Road rage rant (Warning, swearing..)

Chris,

Here are my thoughts......... You are a new driver so be careful and use caution. I've been driving 22 years and people are more aggressive and less tolerant then ever. I don't see it getting better, so try to drive at less congested times, put on some good tunes on the radio, and don't let these jerks get to you........ If you do get confronted contact the police. They will get to you FAST. They take road rage seriously and they know how this can escalate. Take down the tag numbers and report it so they will be placed in the computer if it happens again it will show the history. Don't play with these people they watch to many movies and don't think about their actions until they regret them.

Next, tell your dad you need an Enzo so people won't mess with you..........

 

The short answer is, it has nothing to do with you, your father or your driving.
Those guys clearly has got some serious issues and unfortunately they relieved their feelings on you.

Those guys are A$$HOLES!

/Peter

 

Your dad should not worry about flicking the guy off. It's not against the law. It's not smart, but the police should just brush that off. They are worried about assault and battery. If this person turns around, changes direction to confront you, you should act quick. No offence to your dad but he put your life in jeopardy and he should have been man enough to not worry about what happened with his actions.

As for you --------- Be very careful merging into traffic. It is one of the easiest ways to upset an irritated driver.

 

Best thing to do is avoid a jagoff like that. Go around the block?
But if cornered....you have to stand up and deal with it.

DL

 

Maybe he knows you're on F-Chat, and since I'm his daddy, he took it out on you.

It could happen.

 

Chris: In both of the situations you described here, the other drivers were wrong to lose their cool, but in both cases, you and your dad were guilty of what I would describe as bad driving etiquette.

In both cases, you disrupted the normal flow of traffic and put other drivers into a dangerous position where they easily could have been rear-ended by someone who was not paying close attention. If you think about it, if the guy behind you had politely stopped for you, then someone rear-ended him, he would have been SOL even though he didn't do anything wrong.

Sorry, but in my opinion, in cases like you illustrated here, the proper course of action would be to go around the block, like darth said.

 

It would be great if you recognized your fault.

First situation ... just don't frickin stop in the left lane of what you call a highway! If it's a city boulevard now that's different. Still ... the guy was a freak, but stopping in the left lane is generally dangerous (again, I do not know specifically your road).

2nd situation ... think before you do! What's so bad about going further and doing a U-turn?

Yes, the people freaked out and are idiots, but damnit! Do your part to avoid that behavior! Road rage is an interaction! You did wrong. As much as they did. Next time do your part!

Road rage, yes, but you provoked it pretty nicely.

Sorry if I sound harsh ... but open your eyes and ask yourself "uh ... didn't I really *uck up somewhere?". Everyone does mistakes, try to learn from them!

edit - Miltonian beat me to it ... damn! Should type faster!

 

A simple rule of thumb: "Finish your mistake, then correct it."
If you cannot safely make a left hand turn across traffic, proceed past the intersection that you want to turn at and make a U turn by turning into a property on your left and, when it's safe, re-enter the highway.

Unfortunately, there are pinhead drivers almost everywhere. If you drive more considerately, if may take you one minute more, but you won't p_ss off other drivers.

 

I think it demonstrates just how wound up people are these days. Pressures of money, work, economy, kids and family etc. Don't take it personally and try to remember not to antagonize a time bomb or you'll be on the receiving end of some whacko.

 

I get peeved at other drivers when they appear to be dumb and/or inconsiderate.

In the first situation, if the driver was not all the way in the left of his lane, I would be a little ticked. If he/she was waiting for a HUGE space instead of zipping in the first chance they got, that would tick me off too.

There is a similar one-lane-per-side road I travel along to work each day. The speed limit is 45, but everyone goes 50-55. I occasionally get stuck behind someone going 30-35 and it's infuriating. They either don't see the huge line of cars forming behind them or they don't care. And they don't pull over to let people by either. This is a 10 mile long road so if you get stuck behind someone, you're screwed. There is a center turn lane on this road. It's signposted all along as "center lane for turn only". But only about 20% of people use it correctly. What I do is move to the center lane while still at full speed, then brake to where I'm making my turn. Seems like half the people using it slow all the way down and get in the lane at the last second (dumb) or they stay in the driving lane which is infuriating.

