Article August 9, 2010 Issue

I REFUSED TO SEE A CRIMINAL

A prayer to overcome road rage laid the groundwork for protection from robbery.

BY CAROL G. SOLOMON

ACCORDING TO the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), it's possible that aggressive driving, often referred to as "road rage," accounts for about one-third of all crashes and plays a role in two-thirds of fatalities resulting from those incidents. I had a close call several years ago when I daily traveled one of the most accident-prone roadways in the area.

I found myself becoming extremely angry at the carelessness of many of the drivers, and a great deal of road rage welled up in my own thoughts. At one point I came so close to being involved in an accident that I had to pull off the road to calm my thoughts before I could continue the drive home. As I sat by the roadside that night, I realized very clearly that I needed to get control of this unloving thinking if I wanted to avoid deeper trouble and also do my part to heal this type of violence.