Do you see yourself as a normal person, considered by relatives, friends and acquaintances a nice, sociable and easy-going individual, nice to hang-out with, polite and well mannered? If your answer is yes, you may want to rephrase the same question, but adding ¿….while you drive? Surprising, isn´t? If you become a whole different person every time you are behind the wheel, you are suffering from the “Monster behind the wheel Syndrome”. A shocking 46% of car drivers admitted aggressive attitudes towards other conductors (obscene gestures, honking horn repeatedly, threatening tail approach, etc.); when asked about the motives of such behavior and what caused them the most stress while driving, 38% said they can´t bear other driver´s way of driving and 37% can´t stand other people´s rush. However, maybe the most probable reason people react in a negative way to other´s mistakes or provocations on the road is caused by stress, defined as “a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry or nervous. It is your body´s reaction to a challenge or demand”. Stress can trigger fury, frustration and preoccupation, which can lead to violent reactions. Some of the psychological and emotional signs that you are stressed out include depression or anxiety, anger, irritability or restlessness, feeling overwhelmed, unmotivated or unfocused, having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, having racing thoughts or constant worry, problems with memory or concentration and making bad decisions. While you drive, you may experience these signs of stress: muscular tension, accelerated breathing, increase of cardiac rate and blood pressure, sweating, mouth dryness and dilated pupils. These are the most stressed countries in the world according to Gallup Global Emotions Report:

1. Greece, 59%

2. Philippines, 58%

3. Tanzania, 57%

4. Albania, 55%

5. Iran, 55%

6. Sri Lanka, 55%

7. USA, 55%

8. Uganda, 53%

9. Costa Rica, 52%

10. Rwanda, 52%

One of the most stressful situations when driving these days are traffic jams; in big cities, a person can easily spend 42 hours a year stuck in traffic jams, being the Americans who spend more time than everybody else with an average of 50 hours of their lives caught in the middle of thousands of cars going nowhere. According to INRIX Traffic Scorecard, which analyses and compares traffic of the ten most important cities in the world, these are the 10 most congested cities in the USA and the average number of hours per driver in car jams.

Our car is an extension of ourselves and how we see us as persons, it reveals a lot about us and how we want to project our image. Our car provides protection against other´s reactions. Our car, our kingdom. When on the road, we are one with our vehicle. In the past years Goodyear and the London School of Science and Economics conducted a study associating each type of personality with the way of driving, and now we have seven different kind of drivers according to their behavior:

The teacher: They like educating their fellow drivers and then expect them to thank for their efforts.

The Know-it-all driver: They Know best and happily scream other drivers to let them know it.

The Competitor: These drivers will race you to a red light. Life is their race and they will keep you from switching lanes or hit the gas if you try to pass them.

The Punisher: They make it a goal of punishing drivers who misbehaved on the road. They will even chase you down to make sure you receive a proper chastising.

The Philosopher: A more passive driving personality, they remain calm and collected. Bad driving directed towards them is not taken personally and they view the road in a rational manner.

The Avoider: An avoider views other drivers as a hazard to be avoided. Foot hovering over the brake, these defensive drivers stay neutral and on guard

The Escapee: They escape the road´s frustration through distractions, like cranking up the music or chatting with a hands-free device.

One last question: ¿do you know what Amaxophobia is? Fear of being in or riding in a vehicle.