Road Rage or something else?

Some people have anger management issues.

Whether in the grocery store or on the highway, you can easily spot these folks. You've seen them - people who huff and puff, role their eyes and eventually resort to glaring at the cashier so the line will move quicker. On the road, these folks tailgate to bully you out of their way, lay on their horn so you know they mean business, even gesture with their hands or release a few choices words, not to be repeated around young children.

Other people are just naturally impatient.

They pace waiting for the bus, dart past you on the sidewalk and never wait on the crosswalk sign for permission to cross. Behind the wheel, they change lanes, constantly, often squeezing in where little room appears to exist. They speed up at yellow lights and keep going even when those lights turn red. They must drive just a little faster and get ahead of just a few more cars. These folks have an innate need to get where they are going, fast. To them, cruising or idling is simply not an option.

We have seen a steady (and alarming) increase in Road Rage in this country. I can accept the drivers with anger management issues and even tolerate the impatient ones. To some degree, they just can’t help themselves – its how they’re wired. I yearn to help them discover the pleasure of patience (or find a way to get them into therapy).

It’s the rest of the maniacs on the road I take issue with. They are simply rude, for no other reason than they can get away with it.

You know who I'm talking about – the ones who don’t yield the right of way in a merge zone or a traffic circle (that’s a Rotary to you New England folks). They cut through residential streets, flying over speed bumps and rolling through stop signs. They zip down aisles to beat others to the open parking space or even snatch up a handicapped spot, because “they’ll only be a minute”.

Would they behave this way with their friends and colleagues? Would they slam the door behind themselves rather than hold it open for the next person? Would they cut through the conference room with a meeting in session to take the shorter route back to their desks? Would they run down the hallway to beat someone else to the copier? I think not.

Insulated in a vehicle, anonymity allows them to misbehave without consequences. The ability to drive away without confrontation is liberating. Who are these people? I think they are folks just like you or I. So, next time you are on the road, relax, take your time and remember the good manners your mother taught you.