Road Rage

[CUDA]

In the " just when you thought you've seen it all" category.

I was driving home from work last night. Traffic was really bad my usual 35 minute drive took over 90.
So for a LARGE portion of the drive I was doing 5 mph. I was following some guy in a Subaru who was texting and driving not paying attention to the traffic infront of him and had a constant 5 car gap between him and the car in front of him. he kept looking down, Text, then speed up, Rinse repeat. Then he started looking back in his mirror at me and come to a full stop, letting a gap of 25-30 cars open in front of him, then do it again. he did this 4-5 times. Then he looked back in his mirror and threw his hands in the air. I motioned to him to just drive. That's when he gave me the finger. I smiled and waved accordingly.
I guess that made him angry. Because he threw his car in park and started reaching for his seat belt. So I did the same,
thinking REALLY?!?!?!? are we going to throw it down here in the middle of rush hour traffic in the fast lane ON the freeway. he didn't even bother to pull to the shoulder.
He got out of his car and started heading my way and made it to about his rear bumper, our cars were maybe 2 feet apart at this time. when I stood up from my little Audi A-3, (being the slightly built man that I am) he stopped took a step back and started voicing his displeasure with me following him too closely. So I asked him. "I'm sorry did I hit you when you had your head down texting on your phone. Then he started screaming something about me breaking the law.
What law? the following 1 car length back at 5 mph law????

UHM HELLO texting and driving?

then he gave me the obligatory departing greeting and got back in his car and drove off. back at our blistering 5 MPH, ironically he never looked back at me again, and when he finally changed lanes and I went past him, expecting the standard Salute of respect. he never turned his head.

I cant believe I almost got into a fist fight on 205 in the fast lane in rush hour traffic. SERIOUSLY????????

[callmeslick]

falls into the category of 'there's never a cop around when you need one....'

Never had a run-in like that, but I was rear-ended once at a light by a woman clearly talking on a cellphone, and when I car-pooled on the PA turnpike we could not only figure out who was on a phone, but what gender they were, from driving patterns. The men tended to keep speed up and drive erratically, while the women tended to go 35 mph on a 65 mph roadway.

I, for one, look forward to the day when most cars auto-drive without human involvement.

[CDN_Merlin]

I catch texters all the time. You know them because they fail to hit the gas when the light turns green.

[Tunnelcat]

I've seen people texting with their heads bent down while sitting right beside me at the frikkin' light. What, are these people dense, stupid or arrogant? Is it me, or has driving become more of a heated aggression sport anymore? Just a dirty look will set someone off it seems. I have no compunction flipping off a woman nowadays, but never a man anymore. Most of them will take extreme exception at rude hand gestures. I'll take on any woman on if they're being a jerk, but a man could wipe the floor with me. But if something's my fault, I shrug, hold up my hands and look contrite, but even then, some people still want to go at it.

[Ferno]

Cuda, what you did might have been well-placed in a movie, but on a freeway, you were just as wrong as he was. you're never supposed to get out of your vehicle. Instead, you're supposed to lock your doors and if he starts to become hostile; call the police.

I know you believe you can 'handle him', but in the eyes of society and the law, you would be considered a belligerent. I don't like it any more than you would, but that's how life is nowadays.


And youtube would have a field day.

[Nightshade]

I catch texters all the time. You know them because they fail to hit the gas when the light turns green.

You catch texters? You're a cop?

[snoopy]

I catch texters all the time. You know them because they fail to hit the gas when the light turns green.

I do that all the time... but not because I'm texting. Usually it's talking to my wife or the kids (in the car with me) that distracts me at the red light.

[Tunnelcat]

Cuda, what you did might have been well-placed in a movie, but on a freeway, you were just as wrong as he was. you're never supposed to get out of your vehicle. Instead, you're supposed to lock your doors and if he starts to become hostile; call the police.

I know you believe you can 'handle him', but in the eyes of society and the law, you would be considered a belligerent. I don't like it any more than you would, but that's how life is nowadays.


And youtube would have a field day.

Make sure the other guy starts the fight. Then you're defending yourself.

Staying in the car is probably the best thing to do, along with getting yourself to a safer place. But if someone gets out of another car and starts bashing on my car, I'd get pissed off real quick and I'd not be thinking about the consequences of getting into a fight at that point.

[callmeslick]

[Tunnelcat]

CUDA's experience brought back memories of another "interaction" I had with a perfect stranger. 15 years ago, my husband and I flew back to Washington DC to visit his aunt. When we landed, it was hot and humid, in other words, miserable and typical of the East Coast in the summer. We had to wait in a long line at the hot car rental desk, which didn't help the misery either. As we were standing there roasting along with a hoard of other people, these parents come up in line with their young son. This kid was carrying an ice cream cone that was melting and dripping all over the place. The kid was also restless and was being allowed to wander amongst all the other people waiting in line. I saw a few dirty looks as that messy ice cream covered kid bumped into everyone without any care in the world. Finally the brat starting hanging near us. I also gave the father "the look" to please retrieve his kid, but he just stood there, assuming everyone should love his little mess covered brat.

Well, when the kid came too close to my husband and I with that slimy mess of an ice cream cone, I'd had it. I asked the guy to please control his child and keep him away from us. My tone wasn't too polite, but hey, I was dog tired and it was hot and muggy standing in that line, what do you expect? So the guy snarkily says: What's the big deal? You can't change your clothes if my kid bumps into you and gets a little ice cream on them"? That did it. Between the long flight, the heat, the wait and his attitude, I blew up and told him to get that little brat as far away from me as possible and that I didn't have a convenient change of clothes handy at the moment and that he could go stuff it. Then he gets mad and calls me a kid hater, all because I didn't want his kid's ice cream all over my clean pants. What a jerk. If I'd been a man, he looked ticked enough to physically go after after me. I was so pissed at him, I'd wished he had. He deserved an assault charge. That he was insulted that a perfect stranger would take exception to his little messy child told me volumes about how he wants people to put up with his child's errant behavior in public. But let me tell you, none of the people in those lines said anything to me, nor did they intervene. Many even quietly looked thankful that someone had the guts to tell that father to go and control his damn kid. There were quite a few others in line that didn't want an ice cream slime job either.

[woodchip]

Seems last couple of years on the expressway I have to keep a eye out for people in the left lane being halfway into my lane as they pass me. One of these days I'm not going to move over just to see what happens.

[Tunnelcat]

Uh, you might just get a mirror or paint removal job on one side of your car. Then you'd have to prove it was their fault. Time for dash and rear window cams like the Russians have.