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So much road rage is directed outwards, at other cars on the road. It is always the other drivers, isn’t it?

Like, if you’re driving too fast, then everyone else is too slow, or if you decide to enjoy the ride, everyone else is a lunatic.

But unless your car causes intense anxiety because it scored a zero in a crash test, what if in-car stress (AKA the only driver you can control) is where the focus should be?

Nissan has conducted a study that reveals the most common causes of stress between drivers and passengers. The study is based in Europe (and used to promote Nissan’s latest in-car technology) but we can relate anyway, because a driver is a driver is a driver.

It turns out a great deal of that driving stress can be eliminated by proper planning with maps, music, and mindfulness.

According to the study, unsafe driving and mobile usage take the lead as the causes of in-car arguments.

The five leading causes of in-car arguments are, via BusinessTech, as below:

• Using the phone while driving/texting while driving (45%)
• Dangerous overtaking (39%)
• Last-minute braking (35%)
• Sudden or harsh braking unnecessarily (33%)
• Tailgating (32%)

It is admittedly pretty terrifying to see the person who literally has my life in their hands drop it for an Instagram notification.

More on the study, from Gadget:

Nearly three-quarters [72%] of the survey participants state that using the phone while driving or texting behind the wheel are together the worst driving habits and a large source of stress between drivers and passengers.

So yeah, phone usage is stressful for a passenger, and even overrides dangerous overtaking and tailgating, with 59% and 55% selecting these as the worst habits respectively.

Music and mutual interest in the music playing is also a big factor for a stress-free ride:

Safe driving (59%) and good music (55%) are the order of the day for enjoyment in the car.

Coming ahead of finding a good parking spot (24%), top tunes are prized over practicality for European drivers.

If you’re looking for a solution, do more prep before hitting the road. Otherwise, smart cars and technology can help:

Over a third of respondents highlighted the use of digital navigation aides as the ideal solution, followed by advanced safety features (34%) such as intelligent cruise control for peace of mind, followed by hands-free mobile phone technology (33%) and driving assistance technologies (32%).

It is only a matter of time before they add stats for sleeping in your self-driving car…

[sources:businesstech&gadget]