Road Rage out of control!Do you know what I mean?!

Lately I'm coming across more and more incidents on a daily basis of rather extreme road rage confrontations!
I'm an aggressive driver on occasion myself... and I wont make excuses for some of my behavior.

But holy cow, some of the stuff I'm seeing recently is gettin' scary.

We've all seen the TV footage of your average Joe going bonkers in traffic - people carrying on like idiots- poor driving skills - hooning - drink driving and plain lack of knowledge of road rules.

I have two stories to tell you, and then I would like everyone to jump on and share your own experiences!

Scene 1:
Peak hour main arterial road heading home after work... traffic is moving slowly but steadily up to a main intersection with lights.

Two station wagon type vehicles pull over mid stream and from the first leaps an absolutely IRATE stocky athletic gentleman who races up through moving vehicles and wrapping his sleeve around his forearm begins pounding and screaming on the driver side window of the car behind his.
I mean, this guy couldnt get any redder in the face!
So I'm cruising past and all I can think is I hope the people inside the car are bright enough to lock the doors, when the angry man wrenches the door open and throws himself full body into the car and starts bashing the living cr*p out of whoever is inside!
(For the record, police arrived in five minutes, don't ask me how they did but they did).

Scene 2:
Sitting yet again in peak hour after work, (story of my life feels like) I was giving my best friend a lift home...he is what I would describe as being one of THE most stressful people you could possibly drive with - especially when he is doing the driving!
And a car cuts me off as we are rounding a blind corner that has a road merging into it from both sides, anyway, it's just a dumb spot to cut across, without I might add, using any indicator!
So, it's wet weather, slippery conditions and I use the horn to let them know it was a bit too close for comfort... ahem...
and I get the FINGER.
Way to make my mates blood boil! Next thing you know the window is down and it's hurling abuse back and forth between cars as we come to a stop at lights - absolutely packed traffic chaos - 3 main intersections ,merging within a block of space banking back several hundreds of meters.
And this bloke gets out of his car (now holding up traffic mind) and walks the next 100yards or so down to us where we are at the next bend and starts pounding on the window!
Now my buddy is keen as to jump out and ah ...ummm... punch on... so I put the child lock on while he's grabbing at this guy through the window telling him he's a fat f*** who needs more exercise, kindly to wrap his pants belt around my towball and we will drag him the next few kilometers with pleasure etc etc nasty language.

So, in conclusion I may sound naive, I may even feel a little ashamed of myself and other road users but have you ever been involved in or witnessed an extreme case of ROAD RAGE?

Let the Venting begin!

Wag.

Just for the record, if you live in NE Atlanta, GA. and the first scenario happened about ten years ago, then I probably owe you an apology. I don't usually get like that but the guy would NOT stop honking his horn at me!



Now with that out of the way. Yes, I have noticed that over the last couple of years drivers have been getting way more aggressive and out of hand. Even without road rage incidents the concept of driver courtesy seems to be dead. People pull out dangerously, without regard. They dip and dive through freeway lanes (usually texting whilst they do), drive like absolute maniacs, and then they seem to just dare you to look at them or to call them out.

Personally I think it's just a symptom of the ever increasing cult of "me" that we are all falling into. ME TV... All ME all the time. ME and only ME.

Road rage is just Darwins response to this phenomenon!

reply to post by Hefficide


Firstly, boy do you have a long memory!
Secondly, well it's good to know we have all been there so no harm done - it wasn't me!

Good point to make though, this Ego-centric driving business is sending us all nuts...
Constantly in touch with others on our phones and navigators, lack of attention span and disregard for other users on the road all adds up to bad doo-doo.

I really feel that things on roads have been escalating for a while now, I'm seeing soccer-mums, elderly, male and female increasingly involved so it's crossing gender and age lines fast.

Stress Stress Stress!!! :bash:

I can't be the only person who is noticing this!?
I'm intrigued by what motivates us - or otherwise get's our goolies.
Surely people can share a few nail biting confrontations?

you know what also annoys me, when im driving on the motorway(freeway)

and im the only one keeping to the speed limit 70mph. i must see like 40 people in 10 minutes barreling past me at probably 100mph. it's constantly like this, what posses you people to do this? do you know what would happen to your body if you crashed at that speed?

reply to post by MR BOB


Yes!
Absolutely!
I mean come on - arrive alive, for Pete's sake.
I think it's frustrating when people are following the speed limit and drivers who would rather risk safety
of themselves and others sit on your a** like you're in the wrong...
passive aggressive driving techniques are killers.

Hi,

Good thread.

In my time in Sydney, I must have seen 4 or 5 close assaults thanks to road rage. Same as you mentioned, someone loses it and gets out of their car to start a fight. There's just something about that city that brings the worst out of people while driving. Not saying it's just that though, as everyone knows road rage is an almost global phenomenon.

When I moved across to WA, I found the same thing here. Strangely enough, here it's the locals against the tourists - in the locals defence, the tourists do some really stupid things like stop dead in the middle on a country road to read a map or not pull over when approaching another car, forcing them to go off road.

I avoid the highways. Again, if I stick to the speed limit, I'm getting passed by everyone else, and cop some abuse for not speeding. I'd rather take a winding country road and take an extra half hour to get where I'm going. Less people = a more relaxed ride.

Cheers
Shane

Wow, some scary stuff here !
Out here in inland California, we have more
"Here in my car" road rage I think.
People seem to feel invulnerable inside the car, and
they do some insane things. I am a very careful but not slow
driver, never a ticket, female, Mom, etc.
But I have had several people try to kill me and my daughter has too.
Both of us were run off the road on foot ! Within 2 blocks of our home.
Both of us were run off to the right side of the road in our cars also,
by drivers who had not been cut off or made to wait by any
slow driving. They just go bonkers on you here for thrills.
I noticed this 5-8 years ago, people trying to pass close enough to hit your bumper
and people swerving toward other cars or just swerving in general !
You just can't drive near anyone at all. My Son is the
lucky one with the super-lifted f250, 470 engine; no one bothers him !!
I admit I like driving in his truck. It is loud too, has a . I advise a tall vehicle
that is loud !

reply to post by shamus78


Hey, good one.
A wise man once told me - if you can learn to drive in Sydney you can drive anywhere!
Holds true I reckon!

reply to post by CestLaVie


Thanks for sharing!
you gotta lurve the power trips some people have over pedestrians eh?
That's really not okay, and where does this aggressive culture originate from?
I like the sound of your boys car! I myself drive a fairly big 4whl-drive... visibility is better for sure!

Also, over here in Oz, there is a running battle with on-road cyclists... the rage is relentless, and all consuming...
no middle line I'm afraid!

Cheers
Wag

reply to post by wagtail


Thanks for sharing ! I have to go back to one of my soapboxes, media conditioning.
I know, I know, TV and music does not affect people in the least...
or, does it?
Driver, Need for Speed, Grand Theft Auto, Fast and the Furious...heck, even James Bond !
Hey, I had a fast and furious seat belt shield with blue lights, myself !
But, unlike others, I did not let it get to me, hahaha.

Hey Wag! If I fly out to Austrailia (and if your a girl ) will you marry me?

Ruff