"Road Rage"?

[Jeff Higgins]

Maybe it just now showed up on my RADAR, but it seems as though I've been seeing more and more reports of "road rage" incidents. Just in the last week we have had a couple of pretty serious assaults here locally, both attributed to this "road rage".

Puget Sound area traffic has done nothing but get steadily worse in the last, oh, couple of decades. Our idyllic little soggy corner of the country has finally caught up with what I imagine many of the rest of you have lived with your whole lives. In short, traffic around here sucks. Big time.

So, yeah, I can see where folks are impatient, stressed, and grumpier than ever. I get that, and in heavy traffic really try to drive with a "can't we all just get along" kind of an approach. Let folks merge in front of me, don't tailgate, don't hold people up, and all of that - we are all in this mess together.

Even at that, I have to say there are some very "challenging" or very "frustrating" drivers out there. Not so much the speeders, the ones weaving in and out, the aggressive drivers, the tailgaters - not those folks, but the apparently totally unaware. The folks doing 47 mph in the fast lane blocking traffic, the folks sitting through a green light while they are texting with horns blaring all around them, the ones who will not turn right on a red even though there is no one else on the road. Those kinds.

While I might stew and cuss a little, I would never consider actually lashing out at these folks. I'm guessing, however, that this kind is what sets off most road-ragers. Yet each and every story I have seen or read concerning "road rage", the victim has absolutely no idea why he or she was dragged out of their car and beaten senseless. "I was just driving along..." or "I was just sitting there..." And they are never pressed by the interviewer - "which lane were you in and how fast were you going?", or "how long was the light green and how many were honking at you, and how many intersections had you sat through a green light just prior to that?".

They seem to want to imply that the rage that led to the beating was totally unprovoked. Unjustified, I would agree, but there just had to be some action on the part of the victim that enraged their fellow motorist. Seems it might be a valuable public service to dig down to that and make it known. You know, something like "it looks like our victim had been camping in the passing lane at far below the speed limit for the last ten miles, not letting anyone pass, and ignoring the flashing high beams and horns. Our perp finally had enough, ran him off the road, and beat the hell out of him. Don't be either one of these guys..."

[fastfredracing]

All I am going to say is , wholey cow are there some piss poor drivers out there.

[rattlsnak]

Another example would be the ones who don't pull all the way forward at a light. How can they NOT see someone right behind them trying to squeeze though and make a right turn if only they would pull up another foot!! I've been in the left lane many times witnessing this and the driver is totally oblivious to their surroundings. And you know what I do when I'm driving slow looking for an address or something? I pull OVER when I see cars come up behind me and let them go, then I pull out again. Been behind too many idiots that are oblivious to anyone behind them.

[Baz]

The only conclusion one can come to is those people....the ones who are clueless......they don't realize they have the power to do things as the vehicle pilot - which impact others around them.

In other words.....indeed they are.....clueless.

I experience this every day. It is challenging to maintain composure....it really is. But that's what has to be done. There is no other choice.

[RSBob]

Sounds like a believer in Newton's third law. "When one body exerts a force on a second body, the second body simultaneously exerts a force equal in magnitude and opposite in direction on the first body." Newton's little know 280th law reads, "An immovable idiot, will remain in a state of entropy until they are acted upon by another hot headed idiot."

I witnessed a case of road rage on I-90 on Mercer Island but unfortunately didn't see the cause. The angered driver's passenger threw everything they had in their car which wasn't bolted down at the other car. We are talking pop and beer cans, bottles, coins, fast food bags with God knows what in them and a whole host of garbage. This went on until reaching Bellevue, almost 5 mins. The offending car missed one exit and then was stuck until I-405. Very bizarre.

In the Bay Area on 101 at rush hour, traffic was bumper to bumper and I was in the right lane with merging traffic. Everyone was doing the zipper thing jus fine. I let one car merging in in front of me but another dude had to cut in front of me too, not that he could go anywhere, so I did the gentlemanly thing and blocked him from merging. He then went balastic and was a foot off my bumper for the next 3 miles. When traffic started speeding up I changed lanes and of course he was right there on my @$$. I changed lanes again and there he was. When traffic really opened up he shot around me and then got in front of me and brake checked me. I shot between two semis and off an off ramp making it impossible for the@$$ clown to make my life worse. He was a perfect example of Newton's 280th law.

