Like most people, I hate traffic. I am a hyper aggressive driver, but I follow the laws and never drive recklessly (I promise!). Driving in and around Chicago is a nightmare; there is constantly construction, which means traffic. Exits are closed and people are never proactive about the ‘lane closure signs,’ so as one could guess, traffic is heavy and nerves are high. As much as I hate to admit it, road rage has been a friend of mine and many others, too. I’ve never gone far enough to yell out a window or flip off someone (though I have been a victim), but my aggressive driving has picked up. This got me thinking: what types of road rage exist?
After reading a couple of articles from iDrivesafely and The Odyssey, my eyes were opened to the different types of road rage and how comical some can be.
What I hate most on the road, are the drivers that wait until the last second to merge when there are lane closures or traffic. I don’t know what they think makes them special, but this is a problem that needs to be stopped. This type of aggressive driving and other things like tailgating and aggressive lack of signal use is actually a form of road rage! I will admit, sometimes I do tailgate, but never purposely. My friends have called me out on it many times and I am trying to get better. These are the people who, when upset, think they are the king of the road and no law applies to them. The handbook may as well not have been written when these folks get behind the wheel. Nothing irritates me more than when I have to slam on the brakes for someone to turn when they forgot to use their signal (commence road rage)!
I remember when I was a child, we would take family road trips all the time. And you know how families can be on long road trips: tensions get high, sibling arguments can break out and don’t get me started on stopping for bathroom breaks. My mom, bless her soul, is a terrified driver and passenger. Regardless of the situation, she is either clutching the wheel or the passenger handle for deer life, constantly trying to back seat drive, which no one likes. Turns out, my dad absolutely hates back seat drivers, and he was always the lucky one to drive us on vacation. It only took about 2 hours before my mom really got under my dad’s skin and the race started. He was the silent assassin, deadly and fast behind the wheel. He we would step on the gas and speed/race other cars on the road (which wasn’t necessarily a bad things because we just arrived at our destination faster!).
In my opinion, that is the scariest type of road rage. It seems as if these people don’t care about anyone on the road, the condition of their car or the safety of the passengers. My poor dad, all this did was make my mom even more upset and it just never end up well. Needless to say, our road trips were exciting!
The last type of road rage would be the rule following warriors. The people that honk their horns, flash their lights, maybe even roll the window down to yell or flip a hand gesture every time someone forgets to use a signal or goes over the speed limit. If there is one type of rage that I hate, it’s this. There is no need for someone to try to tell others how to drive, unless they have a blatant disregard for the law or are just terrible drivers, which in that case, they shouldn’t be on the road. I would say my mom is a warrior, to say the least. She is always making comments on others but the worst she ever does is shake her head. These people are usually pretty passive, never endangering others.
Each of these three types of road rage are or annoying in their own way. What’s worse is when people display multiple forms of this rage at once. It’s pretty easy to demonstrate them all and at times people can get carried away. The reasons behind road rage can be many, whether it’s internal conflict, a bad phone call, other drivers on the road or just a bad day. With how people are today, I have no doubt that these road ragers will continue to drive angrily and more people will begin to rage.
So what can we do about it? Nothing, honestly. Other than driving safely and being responsible on the road, all you can do is laugh about the ragers when you get to your destination, because, you have to admit, seeing someone freak out on the road can be pretty funny. Which type of aggressive driver are you? Think about this the next time you get cut off or see a total moron on the road, but try your best not to be a moron yourself!
Across The Pond 