Driving in the DC and Baltimore areas, I find offers very clear examples of the law of cause and effect almost immediately. Typically, whenever I am cut off by another driver, it is usually only a moment or two before that driver is then cut off by someone else. I can honestly say that as I learned to accept that nothing I do, say or think will change the (sometimes horrible, but mostly just selfish) driving habits of others, I became more relaxed and less concerned by the sometimes very irresponsible behavior of others.

Yes Zach, sure does. Other than attending to my driving, I enjoy helping other drivers as much as I possibly can. On many occasions I go way beyond necessary to do this. The surprised look on the other drivers faces is enough for me to say, yes, I have enjoyed my drive today. and great to feel that I have treated other drivers, as I would wish them to treat me........

I just try to minimize my impatience and to have consideration for the rights and feelings of other drivers.

i am driving as a european in australia - that in itself is quite a challenge in patience, humor & forgiveness. i think i passed the test, moving amongst the folks with entitlement to drive freely in whichever direction without indicating. ... & i keep passing it...

i learned patience on the freeways out there. I use to drive for a living out there. I would drive from San Clemente to Orange at like five o'clock five days a week for months. the 5 to the 405 just past the 55, maybe 57 interchange. I sat there and I would just get so frustrated, and then I stopped caring. I found if I kept several car lengths be hind the car in front of me I wouldn't be so tense. I started buying cassette tapes to listen to. Sit there listening to the radio. Now its a rather fond memory.

Being an L.A. native, born and raised, I'm still working on tolerance; haven't got to compassion, yet, when it comes to traffic, anyway. But, when it comes to compassion, the homeless community there deserves an ocean of it. There's a place to start.

It does with me. In traffic, I try to just relax and know that everyone else is in the same predicament. Jut go with the flow and stay calm .

Definitely something to aspire to! Traffic's pretty bad on the east coast too...especially here in the Baltimore/DC area.

My version of the same thing: Make a game of "Describe a scenario that would legitimately make someone become that a-hole." Those scenarios usually involve alien abduction, lousy sex life, racing to visit a dying child in the hospital, or severe diarrhea cramping.

LA traffic certainly does require patience! It also requires courtesy -- letting someone merge in, yielding the right of way often, and so on.

But if compassion requires that I make favorable assumptions about why my fellow Los Angeles drivers do the things they do, well, let's just say my compassion is imperfect.

Bigtime. Buddhist, here: compassion is my jam.