[look 171]

I want to shoot those who come up to a red and weave ever so slightly to the center (or right) blocking the right turn lane. They sit right fooking there in the middle holding up all the right turn traffic. Why T F do they weave over? It never fails as they hit the brake, here they come right in the center. You beep the horn a little asking them to mover over just a little so the rest of us can squeeze by, now you get the bird. Dumb fawks. OK, I am better that I got off my chest. I agree with Higgins

[motion]

This stuff only happens in 'Merica, where everyone thinks they'll just do whatever they want, then shoot to kill or lawyer up and sue. Seriously, we are an EXTREMELY uptight society. Elsewhere, people are relaxed and forgiving.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

They seem to want to imply that the rage that led to the beating was totally unprovoked. Unjustified, I would agree, but there just had to be some action on the part of the victim that enraged their fellow motorist.

Totally agree. There are very few truly "innocent" victims in these sorts of incidents. There is usually an escalation between two parties, where de-escalation by just one of them would likely resolve the situation.

Driver A cuts off Driver B.
Driver B then high-beams Driver A.
Driver A then brake-checks Driver B.
Driver B then aggressively passes Driver A, gets in front of them and returns the favor.
Etc., etc...

[enzo1]

Originally Posted by fastfredracing

All I am going to say is , wholey cow are there some piss poor drivers out there.

Do not talk about my wife that way!

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by motion

This stuff only happens in 'Merica, where everyone thinks they'll just do whatever they want, then shoot to kill or lawyer up and sue. Seriously, we are an EXTREMELY uptight society. Elsewhere, people are relaxed and forgiving.

Nah, I think road rage is a pretty universal "language". I bet if you spent enough time driving in the UK, you'd change your tune. Or, maybe an extended stay in Mrs. Motion's backyard. From what I understand, it's pretty bad there too.

I would agree though, that there are plenty of other places where drivers exhibit better driving skills/habits and overall consideration compared to the US. However, I don't think we are the worst, not by a long shot. YMMV...

[RSBob]

Originally Posted by motion

This stuff only happens in 'Merica, where everyone thinks they'll just do whatever they want, then shoot to kill or lawyer up and sue. Seriously, we are an EXTREMELY uptight society. Elsewhere, people are relaxed and forgiving.

Yup, if I had let th @$$h@t cut in front of me, none of that would have happened. Now that I am a bit older, if they are that insistent I just let them go ahead.

I was a dick ( nickname for Richard) and paid the stupid tax. But driving in the 911 tends to really bring the mouth breathers out. Tailgaters, show offs, and wana race crowd, when I am minding my own business

[motion]

Originally Posted by Eric Coffey

Nah, I think road rage is a pretty universal "language". I bet if you spent enough time driving in the UK, you'd change your tune. Or, maybe an extended stay in Mrs. Motion's backyard. From what I understand, it's pretty bad there too.

I would agree though, that there are plenty of other places where drivers exhibit better driving skills/habits and overall consideration compared to the US. However, I don't think we are the worst, not by a long shot. YMMV...

The UK, you say? I remember those Gray Poupon commercials

I've driven all over the UK, like every square inch, and have never seen any of it. People are so polite there.

But, you are certainly right about Mother Russia. Probably worse than the US. So much male bravado there.

[Gogar]

Originally Posted by RSBob

but another dude had to cut in front of me too, not that he could go anywhere, so I did the gentlemanly thing and blocked him from merging.

Well . . . . . . no.

The 'gentlemanly thing' would be to quietly affirm inside your own head that he's a fool, and let him in.

Anything else is a waste of your time, unless you feel like wasting your days being the "pro-bono traffic educator."

It's not exactly the same (but it's very similar to) the "smug left-lane speed limit" person.

[look 171]

People take a little beeping the wrong way here. All we want is for the parson to inch up just a little (he has two car length in front of him/her at the red) so we can get pass. They take it the wrong way and out comes the middle finger. Its so easy to just let off the brake pedal for just one second. Both parties are showing off their middle finger then the cussing and on and on it goes until the light changes and they move on their own ways. These are grown men and women. STUPID. Just tonight, a dodge pickup was riding my ass as I signal to make a left turn. I get into the left turn pocket or lane, he's riding my tail and lays on the horn and flipped me the bird as he gets past me. Idiot, could have gone around me on the right.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by rattlsnak

Another example would be the ones who don't pull all the way forward at a light. How can they NOT see someone right behind them trying to squeeze though and make a right turn if only they would pull up another foot!! I've been in the left lane many times witnessing this and the driver is totally oblivious to their surroundings. And you know what I do when I'm driving slow looking for an address or something? I pull OVER when I see cars come up behind me and let them go, then I pull out again. Been behind too many idiots that are oblivious to anyone behind them.

I see people crowd behind me in this first situation, no blinker, they SOL. I may think they want to do it, and when the light goes green, they do indeed turn right, but without a blinker, no need for me to cut hard left to that edge of my lane and forwards.

