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I CAN’T
help but share with you this very interesting short
article which could possibly lead to better driving if
all motorists would follow the tips enumerated in it.
Read on and tell me if this also happens to you.
“With
more and more people in the world and in the work force,
roads are becoming increasingly crowded. Inside our
metal boxes, we’re not always as polite as we would be
to one another face to face, and when we’re all
frustrated with traffic, sometimes people make mistakes
or pull impolite driving maneuvers, which can lead to
anger from other frustrated drivers. This often results
in road rage, which can pose a significant threat to
health and safety for everyone on the road.
“People
experiencing road rage may face increased health risks
that come from high levels of stress, tension and anger.
These episodes of acute stress may become chronic
stress, which leads to many negative health outcomes. In
addition to the toll stress takes on the ‘rager’s’ body,
the increased risk of a car accident due to road rage
puts all drivers at risk.
“By
being a courteous and defensive driver, you can cut down
the level of frustration you might cause other drivers,
doing your part in keeping road rage at bay. But if you
yourself experience road rage, here are some techniques
you can use to stay calm in the car:
“Breathing exercises can help you cleanse your body of
stagnant air and stale energy, getting your blood more
oxygenated and, of course, releasing tension. Focusing
on your breathing brings your attention inward and makes
frustrations seem more removed, without taking your
focus too far away from the road. Listen to music or
audio books. Music can subtly color your experiences,
adding an exciting soundtrack to your commute. Audio
books can supply you with a mild distraction that can
make your drive enjoyable enough that you find annoying
drivers and bumper-to-bumper traffic less frustrating.
Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Deep Muscle
Relaxation. When you’re frustrated, you store the
tension in your body. These techniques will help you
learn to quickly release the tension you’re carrying,
even as you sit in the car, which will help you feel
more physically and emotionally relaxed. Use
cognitive-behavioral interventions like Counting Idiots.
Basically, if you accept that a certain amount of people
are going to make fools of themselves on the road, and
decide to make a game out of counting them, you can cut
down on the stress you feel in response to their rude
maneuvers. Manage your time wisely. Often, when we’re
frustrated on the road, it’s because we’re in a hurry
and can’t get there quickly enough because of traffic.
Organizing your schedule so you can leave earlier, and
planning for traffic, can leave you feeling more relaxed
because it really won’t matter as much if the trip takes
a few extra minutes.”
****
HERE’S
another reaction to that recent school-bus issue we had
coming from a reader:
Dear
Andy,
A more
reasonable way, I think, of handling the multicar
sticker issue is for the school to charge the regular
cost for the first sticker and just the cost of the
sticker itself for the second and third stickers. And
parents could agree to such an arrangement, I think.
Regards,
Raul F.
Borjal
Vice
President
First
Asia Venture Capital Inc.
****
THOSE
who are planning to buy a new car, but are unable to get
the necessary funding, might want to look into
Philippine Savings Bank’s new auto loan, which promises
simplicity in terms of application turnaround.
The new
PSBank Auto Loan, which is available from the country’s
second-largest savings bank in terms of assets, makes it
easier for consumers to own a brand-new car due to its
unique signature verification system that allows the
bank to process loans faster in terms of credit
investigation and transaction.
It has
flexible payment terms of monthly amortizations with a
convenient mode of recompense, such as postdated checks,
over-the-counter or automatic debit arrangement.
Applicants can avail themselves of it by submitting a
completely filled-out application form and photocopies
of the following: latest certification of employment
indicating position, tenure and compensation; latest
full-month pay slip or ITR and Form W2; valid ID
(driver’s license, passport or company ID); and latest
billing statement indicating home address (electric,
water or telephone). For self-employed applicants,
include bank statements for the last six months,
business registration and mayor’s permit. For more
information, contact the auto loans division at
885-8208, locals 8213, 8223, 8325, 8512, 8675, 8677 to
79, 8681 to 86, or visit any PSBank branch.
THAT
recent harrowing experience by our colleague, Ron de los
Reyes, at the hands of the authorities should be
condemned and investigated thoroughly.
I have
known Ron, a veteran journalist, since our days in the
Sports Communicators’ Organization of the Philippines
(Scoop). He is one of the most respected guys in the
motoring beat.
Ron got
the big scare of his life not on the battlefront or on a
street corner of Manila but in the comfort of a movie
theater while attending a press screening of a popular
movie on June 27 in Cubao together with his two sons.
They were invited by General Motors Philippines, whose
cars were used extensively in the film.
Ron
recounted the incident:
“In
previous press screenings that I attended, most of the
organizers provided press kits and VCD or DVD copies of
the film’s trailer or plug, thus, I did not have to
worry about video clips from the film [examples are
Transporter 2 and Herbie]. For this press
screening, there were no press kits given to the media.
“Even at
that time, I was thinking of including a news item on
the event in my TV show whose editing for the Saturday
[July 1] airing would start the following day [June 28].
In fact, I already had a lead sentence for the news
story, something like ‘Several celebrities and media
personalities attended the press screening of the
much-awaited movie.’ Then I would probably segue or
insert it with cars that are seen in the film.
“After
about 15 minutes into the film, I saw a car scene in a
junkyard and highlighted was a car that looked like a
Camaro and maybe the producer’s instinct in me prompted
me to take a video of the scene from my handycam. In my
mind, maybe I could use the clips as fallback video
inserts in case the distributors or GM could not provide
me a material at the soonest time possible [as I was
targeting it for the Saturday (July 1) telecast] but it
would still depend if I can get clearance and if the
quality is good. I estimated I’d probably use only
about five to eight seconds from the four-minute or so
clip I could gather for a short 20-second news item.
“I
turned on the recorder maybe two or three times when a
car would appear on the screen and it was at this point
that a house security noticed what I was doing.
“The man
approached me and asked if I could go with him
downstairs and this is where I realized that I may have
made a poor judgment of using my handycam inside the
movie house.”
Ron was
confronted by a rude-mannered officer of the film
distributor and taken to a nearby police station when
all he did was to perform his job as a journalist asked
to attend a press screening and even help in its
promotion. The experience left a major trauma on Ron and
his two sons while they were completely humiliated and
his rights were really trampled upon. His blood pressure
shot up and he nearly passed out because of it. The film
distributors even illegally confiscated his equipment
and have not returned it to him since then.
Is this
the way to treat a respected journalist who is just
performing his job? A thorough investigation must be
done here and we really stand by our colleague against
the harsh treatment that he had to endure from a
disrespectful and supposedly schooled official of a film
distributor right in the heart of a supposedly peaceful
and quiet business enclave of Gateway Mall in Cubao. |
