Feelings change the way people drive – understand how

How people feel affects how they drive. Look at the faces below and think how each of them would be driving.

                                Worried looking man       Calm looking man       Angry looking man

Only one of them is going to be driving well, seeing the situation all around them, and making safe decisions. The others won’t be good hazard detectors or won't be managing their crash avoidance space.

People’s driving will change when they are angry, sad, worried, scared, very happy, excited, annoyed, frustrated, tired, embarrassed, wanting to impress and so on. The stronger the emotion, the more it will affect their driving.

Good drivers notice how they feel and notice how their feelings are affecting their driving. When these emotions are unhelpful, they breathe slowly and deeply to calm down, and try to think helpful thoughts.

Have a go at noticing drivers who look like they are affected by their emotions:

  • How could they be feeling?
  • How is it affecting their driving?
  • What real benefit do they get out of driving that way?
  • Has driving that way increased their risk of crashing or breaking the law?

If you are able to notice your own feelings and the situations that create them, you can take control of how you feel rather than be controlled by your feelings. Now that’s a good driver.