Regarding the situations posted, I don't believe the guy got angry for nothing. I've never seen road rage for nothing - for some reason, the guy got angry and its probably because of something you did wrong (or he perceived to be wrong). He probably took it as a "screw you I'm gonna do what I need to do" type of thing and the flicking him off was the last straw.

Maybe you weren't moved over all the way. Maybe you put your blinker on as you were coming to a stop instead of before. Maybe you were turning on a double yellow - I have no idea. But I don't believe the simple act of slowing down set this guy off - no way.

 

My friend Cal's foreign auto repair shop was in EXACTLY the same layout as the pool shop you illustrate in your first diagram - 4 lanes of traffic, no turn lane in the center, 50 MPH speed limit. You could be in his shop any day and hear the squeel of brakes from near accidents caused by people doing the turn exactly as you were doing. There were numerous rear-enders out there. You could see long skid marks in both directions. It was very, very dangerous. Cal and his wife and his employees knew how dangerous it was, and would NEVER stop in the traffic lane to make the turn unless it was clear to proceed. Finally, the highway department took the matter in hand and widened the road, adding a turn lane.

The point is that you may have been careful and legal in what you did (unless there was a "do not cross" stripe in the road), but you put yourself into a dangerous position and you potentially put the guy behind you into dangerous position. The key is FLOW OF TRAFFIC. You disrupt the flow of traffic, you increase the odds of an accident. You say "there is no other way of doing it". I respectfully submit that there probably is another way - maybe not as quick, but safer.

Again, whatever the situation, road rage isn't the solution.

 

So you did nothing wrong? Do they have common sense classes?

We are a bunch here telling you stopping on the left lane of a highway is annoying and dangerous, and you just say "I did nothing wrong". The guy was at fault, so were you for provoking such happening. Did he have to confront you? Hell yes! But he should have calmly said "I believe stopping in the left lane of a highway is dangerous, I suggest next time you go around the block". I think the guy was as stupid to get angry as you are to convince yourself you did nothing wrong. We all always do something wrong. The difference is some realize they messed up and learn from it.

 

Assumption #1 - is that he was in the wrong, and that you and your father were in the right. What's to say that you two were in the way, blocked traffic or otherwise pissed off the guy? Not everyone that is heading to the local pool store is innocent.

Assumption #2 - not everyone who drives a minivan of any kind all have kids. Minivans are used for carrying stuff, anything from car parts to band equipment, you name it. Of course, if you had said the minivan had a sticker in the back that indicated their kid was some sports star at the lcoal highschool I would have believed you. But in this case, it doesn't mean he has kids at all.

But the second assumption doesn't mean that he is any more right nor are you any more right. It just shows that you have a prejudice in the observation which has a hole in it, and the rest of the story can have holes in it as well.

 

Fine. Cause an accident. But you'll be right. Some people ...

 

In the case of the pool shop, was there a fifth middle turning lane on that two-lanes-each-way highway...?

If not, are left turns permitted on that highway...?

If not, then you were in the wrong... One of the things that REALLY pisses me off as a driver is when people stop short or people stop, period, to make a turn where they're not supposed to... i hate having to slam on my brakes because someone just feels like disobeying the rules of the road... With that said, i'm a total hypocrite 'cause i speed and everything i've just said should be disregarded...

 

Did you have to flip him off? No. Did you have to stop on a busy road and make the turn rather than turning later and coming back the other way? No.

With all due respect, everything in your post and your follow-up replies tells me that you didn't break the law so you don't care what could/would have happened. Flipping him off is a way of saying "screw you!" after the fact.

It reminds me of folks who go 10mph under the speed limit (not illegal, but shows the driver couldn't care less about anyone but themselves). Then, you go to pass this slow guy and he flips you off.

Honestly, I've lost my temper and gotten out of my car and confronted folks before. People seem to feel they are invincible while in their car - sort of like on the Internet . But, IMO, if you are not prepared for the consequences of flipping the guy off, don't do it (your father, if he was the one that did it). Don't bark without the bite to back that bark up. Your father did nothing to calm the situation, but he did do something to make the guy MORE upset. He took the chance the guy would stop, and he did! Your dad has hopefully learned a lesson.

 

Double yellow line means no left turn. If it was a 4lane, 2each way highway there would be no left turn allowed there. Go back and look, if it's double yellow you probably deserved what you got.