The world is divided between those who support Road Rage and those who don't, and ne'er the twain shall meet. But before you go flipping the bird to some little old lady because didn't manage a stop sign in precisely the same way you think she needs to, consider this:
You have no idea who is in the car next to you. For all you know, that person has had the worst day of their lives--perhaps beaten by a boyfriend. They may have lost their job or are spending their nights taking care of a loved one who is slipping away to some illness. Perhaps it is an elderly person struggling to live independently or someone who has had a string of the worst-day-of-their-lives. There are some folks out there really living their lives and dealing with some tough stuff.
To be living with that kind of heartache and then for someone to erupt in a fit of rage because you didn't accelerate after a green light on cue like a trained animal is darn near inhumane.
I know it may sound hard to believe, but the world actually does not revolve around you. Assuming it should is probably where some of your rage is coming from. I realize you are stressed--but so are others. Your stress does not give you license to abuse others, and neither does your license.
Many of us drive slowly or cautiously. We're allowed. We are well within the legal limits. Before you spout that everyone should be 'off to the races' whenever they put rubber to the road, I will suggest that if there is anyone pushing the limits of the law and jeopardizing all of our safety, it would be those with Road Rage.
I'm guilty of giving as well as receiving this. There's something about being boxed in a car that makes you angry--angrier than you would normally react to things. By nature, I'm not someone who likes to get into verbal confrontations with people, I will go out of my way to avoid verbal confrontations. But get me behind the wheel of my car, and the next thing I know, I am screaming at the person in the next car because they wont get up to speed as they merge onto the highway.
ReplyDeleteOf course, maybe some of my road rage has to do with the fact that I'm always running late to where I'm supposed to be. So it's not really the fault of the person in front of me, but myself, and yet, I feel compelled to blame my lateness on an external source. Instead of looking at the reasons I'm running late (procrastination, overbooking myself, etc.) and accepting that I have caused myself to go behind schedule, I feel this need to lash out at people around me... And it's totally wrong.
Yet, when I'm riding my bike, I have no road rage at all. Or, well, a lot less. Why? Because I'm on a bike and if I piss off a driver, they can catch up to me and do what violent acts they will. So I become timid on the road. (Except to hold my ground on the road and to shout at the occasional driver who has rudely cut me off or passed to close.)
I think there is something about boxing yourself in the isolated little world of your big bad vehicle, though, that psychologically turns the most passive person into a raging lunatic.
Sitting on the highway, not moving very quickly, also seems to increase the blood pressure. I'll be so glad when I wont have to drive to work on I-271 and the forever construction zone of Route 8 after August 1st!!
This is why the caged bird sings.
ReplyDelete