Defuse rage on highway

COOL HEAD: Your own internal cab traffic light keeps you from getting angry.

WELL it's just about that time of year again for the annual migration of half the population, otherwise known as the Christmas holidays.

The traffic volume greatly increases and the capabilities of the road network are pushed to the limit, not to mention a lot of professional drivers' tempers.

We see it happen every year. These drivers who have proven their ability to command a motor vehicle to the traffic authorities by being able to parallel park and use blinkers on roundabouts are let loose on the nation's highways and roads.

Normally with the family car or four-wheel drive overloaded with not only the family but every item that they need to survive the holidays and totally oblivious to the demands and risks of travelling on the highway network at its busiest.

I have always described a motor vehicle licence as a License to Kill, and if that is the case then the Christmas holidays could be sadly described as Open Season as the high road toll over this period is a grim reminder of how all motorists do not take the task of driving seriously enough, with little or no consideration of the consequences.

This is when we as professional drivers need to not only be alert at all times, but need to anticipate other motorists' mistakes before they occur to help avoid accidents and tragedy. It is a time to lead by example.

The most important thing a professional driver can do to handle the situations that they are faced with during this period is to keep their cool and to remain calm and collected.

I know it's hard to do when we are continually faced with the actions of others who drive erratically or with no thought or care for other road users, so how do we remain calm and collected?

A simple tool that I use is the Traffic Light - three coloured dots (red, yellow, green) placed in the top right hand corner of the windscreen just out of my main vision.

You can buy a pack of these dots at any newsagent or retailer for less than $2 and they serve as a visual reminder to run through a process to calm down if you get flustered or a bit hot under the colour while driving.

This is not my invention but a clinical process that I learned from a health professional and is also used to help control anxiety, depression and anger.

It's a very simple system to use.

If you start to get angry or upset at a situation, the red dot serves as a reminder to stop what you are thinking about.

After you have stopped thinking about what is upsetting then you move onto the yellow dot. The purpose of the yellow dot is to make you think about what is upsetting you in a logical way and to analyse why you are getting upset and what positive course you can take to rectify the situation.

The green dot then serves as a reminder to move on and think about something else that will get you back to a good mood, and really it's whatever floats your boat. It could be the wife or kids, fishing, hobbies or any other activities or thought that will get you back into a good mood.

The last thing that we want to be dealing with at any time is the repercussions from an accident, incident or road rage that could easily have been avoided and this simple tool can help avoid you escalating a situation and possibly defuse it.

Make the pledge to yourself for the 30 days of Christmas to arrive home safely. Finally a big thank you to Big Rigs readers for their support and feedback this year.

I hope you have enjoyed my column and found it helpful. Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year.