Flipping the bird (Road Rage)

Member Name: oioiyou

Product:	Road Rage
Date:	12/07/09 (61 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: none except releasing pent up anger and fustration

Disadvantages: more anger and fustration

When I first started driving I drove fast. I don't think I was a dangerous driver except for my speed. I was pulled over on the first day I had my drivers' licence for being over the speed limit! I think the policeman took pity on me as it was day one and let me off with a warning. Surprisingly enough I wasn't ever pulled over for speeding again (I should have been).

I am much better these days so don't worry about being on the roads at the same time as me! But I have noticed that as I have become a better driver the rest of the road seems to have gone crazy. I find myself often wondering if people are completely mad or just thoroughly stupid. With age I have not only driven slower but also used my middle finger more. Not something I am overly proud of but it seems to be an immediate response to deal with other drivers.

There is a roundabout I go on every day during the school run which makes me crazy. As you approach it the ground is clearly marked. The left hand lane goes either left or straight and the right hand lane merges into the left hand one or goes all the way around. Without doubt once a day I will have some nut in the right hand lane thinking it's their right of way to go straight and it drives me bonkers. I came to this roundabout the other day and was in a foul mood due to lack of sleep the night before and I wasn't in the mood to move out of anyone's way. Because of this I was nearly run off the road by a van who then flicked ME off! I usually speed up or slow down to aid the flow of traffic, not that I should have to as I'm the one in the correct lane.

I have in the past kept my middle finger and naughty words to myself but on some occasions they've escaped me. I was cut-up by another driver not long ago and her terrible driving caused me to slam on the brakes which then woke the baby with a scream! I wasn't pleased and at the next set of traffic lights I found myself next to her. A stupid little girl who could barely see over the steering wheel. She looked over and caught my eye as I asked what her ...... problem was?! She just starred at me as I continued to tell her she was going to kill some one the way she was driving and to cut it out. To her luck the light turned green so she was released from my verbal attack.

I'm not usually a confrontational person but when I get onto the roads and am face to face with idiot people who threaten my life and the life of my children I become an enraged mad woman with no patience.

On the motorway once a car jumped in front of mine with only inches of space. They had quite obviously not looked or I was in their blind spot (so still not looked properly). I gave a little honk to alert them to my existence and was then greeted by a finger. By the time I reacted they had sped off but I thought it quite amusing that my first response was a handful of swear words my mother would be ashamed to know were even a part of my vocabulary. Thankfully the older child was at school and the baby was asleep so I haven't passed on that language just yet.

I just wish sometimes that people would just drive as they are supposed to. Things would be so much easier! I saw one day that my normal route home was packed with cars and as much as I love sitting in traffic for hours on I instead decided to go another way. On the radio as I made my way home I heard the traffic come one. I turned it up to hear if there had been an accident or something but to my amazement the radio presenter started having a go at bad drivers saying that the only reason there was huge delays was down to people running the lights and blocking up the roundabout at the end of that road! For anyone waiting in the queue that must have made them a bit angry but it makes sense. I have often come to a roundabout and seen people crossing when there is no room for them on the other side and thus blocking another lane from getting elsewhere! I know sometimes if you are too nice and let people go they will start to take advantage and at those times by all means cross and block them from doing so.

I seem to be ranting now but it does make me angry the way some people drive and I have one many occasions wished there to be a police car near by to witness the goings on. Surely everyone is taught the same things? Do not overtake on a blind corner! Isn't that common sense? Look before pulling out of a side road! Know who else is on the road around you! And this last one is just from me ... Is there a need for so much thumping music that it rattles my damn car too! I'm sorry to go on but it is terrifying to think that some one without a care for safety could threaten mine and I'm pretty sure that this is the root to my road rage! I have become intolerant to idiocy.

Just to be clear my rant is not solely geared to younger drivers as there are just as many of us older folk who drive like maniacs. My poor mother being a good example of stupid maniac driver. I love her to bits but I have refused to ever get into a car with her driving again. She should be retested to be honest. If I say this to her she goes on about the 4o odd years she's been driving and what do I know blah blah blah so I don't bother saying anything anymore. Example being that this is the woman who saw a sign on the motorway stating that the next exit was the one she wanted and began entering the hard shoulder. I squealed at her to get back on the damn road. Her only response was that I was being silly and that was the exit lane! Lord help me she's losing it. Maybe in another 9 years when she hits 70 years old I can claim she's old and a bit gone in the head and have her licence removed (I don't think I'd actually be that mean but we'll wait and see if she gets any worse).

A friend of mine who is normally quite mind mannered and a lovely person becomes a bit of a racist behind the wheel. He admits it and can't understand why he gets this way but for some reason he has fallen victim to road rage racism. Thankfully he does all this behind closed windows so as not to actually have any unwanted confrontation.

My dad taught me to drive and one thing he said at the time has stuck with me always and that is when entering the roads just remember one thing ... Everyone is a flipping lunatic! Such a true statement.

I have thankfully never encountered physical attacks from other drivers in response to some road rage but a friend in school did. She was driving down a country lane in the late afternoon when a car came round a corner very fast and nearly hit her. She held her hand on the horn for a minute and her boyfriend stuck two fingers up at them. They continued along the road and within a few minutes noticed that the driver was now behind them and coming closer fast. She began to get a bit frightened by them. Her boyfriend told her to stay calm and stay at her speed. They were suddenly bumped by the other car. She apparently was fighting back tears over the fact she was scared and it was her dad's car. They got to the end of the road and turned into a petrol station. The station was busy and they thought it would be safe with all the people around but the other car followed them in. They parked at the front door to the shop so as to be in full sight of any cameras. Within moments the two people from the other car were next to them kicking her dad's car and shouting at them. The boyfriend got out and was hit a number of times before station clerks chased them off! What kind of world do we live in where people find this sort of behaviour ok!?! This is an extreme case and one that left me shocked. All they did was honk and this is what they got in return.

I guess the only advice I have is to be careful and beware but I think there is no stopping road rage.

As I don't like being such an angry driver and fearing other s I have given road rage the one star threatment!

© oioiyou 2009

Summary: Beware the road rage that goes too far!