Honest question- who here gets road rage when cut off by another driver or similarly endangered? What are some of the ways you've reacted if so?
I used to, but now that I have retired and the time-pressures and other pressures of work have disappeared I am as calm as a basset hound on Valium. But back in the day I would just sit on my horn and follow the guy (or *****) tailgate style, trying to give them an aural headache. Or at night I would follow them with my high-beams on.
I get cut off maybe 100 times a day minimum, if not much more. I could care less. I plan on it, actually. The way I see traffic is that no matter what it's going to be there. People are going to do dumb **** and it speaks volumes about who they are and what kind of a person they are at their core. Be it douchey or selfish, it says a lot about them. I, you, we could die tonight and guess what? Traffic will be there tomorrow and the next day and all days after that. We cannot control it. We can only control how we respond and react. So many people feed off of negative energy so when you blow them a kiss or make the sign of the cross to them (if they have the Jesus Fish) they don't know what to do. Don't let them control one second of your life. Ignore, go on and let them be. Take good music with you to jam to and you are all set. There is not a good reason to road rage and it's all your internal problem if you do. Check yourself.
I used to, now I tell myself that God had them do that to slow me down so I wouldn't get a speeding ticket!
I admire the posts here saying they blow it off- I wish I could say I do that all the time. Sometimes it really, really gets to me that some stranger may endanger my life or my car's paint because they feel entitled or more important than the rules. It's hard for me- though I manage most of the time- to not let someone know there's a person in my car and not a random chunk of steel as if we're on a racing car video game. My worst moments have involved middle fingers, high beams, lowering the window and telling them to f off etc... it never goes beyond that. Sometimes they talk back etc but these people are in a hurry too- I feel like just making them pause for a moment is all I wanted to accomplish so they know someone in the car they just tried to shove out of a lane is alive, pissed off and calling them out. This isn't something i'm totally proud about acknowledging but then again no reason to lie to you folks. PS- If you see mcbrett driving, don't cut me off. Just ask nicely- and I'll happily let you cut
big- Reading your post I have to think- you live and drive somewhere with friendlier people. I'd do the same thing if I were you and lived wherever you do. I think I live somewhere where old grandmas flip the bird and cut you off unless you tailgate the person in front of you. Let's call it regional rules..
mcbrett I live in Dallas lol. I'm not saying I've not encountered people raging. But i just always think, "dude, chill the eff out". I guess I'm just a friendly guy
mcbrett, I was thinking along your lines as well. It doesn't take too much to change the scenario to this: But when I did that, the car behind me, some gang-banger sporting his gang tats, laid on his horn a few times. We made eye contact through my rear view mirror, he threw up his hands as if she was asking "WTF?". So I too threw up my hands, honked back and did the "WTF" hand gesturey, we kept going back and forth honking at each other and throwing up the "WTFs" for about 4 times and then finally he just lost it and capped my ***.
I drive in Austin and log more road miles/time than pretty much anybody here every day. It's not that hard. I dunno, maybe it is.
I used to get really mad at people in traffic but I have pretty much let all that go. It's not worth getting upset over... I realize there are always going to be selfish people and idiots no matter what I do.
The first recorded (dramatized) instance of Road Rage was Oedipus... Don't want to end up like him, so I'll keep my anger in check.
I used to be horrible at road raging. Then I road raged on a nice car that had 3 thugs in it and was chased for an hour. I took a circuitous route home, and have not raged since. This was 2 years ago. I learned my lesson.
Similar to Rex's story above but not as bad. Guy in a truck tried to run me off the road and followed me as his girlfriend yelled at him. That was 4 or 5 years ago...
None of us are perfect. We all have **** to deal with. Sometimes a harsh judgment to an honest mistake can throw someone over the edge of rational thinking – especially if they are young and impetuous. If there is one thing people cannot stand, it is the unfair disrespect of them by another. We base our entire lives on getting respect from others. We work our asses off for money and excess - not because it makes us happier. This begins to go OT about the inner desire of humanity to impress society… Aristotle wrote on this subject, but I’m interested if anyone has any other philosophers they can point me towards. “Man is a political animal” – I think truer than Aristotle ever could have imagined.
Funny story. We were in Houston and my dad was driving. Some guy got ticked off at my dad and got out of his car at a stoplight and walked towards our car. It just so happened that my brother was in the front passenger seat and I was in the back with an NFL lineman. My dad rolled down the window and asked if there was a problem. The guy took one look at the lineman and without saying a word turned around and walked straight back to his car.
Only two things piss me off as a motorist, outside the obvious. 1) People who drive too slow, as in less than 80% of the posted speed limit, and 2) People who take way too long to pass through a light that just turned green.
Well, I know I tick people off. Near where I live a major road changes from 2 lanes each direction to one lane each direction. Most people during rush hour switch to the right lane way before the merge. I stay in the left lane which has no traffic. Some people like to play teacher and drive in half of each lane. I just go around them if there is no oncoming traffic. Either I suck or there are a lot of dumbasses on the road. What is your opinion? Should I change my ways?
I'm one of those guys that plays teacher I'm willing to put the rear of my car halfway in a dying lane to send the message- you should be a good boy and line up like the rest of us. In a corny way- driving is like those 'feel good' commercials on TV. The more you see people behave and be cordial- the more you want to do it back. And, vice versa. Thus, my road rage.
The way people drive says a lot about them, who they are and what kind of person they are. Drive douchey...be douchey.
Hell, I deal with it by rarely driving in city traffic. My commute is about 30 miles, but it's all on FM 20 between Lockhart and Bastrop. All I have to worry about is the occasional 20mph tractor.
I am a placid Buddha behind the wheel. I refuse to get worked up over ANYTHING. My resting pulse, blood pressure etc... are all very low. Stress is a killer.
