King Louis the XVIII once said that "punctuality is the politeness of kings." While this may be true, the sad truth is that most of us are not punctual. A few minutes may slip by and next thing you know you are speeding down the road to make it to your meeting or your dentist appointment on time. While we value punctuality as a culture, we often don't prioritize it as individuals. But studies show that being late can affect almost every aspect of your day in a negative light, including your driving habits.

When you are late for an important event, the tardiness can get to you. Anxious drivers tend to speed, and are more aggravated with others out on the road. This results in the tendency to drive aggressively, cutting others off or forgetting to yield in an attempt to make it to your engagement on time. The National Board of Road Administration did a study which looked at the way that time pressure affected bus drivers in America. They found that many truck drivers would counter their lateness with fast driving, in an attempt to get to their destination on time.

A study at the University of Alberta found that high-stress drivers were usually under higher time pressures. Immobility caused by traffic jams or red lights heightened these individuals' stress levels, making them irritable and more aggressive. Many states now have laws which allow police to issue a misdemeanor or a felony to an aggressive, road-raged driver. Police can pull angry drivers over for road-rage and issue fines or other punishments if they see the need to. Time-pressured drivers will run red lights, make illegal turns, deliberately cut off others, honk in protest, speed excessively, swear and yell at other drivers, tailgate, or commit other crimes in order to get where they want to go faster. Speeding kills innocent drivers every year, while other road rage actions cause all sorts of collisions and unsafe swerving.

In order to remedy your tendency to tardiness, you should make promptness a conscious priority. Set your clocks ten minutes ahead, and operate as if they reflected real time. Pre-plan so that you will be able to complete your tasks before you need to leave home. Wake up fifteen minutes earlier so that you will not be rushing in the morning. Remember, life always provides unexpected and time consuming circumstances, so give yourself a significant time buffer that can be used when you need that extra ten minutes to sew on a button or change your shoes or find your keys. Learn to estimate your time wisely. Overestimate rather than underestimate the time that it will take to drive to your next appointment, or the amount of time it will take to eat lunch when you're out on your afternoon break at work.

Psychologists say that certain types of "lateness" are situational, while others are psychological. Some people are chronically 10 minutes late and always stressed about it. One psychologist suggests that this lateness may be a manifestation of resistance. People sometimes like the rebelliousness of not bending to time and appointments. Other times, it may be that the late-comer is a "crisis-maker." This is someone who operates best when under the gun. Other people have a "one-more-task" syndrome. Instead of leaving the house when they are supposed to, they always attempt to cram one more task into their day. This is a major obstacle that prohibits timeliness, so next time you think of mailing that letter or doing a load of laundry before heading out the door, withhold the urge. With a more calculated plan for punctuality, you will be able to make it to work on time, while improving your driving skills simultaneously!