SINGAPORE: Driving to make a living is not a joke in Singapore; it can also be very trying. Fortunately, one longtime PHV (private hire vehicle) driver has shared his best tips and tricks for staying sane while driving, in other words, how not to let the job, passengers, other drivers, traffic conditions, maybe a mix of everything or all of the above cause you to lose your cool.
u/SaltyShellback posted on r/Singapore that he’s been driving consistently for the last 16 years, with the past 8+ years as a PHV driver. He admitted that even if he feels drivers in Singapore have become less patient, more aggressive, and often distracted, he still calls driving one of his favourite things to do. And to spread some of these good feelings around, he decided to “share some tips for the less happy drivers.”
1. Have a pre-drive routine. For u/SaltyShellback, his routine revolved around breathing and relaxation.
“After starting the engine, just take 3 slow and deep breaths. Notice what your mood is, how do you feel, remind yourself where you are going and if you are unfamiliar with the route, take the time to go through google map’s turn by turn direction. Know that along the way, you WILL encounter kind drivers that you don’t notice, as well as a****es that will make their a**-h***ness known.”
2. Be prepared with a “mental game plan” for what to do in certain situations.
“What works for me is the following. I will always give way to cars who signal their intentions in advance, I will never tailgate, I will never use my horn in anger or act due to anger, I will always show gratitude to kind drivers by waving or signaling with a quick ‘hazard light thanks’, I will never DUI or drive tired, I will never use my phone while driving etc.”
3. Expect to encounter badly-behaved drivers.
When encountering a selfish or ill-mannered driver, “First thing is be safe and take immediate defensive actions such as e-braking and creating a larger safety distance… At the same time, take a deep breath and focus on what you are feeling. Don’t judge the situation, it is what it is.”
The bad driver “probably didn’t wake up in the morning hunting you down just to make life difficult for you. In fact, they could be really nice people just terrible at driving,” he added.
“Also, remind yourself that you are not perfect and have driven stupidly in the past before without noticing it.”
4. When people honk or make rude gestures at you:
“If you are in the wrong, say sorry and learn lor. If crazy dog bark at you, do you ignore or go crazy too, get down on all fours and start barking back?”
5. What to do in heavy traffic.
“Can you make the situation better or avoid it? If you can’t, just accept it. Put on 92.4FM and chill… being stressed out and feeling awful won’t change the situation. Now that you are driving slow, enjoy the scenery. Look at the trees and the sky, our roads are really beautiful. See if you can notice something new that you haven’t seen before despite taking the same route so many times.”
6. Driving is not the time to have serious or too-interesting conversations.
“Despite being a seasoned driver, I still get distracted when having normal conversations and end up missing exits.”
“Be kind and compassionate to yourself first and foremost. We are all not perfect, even with the best game plan, you are human with emotions and all, sometimes things will still get to you and you will make mistakes.
Hope you guys can experiment with the above and hope it will at least make your driving experience a little less stressful. Accept what is useful and reject what is not. Thank you for coming to my TED talk and have a mindful day.” /TISG
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