How to avoid road rage according to AAA and amended by Cardiogirl
I have some housekeeping issues before we get to the meat of things today. You’re probably aware of my BlogHer ad on the right-hand side there. It’s under the billboard that allows you to subscribe — Billy Mays pops in and screams, “Subscribe to Cardiogirl today and receive chuckles on a regular basis!”
I view my site in Firefox and for the last week or so that space has been blank. Nothin’ there but crickets. I think a lot of you fine folks view this site in Firefox as well. Can you see anything there? When I view the site in Internet Explorer (grumbles) the ad is there.
Please advise. And thank you in advance.
Now to the topic at hand. I just received an email from AAA explaining how to avoid road rage. In the past I would have assumed that email was just for me, not part of a bulk mailing, and I would have gotten my paranoia on. But now I know better.
So clearly that means there’s enough road rage out there to warrant a bulk mailing. Would anyone in here admit to being a driving rageaholic? The email did specify certain behaviors that qualify as aggressive driving — “speeding, running another driver off the road, tailgating or yelling obscenities.”
I’m gonna be honest here. I speed occasionally. But not usually and I’m proud to tell you I have never received a speeding ticket. Which now guarantees I shall receive a speeding ticket sometime later today.
So apparently I dip my toe in aggressive driving, but come on. I have never run another driver off the road (wtf, people?), tailgated or yelled obscenities.
I do swear like a sailor silently inside my head because I have small children who don’t need to learn how to swear from Mommy. I’m sure they’ll pick that up in the school yard soon enough.
So the email continued on to give suggestions on how to avoid aggressive driving. A few of those included:
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Don’t offend
Do not drive slowly in the left lane. If faster traffic wants to pass, move to the right lane.
Don’t engage
Do not take other driver’s actions personally. There may be a reason why another driver is speeding or driving erratically.
Avoid eye contact with aggressive drivers.
Forget winning; driving is not a contest.
Alright I agree with all of it, but I think there are two statements that are in conflict: Don’t offend and Do not take other driver’s actions personally. There may be a reason why another driver is speeding or driving erratically.
So if I have a good reason for speeding or driving erratically everyone should not take it personally and should not be offended. But isn’t that being offensive — speeding and driving erratically? You can’t have it both ways.
And for the love of God, following the effing rules.
If you see a huge arrow two miles ahead indicating that the lane you are in is ending and you must get over one lane, do it as soon as you have the chance. Do it way before we get bottle necked and you have to cut me off, effer.
Would you jump in front of me in line at the grocery store? Unlikely.
Would you step to the front of the line at the Department of Motor Vehicles/Secretary of State? Negative.
Don’t do it in your car, punk. That is when I will tailgate the person in front of me so you have to wait. And yes I will go down in flames based on principle.
Hm, I guess in the right circumstances I can get my road rage on.
Now if you find yourself in a pickle over there and you are waiting patiently with your blinker on I will let you in. ONE OF YOU — the one who waited patiently and turned his blinker on. When I let that one person in, the asshole behind is not allowed to cut me off.
That asshole has to wait for the next kind stranger to allow him in.
So take note. Those are the rules of the road, according to Cardiogirl. You’re welcome.
FF here. i can see the ad, roger that.
LOL – you crack me up. “not part of a bulk mailing, and I would have gotten my paranoia on.”
i’ve heard that suggestion before, not to take what the other driver does personally. the driver is not out to get you. yeah okay. the only reason i don’t act a fool on the road is because i don’t own a gun. now when people do stupid stuff, i will utter words to myself and sometimes if i “happen” to catch up to the car, i will give them the evil eye. otherwise i say my words and keep it moving.
I swear I have run into other drivers who ARE out to get me. Me personally. Or rather my car which happens to be where they want to be. Is that enough to make it personal? I think so.
And I’ve given the evil eye enough times. And yes, I’ve been the recipient of the evil eye as well.
I’m using Firefox and can see the BlogHer ad just fine. Sadly, no Billy Mays.
If that’s how the AAA defines road rage, I am guilty. I speed and tailgate. I know it’s bad. I like to move fast. If I’m stuck behind a slow driver, I just canNOT take it easy and go with the flow. (And I only tailgate really slow drivers — not drivers who are “only” going 20 over the limit.) By the way, I have a neat trick to tick off drivers who tailgate ME: flip up my rearview mirror so I can’t see them — but make sure THEY see ME doing this. Drives ‘em nuts. At least I think it does.
