The Two Fingered Salute (Road Rage)

Member Name: leahslad

Product:	Road Rage
Date:	05/09/01 (113 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Release of aggression

Disadvantages: Violent behaviour never solves anything

While getting a lift from my father the other day I was unfortunate enough to witness a rather tame act of road rage. I dont usually travel by car and not being a regular passenger I rarely see the incidents that seem to be increasingly frequent on our roads.

In the incident I have mentioned a car cut my father up as they exited a roundabout, he'd missed his exit and came and cut my father up to get back on the road. Travelling at 60mph the driver had no care for the passengers in my fathers car (namely me and my girlfriend) and as little care it would seem for the girl in the seat next to him.

My father drives a powerful car and soon caught this Metro up, beeping to indicate his annoyance at the stunt the other driver had just pulled. In responce we recieved a two fingered salute and the car then veered straight at us in a reckless attempt to frighten my father (god knows if the guy was thinking about us at the time). Little was he aware that my father has been a stunt car driver and is also trained in pursuit driving, my fathers response was simply to pull left and fishtail the offending driver, casually calling the police as he did so.

The woman in the car turned out to have been scared witless and the fact that (by law at least) children were in the car meant the driver was dealt a large fine and points on his license. My father was cleared of any blame.

This was just my experience but having seen news reports of people in America getting out and Shooting others in their cars due to road rage leads me to wonder where it will all end.

All figures seem to indicate that incidents are rising, certainly the number being reported are increasing and they are also getting worse and more violent.

Perhaps of more worry is the cause of the aggression in the first place. Many drivers seem to be getting a shorter and shorter fuse as traffic levels increase and driving skills seem to be decreasing in equal prop
ortion. The rush to get to work leads many drivers to attempt near impossible manouvres aswell as leading to a recklessness towards the fellow road users.

Quite what we can do about it is still up for debate. The police already prosecute anyone who commits a violent attack or threatening behavious but road rage in itslef is not a crime and the chances of reducing it are rather small. The big heads in Parliament have debated it but nothing has come of it, old Two Jags has attempted to sort it and failed and the police are losing control.

The situation isnt yet totally out of hand but it is getting worse as the traffic conditions and time pressures increase. Who knows what will happen in the future but next time you drive please remember, Patience is a virtue.

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