Get Out My ******* Way, You ****** (Road Rage)

Member Name: kenjohn

Product:	Road Rage
Date:	28/10/01 (318 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: See opinion

Disadvantages: See opinion

~ ~ The definition of road rage as given by the Automobile Association reads.

“An incident in which an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger, or pedestrian”

Although this definition covers a lot, I believe that road rage is a broader issue than this. It varies in its degree and intensity, ranging from the most serious crime, (killing somebody) serious and minor assault upon the person, wilfully damaging another persons vehicle, and right down to encapsulate the mild levels of frustration that many of us experience in today’s crazy traffic.
But make no mistake; it IS a crime, only being different from any others in that it occurs within the confines of the public highways. And it is punishable by law, just like any other common assault upon the person or property that takes place in the home, workplace, school, pub, or anywhere else.

~ ~ Frustration at the level and volume of traffic on today’s roads is entirely justifiable, and which one of us can claim with their hand on their heart never to have become totally infuriated when we are late for something through no fault of our own.
The chances are high that if you are a motorist or travel regularly as a passenger in a car, that you have witnessed an example of road rage, and probably felt a desire to perpetuate it yourself (or even done so!) on occasion.
And as more and more people become road users every day, road rage is on the increase, and beginning to become commonplace.

~ ~ I have to hand some statistics gleaned from “Triple A” (American Automobile Association) that show that incidents of “violent driving” have been increasing each year in the USA since 1990 at the rate of 7% per year.
A recent study in Australia came to the conclusion that nearly half of all road traffic accidents there could possibly be attributed to road rage.
And in the UK a
study by Lex Research concludes that some 83% of Britain’s 2.8 million company car drivers have experienced an incident of road rage during their working life. Off these, some 21% reported actually having been run off the road by another driver, and a staggering 18% had been physically assaulted due to an incident on the roads.
So statistics from all sources show that road rage is on the increase, and something we will all probably have to deal with at some time in our lives.

~ ~ As a taxi driver here in Dublin, Ireland, I cover somewhere in the region of about 40,000 miles yearly, almost all of these miles being in an urban environment, (ie. in traffic) and I can state categorically that I come across incidences of road rage on an almost daily basis.
Before I got into the taxi business, I was a salesman for most of my working life, and was almost invariably in a hurry, always rushing from one “important” appointment or meeting to the next, or trying to catch a plane to another city.
When I was employed in sales, I would have classified myself as an “aggressive” driver, who viewed almost everyone else on the roads as an inconvenience and an annoyance, put there simply to annoy and aggravate me personally.
I perpetuated nearly all of the major and minor sins that would constitute road rage, short of deliberately assaulting or killing another driver, or damaging their vehicle. (I was too cute for that)
When I came into the taxi game, I carried this driving philosophy with me, and for the first six months or so I went through absolute hell.
Then one day I was at a standstill in rush hour traffic in the centre of Dublin, and hemmed in on all sides by other vehicles. I had passengers in the taxi who were desperate to catch a plane, and my temper was rising at about the same rate as my blood pressure, as I cursed and swore at all around me, and shoved and pushed my way into any available gap in order to gai
n a few precious seconds.
Then suddenly a light came on in my head. I came to the realisation that in fact the only person I was truly upsetting by allowing myself to get so worked up and upset was myself, and that nobody else really gave a damn.
From that day to this, my driving style has changed dramatically. I now “go with the flow”, and care not for what is going on around me, short of avoiding an accident and possibly losing my hard earned and carefully protected no claims bonus. (Taxi insurance is VERY expensive!)
If passengers are late for a plane or an appointment I now look on it as THEIR problem, and not mine. Hardly a day passes that I am not asked, “I have to be at the airport in 20 minutes driver. Will we make it?”
To which my reply is, “Sorry. It’s a car I’m driving, not a helicopter. Not a chance.”
Now this may leave my passengers somewhat frustrated, but let me tell you that it has made a huge difference to me personally, and allowed me to survive in a business that I reckon I was on the point of packing up before I changed my outlook.
Don’t get me wrong. I’ll still use my extensive knowledge of the Dublin road network to try my best to get them to their destination in the shortest possible time, but I simply won’t take any risks or chances anymore in order to do so, not even on the promise of a big tip if I manage the impossible.
Now I simply turn on my radio to relaxing music (Lyric FM, the classical station, is my preference here in Ireland) and “chill out”. Whatever time the journey takes me, it takes me, and “when God made time he made plenty of it”, is my philosophy.
And you know what, it actually works!!

~ ~ That’s not to say that I still don’t experience instances of road rage from other drivers. I do, and on a regular basis. Let me give you a couple of quick (and amusing) examples.
One thing tha
t seems to raise the ire of the average Dublin motorist the most is the recently introduced bus lanes here in the city. These are dedicated lanes for the use of buses and taxis only, and a private motorist risks a £50 on the spot fine if they are caught using them.
They were introduced in an attempt to try and discourage motorists from bringing their cars into the inner city, and to try to get them to utilise public transport instead. (You never know, it might actually work, if Dublin Corporation ever get off their big, fat backsides and actually introduce a reliable and clean public transport system that people would want to use.)
These lanes make life for the taxi driver a lot easier, especially in the peak rush hour periods. I float along the bus lanes like a butterfly, while all around me private motorists fume and rage at the total injustice that is being visited upon them personally, and cast me looks that would turn me into stone, that is, if I paid any heed to them.