“flip up my rearview mirror so I can’t see them — but make sure THEY see ME doing this.” i used to do this. now i only do it when they people have on their high beams. sometimes i drive slow on purpose so that they have to go around, then as they are passing, i wave. not with my finger, but my hand. i don’t give the bird. i think the bird.
Sorry, JD. If I’m going 10 over (which is rare) in the middle lane and you tailgate me for more than 1/2 a mile or so, I very well may slow down to 45 very quickly. That’s my road rage. I have a truck with 236k miles on it and steel bumper with a trailer hitch that’ll tear off a bumper. Hope you don’t rear end me.
I’ve never flipped the mirror up but I have gone to my mental safe place and pretended that person was not there. When I don’t look behind me I’m more calm. Of course that’s difficult to do when you’re in reverse.
And I’m not tailgating anyone here in the Lounge.
Firefox too (on a mac) and the ad shows up fine.
As you know, I don’t drive, but I do get very uncomfortable as a passenger of an aggressive driver. The swearing seems so unnecessary to me, they can’t even hear you.
I actually thought about the fact that you do not drive, Cate, when I was writing this. I think I was going to spell favorite with a U and then was going to reference you, Steve and Les but then I remembered you don’t drive and then I left the line of logic sitting there in the back of my head.
Yeah, the swearing is for that person’s own benefit. It actually does make me feel better to swear at another driver. Even just thinking it. Sad but true.
CG,
Is it just me, or have you been fired up the past few days? I counted nearly a dozen “bitch”’s and a “dammit” yesterday, today is chock full of “emeffers”…you’re on a roll, CG. Your size 10 Converse lowtops not fitting right?
Has a shorter girl grabbed your favorite elliptical machine?
Mik
I have been working through some personal anger issues recently and it’s possible that stuff has overflowed here. I will admit that most of the time I think I am a negative person.
This is interesting. In real life chit chat I am very diplomatic and I do put a positive spin on everything I say, but here I let my real thoughts fly. And most of my real thoughts are pretty negative.
I guess that’s the down side of not knowing me in person. If we met at the coffee machine each morning you’d think I was Susie Sunshine in low tops.
Maybe I’ll be chipper on Monday, since tomorrow is the Book of Questions day.
p.s. Today I used “effers” minus the em. I prefer the straight effer though emeffer definitely has its place.
I run Firefox, but I cannot see the ad. Why? Because I have AdBlock Plus running on my computer, and it blocks all those ads for me. I got sick of seeing them over on Facebook, which is where I spend most of my time. So no ads for me.
Speaking of Billy Mays, did I tell you he’s on a tv show? It’s called Pitchmen over on Discovery, and it’s him and Anthony Sullivan finding new products and trying to figure out how to pitch them. Amazingly enough, Billy Mays does not shout in real life. (I have a feeling I told you all this before… If you see my mind wandering around aimlessly, could you please send it back to me?)
When I was working in southern Virginia, I used to have road rage. People are STUPID down there! Hello, you know there is a tunnel coming up, and if you’ve lived there any amount of time, you’ve been through a tunnel a hundred times before. STOP FREAKING OUT!
People would slow down so much when entering the tunnel that they would back traffic up for a couple of miles… yet as you drove through the tunnel, the traffic dissipated into thin air. No lie! As soon as you exited the tunnel, there was no one on the road with you. Go figure.
So I used to listen to classical music on my drive to work. It soothed me and prevented me from doing anything rash.
I’m with you on people waiting till the last second to merge. UGH! And then forcing their way in! Here in Rhode Island, you have people refusing to let you in if you need to get over, and you’re trying to do so in a timely fashion, and you have your blinker on.
People here can be real jerks on the road.
Once again, I should have turned to you, blue, as my technical guru. You keep coming up with answers for me when I pose the question. So be alerted, you are now my computer go-to gal. I hope that’s okay.
I did hear about Mr. Mays’ show, but I swear I saw that on Twitter from Kathy of The Junk Drawer. But she did not get into any details except to say the show was on its way to the Discovery Network. I truly would love to hear Bill Mays speak without shouting.
