re stuck in those situations, you can get extremely upset, so why do it to someone else?
Be considerate, take turns and remember to breathe. If everyone could follow these simple rules, there would be no need to have frustrations cause ridiculous and catastrophic rage collisions.
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