How to Avoid Stress When Trapped in Traffic

Driving is always stressful in Dubai. In the endless traffic jams, there is nothing one can do, but tail the car in front of you…The more adventurous ones zig-zag between lanes, only to advance a few cars in front of the otherwise boring “tailers”…This is hardly worth the risks you see!

If you can look around and use the time constructively, the cars and people offer plenty of entertainment, provided you are one of those who find amusement in observing people and their behaviour….If you are not already, please read on for some tips on the subject.

The young and young at heart can coyly eye the beautiful girl in the car behind you …or admire the beautifully made up eyes that fill the rear view mirror of the car in front of you. This requires certain amount of prowess, something that you can acquire with relative ease.

The other exercise is to use the time for observing number plates. When people spend enormous amount of money in buying fancy number plates, it would be a sheer waste if you do not notice them.

If you see a number plate with a three digit number like A123, or C 999, or D789, which can set you back by a cool $ 250,000 – something I will take many years to earn if at all – you can safely assume that he/she is very rich and probably well connected; I suggest you put your middle finger to better use, even if he switches lanes without signalling. If it is a two digit number, keep your distance and a bit more, just to be sure.

Depending on the number, you may engage in imagining and even stipulating what your friendly neighbourhood driver would be doing for his livelihood.

For those endowed with more than normal IQ, the otherwise normal and boring numbers can be just as fun, if you can decode the number to a more “meaningful” sequence. Please recall the story of how Ramanujan – the famous mathematician – revealed the beauty of the number 1729.

For the lesser mortals like me, I would suggest they stick to the first exercise. Attempting to become Ramanujan may produce less than desirable side effects.

The time spent in traffic is also an excellent opportunity to catch up with friends and your ‘love on the side’…I wouldn’t recommend that you call your wife/husband as this can also cause undesirable stress. If you must stay in touch with your spouse, use the safer option of SMS. If you don’t have a casual affair already, I suggest that you seriously look for one for the sake of your own sanity.

The covers that adorn the spare wheels of the numerous off-road vehicles that ply on-road can also be an excellent source for amusement. The off-roader I was tailing this morning had a rather plain looking spare-wheel cover with a thought provoking phrase - “relax like a spare wheel”- advertising the Radisson SAS hotel.

Whatever the source of amusement, for those who have succeeded in mastering this art of staying amused in a traffic jam, the rewards are enormous. This whole exercise is sure to keep you from getting frustrated and stressed. No small feat when you learn that Stress is the numero uno cause for deaths in the world today. Yes Sir, STRESS is a major cause for coronary deceases, insomnia, hypertension, diabetes and even cancer.

Wasting time when trapped in traffic jam is better than wasting life!!! That bloody traffic jam is not within your circle of influence.

The best you can do is to train yourself to accept it!!!