And the concept of the show seems really interesting. I’m going to have to search it out. Thanks for the tip.
That’s surprising about the tunnel, particularly during the work hour rush when it seems the vast majority of those people have driven that path repeatedly. I guess some fears are hard to overcome.
It is surprising to me how certain cities across the US have more aggressive drivers. We drove through Washington DC and I was on pins and needles. But traffic in Detroit is not as crazy as that.
And you couldn’t pay me enough to drive two blocks in New York City.
CG — You still do not want to see Billy Mays “not shouting.” Why? Because he’s a jerk on TV. I don’t know why. Maybe they told him to act a certain way on that show (BTW, haven’t seen it since that first show weeks ago. Maybe it was canceled already.) He argues with everyone on the set. I suspect it’s to create drama. Whatever the case, I need a little less Mays in my life. I almost kill myself running to the remote to mute him or change the channel. Why must he still be on TV??!?!?!
p.s. Bluesleepy is right. You won’t see BlogHer ads (or any others) if you have AdBlock Plus installed for FF. Best thing since sliced bread.
That’s interesting. It does seem like the producers might encourage that behavior since conflict seems to sell like hotcakes. I still want to see five minutes though.
Internet Explorer works fine over here.
I had a really bad year when I was 17 and put a bad dent in my driving record, but since then, I haven’t been pulled over. I may curse on the rare occasion, but I have a terribly dirty mouth anyhow. I try to never get in the left lane and only to pass if someone is going like 10 under. I don’t like seeing my RPM’s go way up when I’m trying to pass someone. I cringe at the gas burning. But normally, I get in the middle lane, go 5 over and hang out until my exit. And that includes in construction zones when it’s 45. I’m not going over 55, pal. Period. I just turned 25, I’m ready to get that insurance down.
My husband drives a bit more aggressively than I do, and I try not to slam my foot into the floor on the passenger side. I just tell him we have different driving strategies. He gets so close behind 18-wheelers, it makes me very nervous. I want to scream, “The driver can’t see you, you’re too close. Agh!” And I’ve had a trucker tell me you shouldn’t change lanes in front of a truck until you can see its’ headlights in your rearview. I know they’re just doing their job so I try to be most respectful to them.
I’ll also let that one person over who waited with their blinker. Merging sucks. If a douche drives up the shoulder and tries to be let in, ain’t no way. Try and weasel in, my truck weighs like a ton, literally. It ain’t happenin.
Yeah, construction zones really freak me out with the one or two tight lanes and the orange cones. And then seeing the sign that says killing a construction worker will cost $50K and ten years in jail (or something like that) just adds to my paranoia.
I’ve heard that same thing regarding 18-wheelers. I was told if you cannot see the driver’s face in the side mirror he cannot see you. So if you’re going to pass, make sure you see his smiling face.
The people who drive on the shoulder should be tarred and feathered.
hey cardiogirl! i can see your ad in both IE AND firefox. cuz i care enough to check both!
Now that’s service, Cristina! Thank you. I do think it’s Ad Blocker over here, but thanks for checking both and reporting back.
I live in Chicago and road rage is the given here. I used to get more fired up when I was driving–that is until I had to teach a teen how to drive. You become all zen-like in your wisdom with your teen as cars blow by him, honking, and swerving to dodge the new driver. People are *ssholes, and when your teen is behind the wheel, you realize it more than ever.
I’m gonna go all Dr. Lin on you here: driving is all about control issues. People don’t want to drive behind anyone anymore–they want to be FIRST and in FRONT of everyone else. Watch them speed up and around everyone to get to the light first. On the highway, people are flying by to pass the line of cars who are going more than the speed limit.
They don’t want to wait like the other pansies to cut in by the yellow arrow thingy–THEY are in a hurry, they are not waiting. And stop signs? Nobody stops at those anymore. Those are for wimps–only pansies stop at stop signs. I’m too cool for stopping.
And those big SUV things–sure, ride up everyone’s bumper to move them out of YOUR way. We are all in the way of them going somewhere–how dare we.
And the swerving around us, no matter how fast we are driving–it is never fast enough–they want to be FIRST and in FRONT.
