# How have you handled road rage?



## Karatedrifter7 (Dec 15, 2007)

:uzi:

We've all been there before. Your driving, somebodys insisting that they pass, he or she starts honking, flips you off, then wants to fight you. Or you want to pass, they flip you off, etc. Or somebodys insisting you let them ahead of you they start calling your ancestors names, if you dont. Or somebody thinks you looked at them wrong. Who knows?
But I want to hear what happened to you? How you handled it?

DM


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## Cruentus (Dec 16, 2007)

I usually smile because *******s who road rage generally lead pitiful lives.

If they are behaving erratically and endangering others, I'll actually call the police, and track the road rager until they show (done that a couple times). But I don't respond by yelling or flicking people off. I am trained, and usually armed, and therefore it is my duty (as is anyones) to do my best to not escalate things. If something breaks off and it comes out that I was cursing back or giving him the bird or whatever, I could be seen as a mutual combatant. As a professional, I cannot receive such a charge. I must keep my cool.

Good topic, though.


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## ejaazi (Dec 16, 2007)

I had someone look right at me and give me the finger. I wanted to stop and get out and kick their ***, but I realize that anything can happen in the flash of a moment and it's not worth it. So I just kept on driving and let it pass.


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## BrandiJo (Dec 16, 2007)

ejaazi said:


> I had someone look right at me and give me the finger. I wanted to stop and get out and kick their ***, but I realize that anything can happen in the flash of a moment and it's not worth it. So I just kept on driving and let it pass.



why would you even bother justifying their immaturity and pettiness  with a response. Things can go bad really quick if you confront someone over something so dumb, its really not worth it.


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## KeeblerElf (Dec 16, 2007)

I drive in an area with a lot of cops usually around so I usually laugh because more than likely, one of these days they are going to get caught. My favorite was a woman who tried to get in front of me when her lane ended and to let her I would have had to slam on my brakes so I refused and made her get behind me (it was rush hour and a very busy road) and she tailgated me, yelling and screaming something in her cars  and nearly hit me several times. When we got to a place a cop is always sitting which is at a light that was red at the time. The cop sat there, looked at the woman who was about 2 inches off my bumper at most and flipping out, looked at me, and then pulled her over. I got to stop and tell the cop that she had been at it for several miles.  I felt kind of bad for her, but maybe it taught her a lesson.


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## theletch1 (Dec 16, 2007)

KeeblerElf said:


> I drive in an area with a lot of cops usually around so I usually laugh because more than likely, one of these days they are going to get caught. My favorite was a woman who tried to get in front of me when her lane ended and to let her I would have had to slam on my brakes so I refused and made her get behind me (it was rush hour and a very busy road) and she tailgated me, yelling and screaming something in her cars and nearly hit me several times. When we got to a place a cop is always sitting which is at a light that was red at the time. The cop sat there, looked at the woman who was about 2 inches off my bumper at most and flipping out, looked at me, and then pulled her over. I got to stop and tell the cop that she had been at it for several miles.  I felt kind of bad for her, *but maybe it taught her a lesson*.


Doubt it.  I've seen that particular mindset too many times.  You'll be the bad guy in that scenario in the woman's mind for a long time.


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## fireman00 (Dec 16, 2007)

good time to vent... Friday night, snowing with a little freezing rain ... roads are slippery and sloppy ... I'm 1 hour into what would turn into a 2.5 hour ride home... I decide to get off and grab a Veggiemax at Subway ...I'm in the left lane of the exit ramp when some jackass pulls up alongside me in the right lane and stops and very deliberately flips me off then drives away.  MMMMMmmmmm... nothing better then being flipped off when you're already stoked from dealing with folks that think driving safely in the snow is doing 30 mph in the far left lane... 

The urge to ram him broadside at the stop sign at the end of the ramp and drag him out and wrap a set of 'chuks around his neck and squeezing for about 60 seconds  seemed very appealing... however the aftermath of the courts and lawsuits made me think twice... after that it was diaphramatic breathing for about 15 minutes.

the sammich was delicious tho.... 