~ ~ Last year I was travelling down a bus lane when a driver in a VERY expensive and brand new Lexus decided he had had enough, and went to cut in (illegally) directly in front of me. A short, sharp beep of my horn discouraged him somewhat from such a reckless endeavour, but his temper (which obviously was on a razor’s edge) then got the better of him, and he swung in behind me with his headlights blazing and his hand fixed on the horn.
So I decided to stop to enquire what his problem was; suddenly I might add. He couldn’t, and clattered into the back of the taxi. At this point himself and his passenger sprung from the vehicle like two demented madmen, and began to berate me just a little for my “reckless” driving.
I simply stood there with my mobile phone clapped to my ear, and rang the nearest police station. By this time another couple of my fellow taxi drivers had stopped to act as witnesses on my behalf, and the passenger in the Lexus decided
to vent his anger at one of them for sticking his nose in, and went to “give him a dig”, as we say here in Ireland. BAD mistake.
It cost the driver of the Lexus £400 for the damage to my taxi (didn’t cost me that to fix it though!!) and an endorsement on his driving licence for careless driving, plus the considerable expense of repairing his own (far more badly damaged than my taxi) Lexus.
The passenger fared even worse, picking up a criminal conviction for assault, and a fine of £250 for his trouble.
A similar scenario played itself out with the driver of an equally expensive Porsche at a set of traffic lights a couple of years before this. He was the son of a very well known politician here in Ireland, (not saying who, but he was an ex-Prime Minister) but even this wasn’t enough to save him from due process, and he had stump up a large wad of dosh for his “moment of madness”.

~ ~ I use these two examples simply to show what can happen when we allow ourselves to get embroiled in the “road rage” syndrome.
The truth is simple. If drivers were to simply obey the rules of the road, and instead of allowing themselves to get worked up into a state of almost insane rage they were actually to try practicing courtesy towards other drivers for a change, then the traffic would actually flow MUCH more smoothly, and everyone would arrive at their destinations that bit sooner, and in much better humour.
Here’s the “mad cabbies” tips to avoid either experiencing or becoming a victim of road rage.

1) DON’T allow yourself to fall into the trap of taking traffic problems personally. Every other driver on the road is in exactly the same boat that you are, and despite what you might think, are not out to personally thwart you, and cause you undue delay. And try to leave plenty of time for your journey, leaving adequate leeway for even the very worst traffic scenario. If you c
an’t always manage this, then adopt a more resigned attitude towards being late. Use your mobile if it’s a business or important appointment, and inform the other party of your situation, or rearrange the meeting entirely.
2) If you do come across an aggressive driver, then avoid eye contact at all costs. If you personally make an error of judgement while driving that affects another motorist, then instead of trying to justify your actions, instead acknowledge your mistake by mouthing a simple “sorry”. It’s incredible the soothing affect that this can have on even the most fevered brow.
3) However tempted you might be, don’t make obscene gestures to other motorists. More than anything else, this is designed to drive even the most mild mannered and temperate of drivers into a towering rage, and capable of attempting the most drastic of manoeuvres in order to gain “revenge”. If someone makes an obscene gesture in my direction, I now simply give them a little smile, and if I’m in a particularly benign humour I sometimes even blow them a little kiss! (NOT the blokes though)
4) Don’t tailgate. Remember that in almost every instance that if you run up the back of another vehicle you will be held to blame, and that it can cost you very dearly in terms of money, lost no claims bonus, penalty points on your licence, endorsements, and last but not least, personal injury.
5) Try to use your horn sparingly, and only for the use for which it is actually intended. To give warning to another motorist or pedestrian who may not be aware of your presence. Aggressive use of your horn is almost guaranteed to raise the blood pressure of other motorists, and if you do it in a residential area after the hours of darkness, is actually an offence.
6) When driving on a motorway, use the overtaking lanes for the purpose for which they are intended. DON’T block other motorist’s progress because you co
nsider it to be the “fast” lane, and are already travelling at the legal limit. If someone wants to risk their driving licence by exceeding the posted limit (and to be honest, I do this myself on a regular basis, but that’s another issue) then it really is no business of yours, and there are dedicated traffic police and radar traps to deal with the situation.
7) And last but not least, try doing what I did myself, and change your mental attitude to driving entirely. Force yourself to relax while behind the wheel, and adopt a laid back attitude. I’m not saying that it’s easy, and there will be times when you “fall by the wayside”. But don’t let this discourage you. If you keep on trying to change the way you think, then it will become your natural state of mind after a time. The benefits to your temper and general peace of mind are manifold. I personally find that relaxing classical music is a great soother, and helps me to relax.

~ ~ I can’t guarantee that these measures will always be successful. We are all human at the end of the day, and even the most benign of us will become hot under the collar on the odd occasion. But they work for me about 95% of the time.
Remember that coping in traffic is a co-operative activity, and that if you behave co-operatively, you will be repaid in kind most of the time.

Summary: