Strange Famous

I literally think I cant drive 20 miles without blowing up and hitting my horn over and over; screaming abuse, waving my fist out the window, etc etc

At least 3 times in the last year I have jumped out of my car to have an altercation with another driver (without it ever turning into a fight)

In other aspects of life I am calm and easy going... I have never gotten into an argument in a bar and couldnt imagine doing so; I dont yell at people in the street, or in stores, or at work... but in my car I get so aggressive.

I dont know what it is... is it being protected in the car makes me feel safe to act like a prick? Is it just heightened stress?

ARe other people the same?

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"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

Cynthetiq

I used to feel this way too....

then I realized that it was a horrible way to be trapped in a cycle of always being pissed off when I drive around.

So I just stopped it by deciding to not let it get to me. This meant that when someone cut me off, almost hit me, etc. I did not take it as a personal affront to me. I separated the event, from the effect.

No, I don't give a crap when someone cuts me off or doesn't see me.

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Willravel

Driver's entitlement. I'll bet if you asked 100 people at random if people sucked at driving, 100 of them would say yes. If you asked them if they thought they were better than average, they'd say yes again.

Odds are: you're not the best driver out there. Only 3-5% of people signal before changing lanes, for example. Many people get pissed when people change lanes without signaling, and then turn around and do it themselves.

No one is holier than anyone else on the road. I've cut a few people off in my time. It wasn't intentional, but we're all doing something mundane and repetitive. We're bound to make mistakes. Just do your best and don't pretend like you're the karma police. Cutting someone off because they cut you off just puts everyone in twice as much danger.

Strange Famous

I dont want to cut people off who cut me off... (in that moment) I want to thrash them!

__________________
"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven. For nothing
hidden will not become manifest, and nothing covered will remain
without being uncovered."

The Gospel of Thomas

krwlz

It depends on my over all mood. As a 22 year old driver, I have no doubt that Ive pissed my share of people off on the road. Flying by someone at 75 just seems to irritate them, regardless of the fact that I immediatly slow back down to 63 or so.

Oh well, such is life.

Willravel

Take the chip off your shoulder, and drive more conservatively yourself. Leave 5 minutes earlier than normal and drive slower the whole way there. Give yourself plenty of room between you and other cars.

Anger is a normal part of human existence. We all experience it one time or another. The important thing to do is allow your anger to be channeled in a healthy and non-destructive way. Maybe the next time you want to tear someone apart for driving slow around an accident, ask yourself what you're really getting pissed about.

dirtyrascal7

I used to get pretty frustrated at other drivers, although I rarely am an extrovert about it. Now I just deal with it and let things go a lmost instantly. 99% of the stuff people get frustrated about, especially on the road, is completely insignificant and won't amount to more than a few minutes delay on your overall trip. Besides... all those other people suffer enough on their own b/c they obviously are stupid and can't drive.

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Plan9

Refrain from buying firearms.

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Nimetic

Move to the country... Or get a better stereo.

I'm not in the same category, by a long shot. However - I find that listening to lectures or language tapes on CD calms me. If I'm stuck at the lights, I can look up a word or sentence. It becomes and opportunity.

stevie667

So that was you! lol.

Lock your doors, put on classical music and understand the fact you suck at driving, like everyone else sucks at driving. Give them the benefit of the doubt and call them a fucktard under your breath when your half a mile away.

Works for me. Unless people drive under waaay under the speed limit. Prepare to get yourself ass kicked if you do that people.

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Plan9

You could join the Army and drive the Buffalo. Ultimate road rage vehicle.

6x6 truck/tank with a giant robotic arm on it. Three feet of ground clearance.

...

Hahah, god... the unauthorized things we did with that arm.

__________________
Whatever you can carry.

"You should not drink... and bake."

willynilly

Strange Famous, I have read many of your posts over the years, and I am surprised to hear you engage in such assholish behavior. You have gotten out of your car to confront other people? You may want to seriously reconsider what you are doing behind the wheel. I still sometimes get righteously pissed, but if you ever find yourself planning on confronting someone, or following them to a parking lot or something, then you need to calm down. Overall, you seem like a thoughtful guy. Try applying that to your driving.

MSD

If you can't drive without lashing out, and you've gotten out of your car to yell at people, it's time to hang up your keys and take the bus.

liquidlight

The only ones that really make me angry are people that are just inconsiderate or stupid. . .

Yes, that really is an accident, no you can't drive through the cones, merging into the closed lanes to pass 4 more people and cut somebody off as you force your way back into traffic is an ASSHOLE move and it pisses me off (lost count of how many people did it to me this morning).

Going 3 miles under the speed limit in rush hour traffic while occupying the left lane with 12 cars behind you is ridiculous (not to mention illegal in my state, but like they care).

I do a lot of swearing when I drive, but I regulate my behavior by "The Golden Rule." I won't do things to other people that really piss me off, I signal when changing lanes, I speed up or move over if somebody comes up behind me, I accelerate to merge, and I don't brake unless it's necessary. I allow myself one "asshole" a day, i.e. doing something that if somebody did it to me would piss me off, though usually I end up using it on someone that's already done something moronic.

AND FOR GOD'S SAKE HANG UP THE FUCKING PHONE AND DRIVE!!!!!

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pornclerk

I have a huge road rage problem too. People piss me off all the time, especially when they don't know the rules of the road! I look at it this way though, nothing is worth getting that mad over to risk my life and do something stupid. I have to tell myself that to keep from doing something really bad.

I've heard the theory that the reason why people get so mad at other drivers is because when the other driver does something wrong, you often can't see the apologetic look on their face. If you were to bump in to someone at a shopping mall, you would say "Oops! Sorry!" When you are driving and do something dumb, you can't exactly say sorry, so people get really defensive.

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MSD

Everyone needs a little smiley face in the back window that lights up and says "thanks" for when people slow down to let you merge, etc. and an orange frowning face that says "sorry" for when they fuck up.

liquidlight

I want one of those programmable scrolling LCD banners so that I can really "say" things to other drivers.

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Halfway to hell and picking up speed.

ngdawg

Not in New Jersey. When the other driver does something like cut in front of you and you hit the horn....they will give you the finger. "Yield" signs mean 'stomp the gas pedal and get ahead of everyone else'.
Next best thing: http://www.roadrage.com/

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eggman414

Generally speaking, I'm pretty good with the road rage, though I can get quite irritated by other drivers when I'm running late or feeling frazzled about something else. I've never done anything worse than flip the bird a few times, though, and absolutely never would.

Two things, however, always annoy me:
1. People who get on the highway going like 35mph. You know they're doing it because they're, like, scared of the highway, but they're liable to cause an accident. Whenever I'm behind one I'm always afraid I'll get rear-ended when I merge.
2. Tailgating. There's just no reason for it.

One thing I've noticed - and I wonder if others get the same thing - is that I'm sort of a road-rage-profiler. If see someone driving a Hummer do something moderately dickish, like, say, jump into another lane without signaling, I'll think "asshole thinks he's hot shit in his fucking ridiculous SUV," whereas if a someone in a Camry does the same it'll barely even register.

I live in New York. I'm used to aggressive drivers and, truth be told, probably am one (at least compared to the rest of the U.S.).

Corneo

I use to think I was a lousy driver until I moved to the city where I currently live. Some people just don't choose to obey stop signs or signal when changing lanes. Out of the blue, people will cut into my lane causing me to slam on my brakes. I had a person riding a bicycle in front of me at 1 am without any reflectors. I tried to pass him but couldn't because he kept blocking me.

abaya

It's called "waving." We do it on the west coast, or at least in the PNW... I don't know what the hell is wrong with east coast drivers (or Icelandic ones, for that matter). NO ONE waves "thank you" or "oops, sorry!"... but I was trained to do that from a young age, my parents always did it... just general courtesy.

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Cynthetiq

Sure they do, Seinfeld did a bit on it but sometimes, it doesn't happen especially when driving in NYC. Can you imagine? People would just drive with their hands up in the air all the time.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Xazy

I use my signals, and on merge I wave a thank you. I also drive with the opinion that no one else on the road knows how to drive besides me. I feel it is a defensive driving thought. But I no longer care if I am the fastest or rush to get somewhere, I enjoy the drive (then again I do not commute via car).

But as much as I love to honk like every other NY, I have no desire for real altercation. Just no real point in it, because one day someone may reply back, and is that something you really want?

OzOz

Most people out here in Sydney (including me) wave if someone lets them in, and many drivers are considerate about letting people in if you give them warning by using your signals. Also, if you have something like lanes merging, most drivers will be considerate about it, rather than having an "I'm getting in in front of everyone else" mentality.

Still, you do get some idiots. Twice in the last two weeks, I've been driving on freeways (110km/h, or 70 mph) and had someone try to change lanes when I was right next to them. We get taught to check the blind spots that the mirrors don't cover by looking over our shoulders before changing lanes, but these two just didn't bother doing that. The first time (some guy driving his wife and kids in his SUV), the driver suddenly indicated a lane change while I was passing him. As he started moving over, I honked at him, but he just kept moving over, so I had to slam on the brakes and drive off the side of the road (which is not a good thing at 70mph). It's drivers like that who make me wish that my car came with rocket launchers as standard equipment.

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MSD

I wave, people wave, most of the time you can't see through people's windows, though.