Any time I wind up getting stressed it seems that 5 minutes of deep and steady breathing does the trick.


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## Carol (Dec 16, 2007)

I let 'em go.  They are NOT worth the deductible.


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## Sukerkin (Dec 16, 2007)

On the counterside of this, I'm in a state of what might be considered 'road rage' any time I am in traffic.

I find it a very stressful experience, as there are innumerable people wrapped in tons of metal around me, moving at speeds that can kill me, most of whom have no sense of what is going on outside of the inside of their vehicles.  Very few do the speed limit, so you often end up in the insane position of being stuck behind someone doing 30 in a 70 whilst the chap behind you, with his illegal halogens on main beam, is trying to climb inside your car as if it's your fault.

I'm human, despite my pretensions to being a logical and reasoning entity {:lol:} and I'm essentially in a life threatening combat situation.  There're two well known physiological reactions to such a situation and both are denied to me by circumstances.

So what shape does my road-rage/coping strategy take?  I chunter ... almost constantly ... especially if I have someone else in my car as I am then also responsible for thier safety ... but I make no physical manifestations of my fear/anger, other than the odd shrug of the shoulders, so other road-users are not affected by it.  What they may be influenced by is that I do have the terrible habit of glaring intently in my rear-view mirror at someone who is too close.  Sometimes it works and they fall back to a safe distance but I really shouldn't as it is very 'challenging' behaviour.

Long story short, I love driving but hate traffic .  It's no good for my heart, I can tell you!  If only we could talk to the people in the other cars it would be so much better.


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## Kreth (Dec 16, 2007)

I like to blow the road ragers a kiss. :lol:



Sukerkin said:


> Very few do the speed limit, so you often end up in the insane position of being stuck behind someone doing 30 in a 70 whilst the chap behind you, with his illegal halogens on main beam, is trying to climb inside your car as if it's your fault.


As I've posted elsewhere, a Maglite resting on your shoulder will often cure this behavior.


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## loyalonehk (Dec 16, 2007)

I dont react unless myself or family is in actual physical danger.  When someone is trying to blast past me, I let em go...  In my own mind I like to think to myself that he/she might have just received a call that one of their loved ones is hurt or they have a real emergency.  I get out of their way.  

If they want to get me to pull over and stop, then they obviously are not in that big a hurry. I'll just let em go unless I have no other option.  

I love it when they blow past and then you reach the same trafic light together...  Oooh (whatever).  

Kharma Baby:btg:


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## Kacey (Dec 16, 2007)

I don't do anything overt... but there will be hand gestures below the level of the dashboard and loud and annoyed utterances - but as Carol says, it's not worth what the deductible and increased insurance rates would cost me.


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## KeeblerElf (Dec 16, 2007)

theletch1 said:


> Doubt it.  I've seen that particular mindset too many times.  You'll be the bad guy in that scenario in the woman's mind for a long time.


 
Hmmmm... that's sad. I still held out the faintest hope that she would at least not decide to tailgate someone while yelling obscenities. It just doesn't seem safe and I have to say, had she hit me, I probably would have been using not the best words in the English language.


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## jks9199 (Dec 16, 2007)

I had a psych professor who suggested a very effective coping strategy for traffic.  Cows.  

All the other drivers are cows.  What happens if you're driving somewhere and a cow wanders into the road?  You say something like "Stupid cow..." and wonder whose field it got off.  You don't get mad at the cow; it's just a cow.  I've found this mindset helps a lot...

Of course, I do get frustrated sometimes... I swear that cops project some magical aura that drivers around us can pick up on, even if we're not in cruisers.  'Cause it sure seems like, if you're trying to get somewhere and can't hit the blue lights and siren, somebody in front of you has to drive precisely 3 mph below the speed limit... Just fast enough that you can't get around them, but too damn slow when you're trying to get there.  That, and I think we project a field that drops driver IQs by 20 points, directly related to our need to get somewhere...


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## grydth (Dec 16, 2007)

jks9199 said:


> I had a psych professor who suggested a very effective coping strategy for traffic.  Cows.
> 
> All the other drivers are cows.  What happens if you're driving somewhere and a cow wanders into the road?  You say something like "Stupid cow..." and wonder whose field it got off.  You don't get mad at the cow; it's just a cow.  I've found this mindset helps a lot...
> 
> Of course, I do get frustrated sometimes... I swear that cops project some magical aura that drivers around us can pick up on, even if we're not in cruisers.  'Cause it sure seems like, if you're trying to get somewhere and can't hit the blue lights and siren, somebody in front of you has to drive precisely 3 mph below the speed limit... Just fast enough that you can't get around them, but too damn slow when you're trying to get there.  That, and I think we project a field that drops driver IQs by 20 points, directly related to our need to get somewhere...



It is nor an aura - it is a conspiracy. I encounter so many awful drivers that I know *they* must be watching me. As soon as I head for the Santa Fe, it's like those World War II movies with "Pilots Man your Planes"...... and the crowd of utter morons heads for their rust buckets. If I manage to pass one, you can see another pulling out a couple blocks ahead.... ever read Harlan Ellison's, "Along the Scenic Route":zap:   

That's why I get so angry - its a conspiracy!


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## bydand (Dec 16, 2007)

Kreth said:


> I like to blow the road ragers a kiss. :lol:



This is too funny.  It is exactly what I do as well.  Either that or I get this really big exaggerated grin and wave like a loony finding his long lost imaginary friend, complete with the "hand phone" motion and an mouthed "Call Me"  

Only ticked off one person enough to actually follow me into a store parking lot, usually they just get this strange look and hurry off down the road.


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## Lisa (Dec 16, 2007)

Karatedrifter7 said:


> :uzi:
> 
> We've all been there before. Your driving, somebodys insisting that they pass, he or she starts honking, flips you off, then wants to fight you. Or you want to pass, they flip you off, etc. Or somebodys insisting you let them ahead of you they start calling your ancestors names, if you dont. Or somebody thinks you looked at them wrong. Who knows?
> But I want to hear what happened to you? How you handled it?
> ...



I usually just laugh and let them go.  Anyone that gets that upset because they aren't first in line, or because they feel they are so important they need to go first seriously needs to grab a brain.  They look sooooo funny yelling and cursing. :lfao:


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## morph4me (Dec 16, 2007)

I've cultivated a mindset that says I can't really be pissed because the other person is an *******, they should be pissed at their parents for raising them to be *******s.


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## Grenadier (Dec 17, 2007)

It's not worth the precious calories. 

Yes, man's laws clearly shows you that you are in the right, and that the other guy will be at fault, but there's one small fly in the ointment...  

Nature's laws tend to supercede man's laws, meaning that the other guy is driving around a heavy hunk of metal machinery, and that he possesses a deadly weapon in the form of that vehicle.  

What good is suing the guy going to do you, if you're not alive and well, to collect the judgement?  

Let the ninny drive on.  Call the authorities, report that there is a reckless driver endangering the lives of other people on the road.  Provide as much detail as you can, and let the authorities deal with him.


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## Gordon Nore (Dec 17, 2007)

I try to tune it out. It can be frustrating though. Two things that grind my gears (excuse the pun):


The stare. Seinfeld did a spot about on his show. It's when you're in stop-n-go traffic trying to change lanes, and people stare straight ahead pretending not to see you, knowing full well it's not going slow them down to let you in.
When I signal a lane change and have room to move, but my signal is read as: _Speed up. I cannot allow that guy to be in front of me._
I don't flip people off or scream at them; however, I do use some fairly colourful language with my indoor voice.


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## Ping898 (Dec 17, 2007)

Most of it I have to admit doesn't get to me, but when I get really pissed off, I usually crank the stereo to some loud rock I can sing to and usually within 10 or 20 minutes, all the energy I got pent up from the anger is dissapated....


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