I had an experience today that made me realize the importance of talking about road rage. I had turned from a side road onto a busy highway and out of nowhere I observed a car speeding and getting very close to my bumper. Suddenly, he whipped around me and then in front of me and slammed on his brakes. He was waving an unkind finger gesture and appeared unbelievably angry. I know that I did not pull out in front of him, but I did get into the “fast” lane because I was immediately getting off of the highway to turn onto another side road. In other words, his reaction was not warranted. It made me question why someone would be willing to cause an accident to feed their misplaced anger.
1) Road ragers are rather selfish. They look at experiences from their own personal filter. If a car pulls out in front of the person, it is taken personally. He may not consider that he is going 20 miles over the speed limit. The road rager decides that person is rude because they have taken this action against him.
2) Road ragers think everyone should view things like they do. They make certain driving etiquette rules based on personal desires, with little room for error. I am talking about making rules about the right time to get over to turn onto another road, or making it okay to speed, but not to break other road rules.
3) Road ragers think that a brake check, yelling, or an unkind finger gesture will change the other driver. It won’t. That driver is not hearing the educational message, but instead is seeing a person who cannot control their temper.
One strategy that has been helpful for me is to envision the other driver as someone I know. I would not get angry at my best friend, husband, or neighbor for driving in the “fast” lane. This helps to humanize the situation. I also try to empathize with fellow drivers. The person who is riding too close to my bumper, may have briefly zoned out. Everyone on the road needs to practice safe driving and follow road rules; however, being aggressively confrontational is not an appropriate response. Think before you act!
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