Road Rage Posted by: Dale Franks
on Wednesday, January 18, 2006
So, The Lovely Christine and I are driving to the mall, when this guy in a pickup comes zooming up behind us, then has to slam on his brakes, because we're on a residential street, going the speed limit, and he's driving about fifty. Then he commences to making obscene gestures and flashing his brights at us.
Chris, who has a bit of temper herself, hits the brakes. This just enrages the guy, so as soon as we reach a wider part of the street, he hits the gas, and zooms around us. (Frankly, at that point, I wouldn't've let him do so. We were in Chris' car, a 2004 Mitsubishi Spyder GT. He was in a pickup. If I didn't want him to pass us, he wouldn't've.) Chris let the guy pass us—on the right, no less, on a residential street. As he was passing us, he began to yell a string of obscenities out the driver's window, then he cut in front of us and slammed on his brakes, which Chris was waiting for. It was a cool day, so we had the top up, but Chris rolled down her window and threw him the bird.
Oh, well, the guy just goes beserk then. He pulls over into the turn lane and slows down still screaming, calling Chris a whore, and what have you. Chris is laughing hysterically by now, because she's not really mad, and the guy is literally foaming and spitting.
Anyway, we get to s stop light, and I'm getting a bit tired of this, so I open my door to step out of the car. Chris immediately grabs my shirt to stop me (Yeah. Right. Like she could. Maybe if she had another 6 inches and 100 pounds on her.), telling me to stay in the car. I mean, I'm getting a bit pissed at this point, because I'm the only one who's allowed to call Chris a whore, and even then it's specifically restricted to a very rigid set of events, within a tightly specified time frame.
So, I've got one foot out of the car, and, even though Chris has grabbed my shirt to keep me in the car, I'm about to shrug her off when the guy yells at me, "Hey, if you get out of your car, I'll run your ass over!"
At that point, even I burst out in laughter.
"You'll run me over?! What kind of chikensh*t are you? Why don't you get out of the truck and face me like a real man?" He just yelled "F*ck you!" Now, Chris and I are both laughing. Chris, deciding that things had gone far enough, pulled out her cell phone and began dialing 911. The guy saw this, and since the light had changed by this point, when Chris started moving straight, the guy turned left, and sped off.
I don’t know what kind of pansy-ass Book is, but I admire your restraint, Dale. I’d like to know how the hell a guy like that expects the occupants of the other car to react to his behavior.
I think mkultra is one of your better commentors, he has a set agenda opposed to most everyone else which makes for good debate. Makes the place more interesting.
Dale, Good for you, Society is starting to accept this behavior as the norm. People need to stand up to this behavior. The worst part about it is, if he were to kill you with his truck he would get 2 to 5 with time off and anger management.
Book, if you don’t like the subject matter posted here, no one’s twisting your arm to make you stay. Heck, I’d be happy to hold the door open for you in anticipation of your departure.
If someone is tailgating you, pull over and let them by; it’s not worth it.
Not relevant to this situation, but... for some of you, if you’re in the left lane on the highway and you’re being tailgated, then pull the $#@! over and let them by. If you’re in the left lane, and you’re not in the process of passing someone, you’re probably breaking the law regardless of what the speed limit is and how fast you’re going.
Besides, you can read their license plate better as they go by. Afterwards, you can drop a dime on ’em if you still feel the need.
I’d wager there is more road rage caused by people who think that no one needs to be going any faster than they are, than by all other factors combined.
