imported post
My primary road rage lesson came from a visit to Sicily. During a crew rest in Catania we were in the crew bus heading in from the hotel when we approached this weird five-way intersection. It was a little confusing, and another driver tried to turn up a one way street, had to stop, and jammed the entire intersection. Our Italian bus driver shouted a few choice words that I didn’t understand. The driver, realizing what he did, looked over and sheepishly shrugged his shoulders. That’s when it happened. Our bus driver’s mood suddenly changed, and he smiled and waved. I suppose it was because he figured that sooner or later everyone is going to do something boneheaded like that.
That greatly influenced the attitude I have now. Yes, it’s frustrating at times when someone makes me seven or eight seconds later than I already am, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s really no big deal. After all, I’m sitting in a freaking recliner with heat and air conditioning at my disposal!
Another incident happened on Tacoma Mall Blvd and was the reason I pursued my CPL. My friend Hormone Dave Williams and I were driving south where there’s a bunch of lanes- the far left goes to I5N, the next one left goes to I5S, the next continues on the Blvd, and the far right turns to UP. Anyway, apparently some Mr Competitive guy didn’t let another guy change lanes (it’s a madhouse there at times because each lane has a single purpose) so the driver that felt dissed was outside his car, standing at the driver’s side door of the other guy, and screaming violently at him and banging on his window. The light changed and Mr Competitive rolled up but had to stop because the light went red again, and the angry guy got back into his car, rolled up along side Mr C, and then got out and went back to his previous position outside his door screaming at him. It was frightening how violently angry this guy was!
Most of the road rage is due to some weird sort of competitiveness that many drivers feel. They don’t let you get on the freeway, like you’re supposed to drive into the weeds because they don’t want to be behind you. Once I decided I wasn’t going to drive like that, any rage I felt towards the stupidity of another driver went away. Although, now that I’m driving the ex-copcar crown vic, I really don’t get many angry responses from other drivers anymore.
, but it still affects anyone who cares about the 2A......
