Driving Stress

Can you imagine your life without a vehicle? No? Then driving stress should be inherent to your life.

Driving is one of the most intensively causing stress activities. There is a very simple relationship which will help you see this objective truth.

Stress is caused by change! This is it. Nothing more! If you isolate yourself from the surrounding environment you will dramatically reduce the stress factors in your life.

And is there any change involved in driving? I would say driving is nothing but change.

Any single second you are behind the wheel you are exposed to unbelievably fast changing circumstances. In addition you are supposed to take into consideration all of them in order to avoid accidents, which in the worst case scenario can turn driving into a death causing activity.

How to Reduce Driving Stress

Definitely you can not stop driving from tomorrow on. However there are several useful tips which could be of great help in order to limit the driving stress in your life.

1. Drive smoothly and avoid sharp acceleration and braking. Aggressive driving results in constant adjustments of your body to the acceleration or stopping process. This loads your back particularly at the coccyx area. In addition aggressive driving results in increased fuel consumption by one third.
2. While accelerating, do not switch to high gear early. The lower gear at lower speeds let the car accelerate smoothly.
3. Maintain the engine in good technical condition. Most of us do not know how to repair a car. If the engine crashes in the middle of nowhere this would bring you not only a heavy bill to pay but unbelievable amount of worries and stress.
4. Keep your tires inflated to recommended pressure. Properly inflated tires are safer and have a longer life. This automatically means calm rides for you and less worries.
5. Do not hold extra stuff in the trunk and back seat that adds weight. This makes stopping difficult just because your car will be heavy. In an emergency situation every second and gram are important.
6. Use moderate air conditioning. Use it only in very hot and very cold days. The air conditioning may easily make you cold. In addition if it is very hot outside (up to 40 degrees) and you maintain a temperature of 20 degrees in the car, the big difference causes a shock for you body when you get out of the car. It has to adjust fast to the new conditions, which means energy consumption and stress for you.
7. Always use the type of motor oil recommended by the manufacturer of your engine. Any other oil will reduce the life your engine and will increase the chances of breakages.
8. Always keep distance to make sure you have enough time for smooth braking

Safe Driving to Reduce Driving Stress

You might think your car is safe enough as today additional devices are offered for improving safety but ultimately it all depends on the culture and behavior of drivers.

Before You go Advices to Reduce Driving Stress

Whether you go to see a relative or go on a long trip your car must be always in good working condition. Avoiding breakages is a great driving stress reduction strategy.

Most of us are not technicians but you can always check the following:

• Tires. Make sure that they are seasonal and that pressure is the norm. Especially, if you have not been driving for a long period of time. If you want to save this effort and at the same time, you feel secure whenever the drive, you can buy a TPMS device which is installed in the vehicle and continuously monitor tire pressure for you
• Oil. Owners of new cars do not have to worry about that for at least several years. But for older cars is good to have a mind to check the oil.
• Water. Your car needs water to chill the engine.
• Fuel. I mention it only to remind you that it is not advisable to experiment with poor quality fuel. This might cost you much, especially in winter.
• Take with you all necessary documents. Besides personal documents (identity card, driving license, and license) and documentation of the car it is good to have a road map and useful numbers event of an emergency or unforeseen situation. If you travel abroad, check whether you need additional documents - personal or car.

During the Trip Advices to Reduce Driving Stress

NEVER forget to put on your belt. Make sure that all passengers are with belts as well.

Speed. Personally I do not know a driver who strictly observes the speed limits. It is recommendable to comply with the mandatory rules when going through a city, often because children play on the street, there are walking animals or people crossing streets without paying enough attention.

Do not underestimate the usefulness of mirrors. Always look at them more than once. Be careful not to cut other cars which move quickly behind you.

Finally use hands free while driving and NEVER drive drunk.

If you take medication - check that it does not cause drowsiness.

Being the Winner on the Road

I would like to draw attention to very interesting aspects of human behavior while being behind the wheel, which unfortunately may result in a lot of driving stress.

Our mind can not exist without the body. However the physical body restricts its free movement in the open space. For instance if you want to go somewhere it is not enough just to think you are there and miraculously appear at the desired spot. You have to physically move your legs in order to get there.

What happens when we are driving? Especially if you have a car with a strong engine it makes you feel you can do whatever you want on the road. With a single movement of the wheel and a slight pressure on the accelerator you are at the desired spot. No pains, no worries that you have to walk or run.

This way your mind little by little starts getting used to this situation and there is real danger that you may loose sense of reality and think you may shift in space with no effort at all. This may bring a lot of stress on the road.

We always want to be winners. We always want to be strong.

The vehicle contributes to feel secure and safe, which however is a misleading feeling. Irrelevant what car you are driving you should always bear in mind that the car is just a machine facilitating our movements. Nothing more! It should not become a tool which we use to demonstrate power.

If you keep this in mind, you will contribute big time to dramatically decrease stress on the roads and save other peoples’ lives.

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