American Road Rage

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You from presumably more civilized nations may not know that Road Rage is that group of behaviors resulting from frustration with another's driving: shooting, stabbing, battery, deliberately hitting the other vehicle with your own, screaming matches in the street, etc.

I have been shown a gun twice by those who didn't like my driving, and been screamed at countless times. I know that Los Angeles, where I live, is a car culture more than most other cities -- also I am, to be honest, a terrible driver. But I wonder how common it is for motorists in other cities to flip their cookies.

Have you ever experienced road rage? Is this an American thing?

 

No. It's an anger management thing.

 

Ok, first, I used to live in Buena Park, CA...now I live in crappy Salt Lake City, UT...anyways, you have it easy! People in CA drive SO much better than the stupid redneck hicks here. Just this morning a 70's ford pickup(with huge tires, 20" lift, and more rust than paint) cut me off, then hit his brakes so he could go 10 mph under the speed limit! So I pass him(leagaly) and the idiot folows me home. Then he says he should kick my a$$, among other things. So my dad, who was watching the whole thing walks up to him and shows him his concealed weapons permit, and tells him to get the hell off his property before he put his permit to good use! I never saw a hick drive off so fast. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. Anyways, my point is Utah drivers are compleate idiots, who can't drive!

 

Ha! That was an entertaining story! You should have jotted down his license and slashed his tires for such insolence! I am rather curious, how did your dad ever get a permit for concealed weapons? Is it a State thing? And if someone reveals to an assailant that he is armed with a concealed weapon, does that not nullify the potential charges of having a concealed weapon? What kind of weapon was it?

-MM

 

Sounds like a decent argument for safe, reliable mass transit to me. If memory serves, there isn't much in the way of that in L.A. Nor is there in Houston, where I grew up...they try to solve the problem by continuously adding new lanes. 12 at last count on 59 south.

Here in Paris I don't drive, so I can't really say. A car would be a consistent headache in this town...The trains are always there, you don't have to look for parking, if you need a ride late or a car for the weekend, there are always taxis and rentals. Expensive in the short term, sure, but substantially cheaper than maintaining a car. Not to mention the dearth of parking spaces.

All the advice I can give to the original post is...get yourself a mobile phone and call in every license plate number where the driver brandishes a gun.

And whatever you do, don't provoke. I can't think of a more absurd way to die, really.

 

Wow! No one has ever waived a gun at me!!! But I would have to describe myself as an, um, "assertive" driver.

I hate it when a cluster of cars all drive the same speed and effectively block anyone from passing...I affectionately call these "idiot clusters." My biggest pet peeve of all is someone driving slow in the passing lane - I generally try to educate them as I pass them by passing into their lane rather close to their vehicle!!! They usually wise up after that and move into the non-passing lane.

My last pet peeve are peopoe that use their cell phones while driving - the majority of people on the road are incompetent in general - it becomes exponentially worse when they start yapping on their cell phone...Especially while driving slow in the passing lane!!!! That urks me!!!

 

"and I have never seen a case of road rage let alone been caught up in one."

Wow!!!!

That's like someone who's been in the Navy for 12 years, and has never seen the boat.

Dude. TA. You *REALLY* need to sign up for the lottery...

 

When I was in the UK I saw some pretty bad road rage. The british drivers are pretty bad, and they can be real assholes. Everywhere else in europe it seems fine though. I haven't had problems with US drivers, but then I avoid cities.

 

LOL, ejsmith -- Blackthorne truly must be surrounded by this moving oasis of sunshine and goodness -- not a bad place to be, especially in San Pedro. Protection from Antisocial Behavior, 10' radius.

After all, bad as I am (never aggressive, just inattentive, and in a huge monster-truck) I have *seen* many more instances of road rage than were directed at me.

I am amused by the comment about English drivers -- my friend, who recently returned from there, tells me, "The English I met in London were,
on average, far more rude and many Londoners struck me
as prone to senseless drunken violence for its own
sake."

 

Actually, road rage isn't really all that common, but it is well publicized.
My job is to set up claims for an insurance company, so I've heard just about every type of car accident out there. I generally only get surprised about every 3-4 months or so.

Now, idiot behavior, that's another story. I hear that about 30 times a day at work.

 

I live in the good old uk

<--- see

And I'm telling you we have the worst drivers in the world.

They dont pull guns on you, they arnt really common over here we have tight regulations, but they will run you over without a second though.

During the day oyu get a million and one old grannies in really nice sports cars going exactly 3mph in 2 lanes and boy racers in the other.

At night, well step on the road and you wont step again, to be honest I think the police have given up in most areas, I only ever see speed camera's in 'Rich areas'.

To make things worse I dont even live in a huge city just a middle sized town

 

I live in New Jersey. We have road rage, with all the trimmings. Especially in the summer. Damn New York non-drivers. I too am an intolerant driver.

I still think it's more anger management than geographical, though.

I've seen pretty bad road rage on Guam.

 

I live in Canada. I may not drive, but I've been in the car enough times with my parents. My parents are definitely not violent, and neither are any other drivers I've seen on the roads. Oh sure, there are honkings, a bit of swearing(mostly my part), and when I see the occasional teenage jerk drivers I flash them my finger, but that's about it.

 

I'm just starting to drive and I live in northern Indiana(why does every one think theirs so much corn here?). I've been driving for about a 6 months now. Ya I tend to stick to teh speed limite. I have even backed up trafic behind me, resluting in me hitting most every green light. But no one gets mad at me. I live in an area where it's hard to see whats around the next bend. At least once a month I see a major crash. No one gets mad. Some people envloved in the crash see if the other person is alright or start directing trafic. I'v seen it too.

 

Here in Belgium, people don't start showing you guns if you're a bad driver, they just give you that very disaproving look.

 

Methyl. Listen. If you have been shown a gun, TWICE, because of your driving, one of two things is happening. 1.The road ragers are completely out of line and should be admonished immidiately, or 2.Your driving skills are risking the lives of the people around you. Forcing someone to show a firearm because of your poor navigational skills should be a fairly straightforward sign that you need to take Drivers Ed.

 

es-and-es: I know it. But alas the problem is not my driving theory -- which driver's ed could help -- but my driving practice. I can't do two things at once -- it's some kind of birth defect. I get to thinking hard about something and I forget I'm driving the car (till blaring horns shatter my reverie). I probably shouldn't drive, but I must, so I just try to keep it together and live to tell -- and I keep the radio off.

But I *never* honk at the other people! They merge right in front of my monster truck, they don't go when the light is green, they don't signal -- but life is short, and I wouldn't give them a hard time for an equivalent offence if we were *not in cars* so why pitch a fit? Right?