Driving has become a metaphor for life–people are striving to get around everyone else and be first. Don’t get in the way–I am coming. Look out for me in my BIG vehicle driving fast. The rest of you suck. It’s the common attitude.
Wait and see how your thinking changes when you have a teen behind the wheel. My teen was scared to death to drive in Chicago, and is still hesitant to take the car himself. It is freaking scary to drive nowadays–people are so above the rules of the road, making sure they bend the rules, ignoring stop signs, doing whatever they deem right to be cool and get ahead of everyone else. Try teaching your kid that the guy has a stop sign, but he isn’t going to stop–it’s hard to teach the rules of the road when they are useless.
Dude, Lin, I drove in Chicago twice. Going in and going out, and I may have peed my pants a little. I was absolutely terrified. I was trying to follow someone and go through a toll with all the merging in a construction zone “45 mph” with everyone going 80. Thought I might die. Seriously. I realize familiarity is part of it as Atlanta doesn’t bother me at all, but damn.
I like the control, importance theory. I had a friend say, “I hate people who don’t drive with a sense of purpose,” while defending her typical speed of 90mph. I replied, “I drive with a purpose. Not getting a ticket. I purposely leave 20 minutes earlier” We agreed to disagree.
@Lin and Liz Just reading about driving in Chicago has freaked me out. If I ever make it there I’m leaving my car outside the city limits and taking public transportation.
Speaking of, isn’t it crazy sitting in the back of a cab or on a bus with no seatbelt while watching the vehicle you are in dart in and out of traffic. Granted, cabs now have seat belts, but every bus I’ve ever been on had had no restraints.
We were sitting there like flakes of snow in a snow globe — ready to be shaken and stirred.
I don’t enjoy cabs because I only take them in an unfamilar area, and that’s when I feel so out of control. I have no idea if I’m getting ripped off or not. That is a plus to public transportation, but my husbands hates it so we just take cabs most of the time. Atleast in Vegas, I’m starting to know the lay of the land and I can say, “Go this route.” Money saved is money that be bet.
And it isn’t just in the Chicago city limits that is so frightening–it’s ALL around the city too. But I’m not sure we have the market on crazy driving–I think it has changed everywhere.
As for cabs–isn’t that part of the adventure???! I went to New York a couple of years ago and talk about cab adventure!!! Wow. Maybe it was the excitement of the city, but their cab rides are a hoot!
I almost had a cab hit me while I was in a crosswalk. I was less than thrilled.
Oy!
It is everywhere, isn’t it? I think it’s just a natural progression of these times.
Yes, riding a cab in NYC is an adventure, although I’ve never met anyone who was in an accident while riding a NYC cab, now that I think of it.
That is a definite down side to cabs in unfamiliar areas. I guess that’s literally the price of traveling in unknown areas. I can’t say I’ve traveled much and of that little amount of travel the only public transportation I’ve used is the subway. I never have ridden on a bus, isn’t that wild?
Only reason I’ve ridden on an actual bus is because I was in college and it was free with your student ID and our campus was so big, there was just no way to walk it. And, well, it’s so hot you just wouldn’t want to. I wanted to stab whoever started making school in August.
Now that you mention that, I did ride the bus occasionally in college. I guess I was thinking about traveling while on vacation. I’ve never ridden a bus in New York or San Francisco, but I suppose it would be less expensive but not as convenient, since it runs on a schedule.
Firefox here…what else is there, really? IE…please….as the caption on the cartoon that is my current desktop says “Excuse me, is that a Microsoft product? Would you mind putting that out? I’m allergic to second hand ignorance” :)
You probably have Adblock Plus running, and perhaps Block Site. A warning about those addons…some sites, that load video for instance, may not work because they WANT to load a video ad first.
As for drivers, the ones I hate the most are those who drive like they have no care in the world…la dee daa…leaving 8 car lengths between them and the car in front…while going 40. Then when they see a yellow, they speed up JUST enough so they can make it through, but no one else. These are the people who, when the light turns green, take forever to get going…sigh…
I’m with you, IE sucks it big time. I did finally realize that red stop sign on the upper right-hand corner of my monitor with the letters ABP is stopping my ad. But strangely it is not stopping that same BlogHer ad at other sites.
Gotta talk to Mr. C about that. Or maybe I should ask bluesleepy, since she seems to always know the answer to my technical questions.
I don’t mind the drivers who go slow, it’s those people at your yellow light. That’s when I try to tell myself, ‘At least I’m the first person at the red light so I can go as fast as I want when the light turns green.’
But I still grumble when caught at the light.
It might be because you have it set to allow ads on those other sites. Note that you can right-click on the ABP stop sign icon and the context menu that appears gives you the option of allowing ads on that specific site.
That was exactly it. Thanks for the technical help, Steve.
I read an article once about what cities have the most road rage. I live in Boston and it made the top 5.
I would like to say that I am not as bad as them, but I am. I hate hate hate slow drivers in the left lane and by this I mean people driving slower than the people in the right lane(s).
I hate them because they are inconsiderate and they have absolutely no business in the left lane when there is a lane of traffic to the right going at least as fast as they want to go.
I will do whatever it takes to get that person out of my lane: flash my lights, honk, tailgate, swear. I never used to be like this. When I moved to Massachusetts, I was a courteous driver even when in a rush and then one day I snapped.
Their road rage spawned my road rage. I have watched people get out of their cars and get into fist fights over it. And Boston is only #5, I can’t image how it could be any worse.
The article was similar to this one, but more recent:
http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2006/05/16/006847.html
I refuse to drive in Boston. We’ve only been there a couple of times since moving to Rhode Island, and while I enjoy the city itself, I hate driving in the city. People turn left on red! Stoplights are optional! Blinkers are never used!! It’s awful.
Speaking of people going too slow in the left lane — what gets me are the folks who tailgate me when I’m already going 10mph over the speed limit in the left lane and I CANNOT move to the right because there’s a car in my way. Or when I’m in the middle lane and they can switch lanes into the left to pass me, but they’d rather sit on my tail and make my life difficult until *I* move to the right.
@Emilie NO. WAY!! Fist fights?! I have never seen anything like that. Ever. Damn, it seems inconceivable.
Those slow left-lane drivers are infuriating, but I’m afraid tailgating will get me into an accident.
That article is really interesting. I have talked on the cell phone in the past while driving but haven’t for the last year. It really is a distraction and I do find it infuriating when another driver is talking on the phone and it careless or oblivious.
@blue That is very frustrating when you’re going with traffic in the left lane and the person behind STILL wants faster. That’s when I move over and say to the guy (it’s usually a guy but not always) “There you go. Now YOU can drive behind the person who was in front of me. Good luck making him go faster.”
Then in my head I say, “Bastard.”
I use firefox and I can say for certain that I have never NOT seen your Blogher ad.
And my only defense against road rage is to make everyone behind me today pay for everybody that was mean to me yesterday, by going EXACTLY the speed limit every morning up the whole length of Queen St. after dropping my kid of at school.
I am the ONLY citizen that drives EXACTLY the speed limit along that stretch of road and EVERYBODY gets stuck behind me.
And I smile.
Alright, it looks like my problem is Ad Blocker Plus. Thanks for helping me out with that.
That’s a tough one, when you’re on a two-lane, two-way street and the person behind wants you to speed crazily. I have that scenario on the way to school as well and I drive my regular speed — 2 to 3 miles over the speed limit — and then I try not to look in the rear view mirror.
Writing that seems odd, because on paper I would say the jerk behind me needs to cool his jets. He’s the one pushing, but in reality I feel pressure and feel like I am holding everyone up when I’m following the rules and going a tad faster.
Well moving to NJ after learning to drive and living in OH for most of my life has definitely been an experience. Driving out here is rather crazy but surprisingly I don’t see tons of road rage.
Once, I did witness guys getting out of their cars, yelling at each other at a toll booth though. In general, I think most people here just drive like maniacs normally and the majority of the population is used to it.
It’s the non-mainaics and non-NJians that cause the problems. Generally, out here the outer lanes are for people going at least 15-20 mph over the speed limit. However during rush hour, that doesn’t always work.
One very annoying thing is that very few people like to get in the right hand lane. So often during my commutes, I end up going into the right hand lane. I know it’s wrong but it is often your only option besides running over people.
One other NJ problem is that NJ has the absolute worst traffic signage I have ever seen. It’s always at or after you actually need it. As a result, there is a lot of last minute lane changing etc. But since it happens all the time, you kind of just expect it, swear and let it go…lol
When my parents visit, they are generally amazed at how people drive out here. One time, they saw this guy going about 70/80 in a 55 zone on a bridge, swerve in front of me, a cop in another lane, and maybe 1 or 2 more cars in order to switch from the far right lane to a lane 3 or 4 over on the right.
Both my parents were just waiting for the cops to turn on their lights and pull the guy over. No such luck, that’s just routine NJ driving…lol.
One other NJ quirk I’ve noticed is that for some reason people out here slow down and drive way worse in the rain as opposed to the snow. It drives me crazy!!
As someone who grew up driving in the rain and snow, there is no reason to slow down to 20 mph in the rain unless its a monsoon with major puddles and no visibility!
My typical reaction to all things driving is usually a WTF with accompanying arms in the air going “what’s up with that”. I have occasionally tailgated but that is usually reserved for people in the left lane going the speed limit or lower and there is a long line of cars backed up behind me.
In general if it’s just me or 1 or 2 cars behind me, I’ll just wait or go around the car. However, when one car is holding up a bunch of people, I feel like they should be paying attention and pull into the middle lane to let traffic keep moving.
Now that I have been a Jersey driver for almost 9 years, I have to admit that when I go back to OH and drive, I get insanely aggravated by the OH drivers!! They are just so slow and purposeless…lol
Buf, after reading that I am terrified to drive in New Jersey.
I wonder if a GPS would be able to direct the driver on those streets without signs. I’ve never used a GPS so I have no experience with it. Does it tell you right at the street or does it say something like, “Turn right at the next light”?
My in-laws are like you in reverse when you drive in Ohio. They live up north and when they come to Detroit they’re always freaked out by the drivers. I actually find it relaxing to drive up there, since people are slower and seem to pay more attention.
Oh no..must disagree…Michigan drivers are the worst!! or at least that what we say in Sandusky about all the Michiganders that flock to town to go to Cedar Point!…lol
Oh, Cedar Point. How could I forget! We used to go there every summer as our big family vacation. I wonder if my dad was an asshole driver with a Michigan plate. Probably :)
GPS is a great tool out here. Since I’m not a native, I was perpetually lost until I got one. I was always calling my native NJian boyfriebnd and asking where I was and how to get home from there…lol They are also helpful for getting around traffic jams. One other NJ fun fact I forgot is jughandles and circles. You know how you have Michigan lefts (for you non-Michiganders, you go through the intersection and there is essentially a u turn lane in the middle where you turn around and go back to the light to make a now right turn). Well NJ used to have a lot of circles where you basically drive in a circle and pick which exit/road you want. Most circles have now been replaced with jug handles. Which are pretty much what the name suggests. To make a left turn, you proceed across the intersection and then exit on the right and loop back to the cross road and merge in. It’s not too bad, however not every road is right hand turns only. So invariably just when you are pretty sure that you need to exit on the right, there will suddenly be a left hand turn lane…lol
Yes, I hate the Michigan left. So no one else has that, huh?
I just barely followed your jug handle explanation. I’m pretty sure I know what you’re talking about for the right-hand turn but I’m lost on the left-hand jug handle. We just recently got a few circles a couple cities over and I hate them. Yeah, I said it. I hate them! We had a couple at Michigan State, but I didn’t have a car up there so it didn’t matter.
Think of the jug handle as essentially a Michigan left but instead of u-turning you actually exit on the right hand side and do a u-turn away from the center and merge into the road you wanted to go left on. I think it’s kinda like the cloverleaf intersections on highways.
Okay, I’m following that better than I did. I still want a standard red light though. Here and in New Jersey. I’m sure someone did a study, though, and found that traffic moves faster using these weird jug handles, circles and non-traditional left-hand turns.
I have to admit, a couple weeks ago I ALMOST got a speeding ticket (in a school zone no less!!!) because I normally drive the street before it kicks in. I was going a hearty 27 in a 15 without thinking (and on new medication), definitely erratic and crazy driving there!
Normally, though, I tend to go 5-10 over and tailgate if the person is going 5 under in the left lane. I generally don’t get tailgated because I will go to the other lane when I’m “Sunday driving”. The amount of Californians in Reno, though, has definitely changed how people drive here as opposed to most other parts of the state. In fact, California was named as having the worst drivers in the country, so that explains a lot.
