Holiday rage

“We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time.” — Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher The Nicomachean Ethics, Ch. 4, Sect. 5

HOW many people will you kill this Christmas?

Maybe none. But the coolest of drivers will, sooner or later, snap in the war zone of our city streets. If you drive, and if looks could kill, we could run out of body bags. The major cities, at this time of the year, also become shopping magnets. Bumperto-bumper traffic is a given. This plus a short fuse is what makes road rage just an expletive away.

Aggressive Driving. The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration defines aggressive driving as “the operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that endangers or is likely to endanger persons or property.” That, of course, is the definition of driving in Manila. In a driving culture where you get

honked at from behind because you’re not beating the red light, where stopping anytime and passing from any side is the norm and not the exception, driving aggressively is a matter of survival.

Road Rage. Now road rage is the escalation of aggressive driving into violence. It is a criminal offense. It’s when you take out the #6 iron and swing it into the other vehicle’s windshield. It’s when you pull out the Glock, point, and shoot. Road rage is when you make it to the tabloids the next day (“Mild-Mannered Motorist Cracks Open Jeepney Driver’s Head”).

health Costs. Unless there is a mind shift about city driving that’s consciously taken and applied, it will continue to be an unmitigated stressor. For instance, a passenger bus overtakes you on the shoulder just before you were about to turn right. And now, you are clutching your chest and not the wheel. Can it be angina? Angina pectoris is chest discomfort associated with myocardial ischemia. Myocardial ischemia is precipitated primarily by exertion and emotion So that just means, according to my Cardiology for Dummies, you are probably on your way to a heart attack. Unless you want to continue getting sick from driving, you must change your mind.

A Perspective Change. It’s this simple: you can’t win. If you are a private motorist, you can’t win against the tricycle driver, the jeepney driver, the taxi driver, and bus driver. Look, you are driving to get to and from work. For these people, driving is work. So from their perspective, you are peripheral. If you are not in any way contributory to getting those twenty peso bills from sticking out in between a driver’s fingers, you can go to hell. Perhaps this attitude of resignation can help you become more relaxed and patient. (I can be relaxed and patient too, but not yet to a point I can have the car horn permanently disconnected).

What Can you Do? My father, bless him, tells me it’s time to get a driver. I am offering the same advice to you. If your work means criss crossing town, indeed, why get stressed out because the jeepney in front of you is loading passengers on the inner lane? So,

Get a driver and pass on the stress. Now if you can’t get someone to drive for you, other tips are:

• Allow plenty of time to get to your destination.

• Don’t drink and drive. Period.

• Stop texting! or fiddling with your cellphone while driving because you reflexively SLOW DOWN and may likely irk the driver behind you!

• Keep your driving space as relaxing as possible — adjusted seat, air-conditioning, music, etc. (caveat: Pachelbel can make you sleepy while Slayer et al. can make your driving more aggressive than usual).

• In a traffic jam, take deep breaths.

• In a traffic jam, massage your arms and shoulders and stretch your neck.

• Take public transportation, if you can.

• “Kill them with kindness,” is as Filipino as waving when let through, and smiling when NOT let through (but I do have a difficult time distinguishing a smile from a snicker).

Thinking about city driving is about our health too. Unless you are working from home, driving is inescapable. There must be ways to drive without getting sick, getting injured, or getting killed.

This Christmas, apply the holiday’s festive spirit by keeping your cool behind the driver’s wheel. It could save other lives – or yours.

We praise a man who feels angry on the right grounds and against the right persons and also in the right manner at the right moment and for the right length of time.