I am always checking my mirror when I'm the front car at a red light, I see a right turn blinker, as I'm stopping, and I'll put my car on the left line forwards. Its also nice when other people do this for me. It does amuse me though, the impatient looks of the guys who never hit their blinker switch.

I have horrible eyesight, I really can't read road signs, I too try to pull in some where if I get car's behind me. Also, a lot of the looking for address drivers will stop to turn with no blinker's/warning. Just drive past your goal, turn around, and do not impede traffic.

I like to drive in a way that lets traffic flow as best it can, sometimes sacrificing myself in the process by not taking my turn. Sometimes my lifting off when I know there's a stop, will get the person behind's ire up. I'm really not sure what to do in this case, the est of red lights and stopped cars do not need to be plowed into.

One other situation a lot of people are not away of, is stop light sensors, a left lane can never change as the front car left the lane to go elseware, and the second car never moved up. The sensor detects no car, and the light doesn't change, ever. You can see a huge back up this way. There was one light with a really narrow range, if you weren't at the white line, you weren't going. When I saw a huge inexplicable line at a light, I put my car in park, and printed past several hundred feet of parked cars to talk to the car at the front, it was stopped a whole car's lengths short of the white line. People had just waited, and waited, eventually bailing to make a right turn. I startled the gentleman, explained to him how the sensor worked, he put in drive for a few feet, and I sprinted back to my car. I'd watched the lite cycle and skip that direction a few times before I got out.

Another time, I just got in the right lane and bailed, didn't like the neighborhood. It was a real heifer with music buds in driving a purple pimp mobile sitting exactly off the sensor. They were gonna be there awhile, I thought about turning around and parking and walking over, but it wasn't a good neighborhood for that, and it seemed most others got the clue and bailed from the lane after watching the light skip the left turn lane over and over.

I figure with most strangers, I really can't improve their driving - as they do not know me. Its the same as why I do not go past two or three posts with a disagreement online. The only thing I can do, is influence those I have influence over. If I see someone has bad driving habits, I invite them out to the local indoor kart track before I ever say anything about their driving. When they get passed multiple times by me as I ran 10 laps in a 8 minute session to their six or seven, they will be a little more willing to listen about lifting off, paying attention, etc.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by motion

The UK, you say? I remember those Gray Poupon commercials

.....

You might have missed the one where he only had French's...a road tift ensued.

I just let stuff go mostly....you gotta, too many them

Why do some folks slow to a crawl or virtually stop before making an easy right turn?

[ckelly78z]

I have seen a marked increase in the number of distarcted drivers running though stop signs, and plowing into another car at speed. This very thing happened to me 4 years ago while driving my Porsche 944 just a mile North of my house. Some idiot (probably on drugs looking at his record) flew through a stop sign and hit me in the passenger LF wheel. We came together so hard, that his cell phone was in my car through both closed windows. After 17 broken bones and 6 months of learning to walk again, I find myself paying even more attention to other drivers, because they sure aren't.

[billybek]

Originally Posted by look 171

I want to shoot those who come up to a red and weave ever so slightly to the center (or right) blocking the right turn lane. They sit right fooking there in the middle holding up all the right turn traffic. Why T F do they weave over?

This irks me as well.
I believe that some have found that when turning left, some coal rolling monster truck pulls up on the right and they cannot see the oncoming traffic to make a safe turn.
Most of us when turning right in that situation will slow and look for traffic coming from the left from behind the vehicle turning left. That way the other drivers view isn't blocked. People are clueless behind the wheel and we all have our moments...

[recycled sixtie]

Good subject OP. I believe every driver out there thinks they are justified in the way they drive whether it be good or bad. Road rage? Avoid at all costs especially in the US due ccw.
The only way the perps will pay attention is if they get a fine or thrown in jail. Most of everybody justifies their behavior.

Yes I agree Motion the drivers in the UK are more polite. However if you are a pedestrian watch out as drivers don't seem to stop for one except at a red light or pedestrian crossing. Canada's drivers are not as polite as the UK ones but somewhat better than the US.

There is no point in crossing these azzhat drivers. Be patient and don't challenge them.
Life is too short.
And have a safe day.

[GH85Carrera]

My biggest pet peeve is sitting in a long string of left lane turners waiting for the gree arrow that is always short. And most of the drivers in the front are suddenly hyper-milers trying to coax that extra 1/2 of a percent of gas mileage so they just mosey along and only three cars get through. Get on with it! There is a long line of traffic wanting to get through the light and the red light is 4 minutes long.