I’ve never driven in California either, but that seems daunting to me. Don’t they have five or six lane highways out there?
Those streets that suddenly drop the speed limit or like a trap to me. They shouldn’t build schools on busy roads :) What’s wrong with them?
Firefox here, and I do not see your Blogher ad, just the snazzy bulletin.
Just read Heidi’s comment up above about us Cali’s having the worst driving. Hmm… Worse than New Yorkers?
I would have to admit that I do get a little mild road rage in certain situations. I am much better now than in my younger years. I used to also have pretty bad parking lot rage as well. I once threatened to run my piece of crap Toyota Tercel into some woman’s much nicer Mercedes because she was trying to steal my parking spot.
What can I say? It was during the holidays and parking was a bitch. I totally would have done it too, but thankfully she backed down. I wouldn’t do that now, though. I have gotten much more zen about crap like that.
Oh man, I have to admit I play chicken every so often when some jackass in a BMW or the like is a big jerk on the road. I also have a cheap Explorer that has a little more presence and threat than a Tercel, though. Maybe this will go away when I get a Jetta next year…
@Michelle I do think California and New York have wild drivers. Maybe it’s all about the numbers — I think the population of those states is much higher and I am generalizing when I think of those two states.
In California I’m think of LA and in New York I’m thinking of Manhattan.
@Heidi It does seem like the owners of luxury cars seem a tad more entitled, doesn’t it?
My boyfriend drives an Audi S8. I tend to just close my eyes when he drives at this point.
I guess that could be seen as an adventure, eh?
Not that you asked, but I see the ad in Safari.
And most of the time in my mind, EVERYTHING is a contest. That’s the source of (rare) road rage for me.
Sweet! I’m glad the Safari contingent is represented, thanks.
Unfortunately, I am very competitive as well and I do see certain things as a competition, but it’s mostly based on my self-righteous judgment that I have the right of way — like when I’m in the correct lane and the lane to my right is ending.
That’s just justifying my stance, I know. At least I admit it, right?
Hey Cardio
I admit to being a roadrager and have no problems with it. Basically everyone else on the road can’t drive (I’m sure everyone feels this way). In particular I hate driving behind or in the general vicinity of old (old is subjective it pretty much stands for anyone in a dark colored late model Buick … I kid, I kid) people, as I like to call them accidents waiting to happen. Why oh why can’t they just drive the friggin speed limit, is this too much to ask?
My cursing count definitely rises while driving not to mention my blood pressure. On some occasions (did I spell that wrong, it looks wrong, you can tell me I was never the best speller) I will even flip the bird and it feels oh so good. If I didn’t rage out while driving I feel my head might actually pop off so it’s for my own health to go all ape shit in my car.
Way to own it Faith. I have to admit, I admire the people who at least own their quirks. It’s that whole hypocrite thing.
I love how Buicks have such a tight connotation to the elderly. But it’s true so much of the time.
Yes, occasions was wrong, but I fixed it. It’s just one of the services provided free of charge here in the Lounge.
Good tips, from AAA and then from you. Steve and I both get waaaay too angry on a daily basis. Not good for us.
And no, the ad doesn’t pop up!
Definitely it’s not a good thing to practice, but I think all drivers have their moments. I’ve been trying to tell myself, ‘If I’m late, I’m late. Rather arrive there a few minutes late instead of an hour late and a car accident later.’
It’s still hard to find my inner zen driver, though.
Well said! :-)
Thanks Angelika!
So I’m thinking I may have a problem…I “speak” of other drivers – sometimes loudly – while driving…so much so that the childebeasts have had “passenger roadrage” since they were like, umm, 3. I’ve just always thought that if you don’t do anything (or a sequence of dumb things) to annoy me, we wouldn’t have a problem.
I guess now they will be justified on one point when they head to therapy. Who knew?? xx
Welcome to the Cardiogirl Empire, Queen Katherine. I have to say I love your name and I hope to see you back soon!
I suppose passenger road rage is a relative term, eh? I’m pretty sure I have given each one of my kids at least four items on the list to discuss with their future therapists. It’s our jobs as parents, isn’t it?