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Road Rage Redux

My regular readers may recall a blog post I did last month. I was talking about Road Rage and I’d made a New Year’s Resolution to try and get mine under control.

Well, we all know about New Year’s Resolutions, don’t we? Most of them don’t last more than 24 hours.

Of course most people make New Year’s Resolutions that are hard to keep, like going on a diet or stopping the ol’ cigarette habit. Now, those are really hard, aren’t they?  It’s difficult to resist the siren call of chocolate cake or even a double helping of some delicious entrée like alfredo pasta with lots of breadsticks.

And as for smoking…well, that’s an addiction, isn’t it? It’s incredibly difficult for the strongest person even on their best day to kick that habit.

But not giving in to road rage? Making a pledge to be a better person while behind the wheel? You’d think that would be pretty easy. Alas, I have discovered that it is not. I am trying. I am trying. I think I deserve some points for that, anyway. Right!?

But it’s really hard when I can’t go a single day driving on the roads – to and from school with the kid, to and from the grocery store – and encounter lousy drivers practically every single time!  Actually it’s kind of scary, that there are so many bad drivers on the road that I encounter them every single day, in the space of a half an hour here or half an hour there.  I mean good grief, where the hell did all of these people learn to drive!?  Off the back of a Cracker Jack box??

Is it me? Do I just attract them?  Is there some kind of alert service out there? Someone with binoculars watches me leave my house and sends out a broadcast to all and sundry, “Hey, Wendy’s on the road. Drive-her-into-a-tizzy-Plan A, go! Go! Go! GO!”  It sure seems like it!

I mean…turn signals. Is it so hard to remember to flip on your turn signal when you’re going to make a turn? And then actually turn the way the turn signal is indicating?

These are the same kinds of drivers who aren’t sure if the business they’re looking for is going to be on the left side of the road or the right side of the road…so they just straddle both lanes.  I mean…get a GPS! The little lady with the sexy voice will tell you which lane you need to be in and how far you’ve got to go before you need to turn. Problem bloody solved!

Then there are the folks who apparently think that a stop sign is just sort of a suggestion.

I mean really, it’s almost as if after I made that stupid resolution, all of a sudden the worst drivers came out from whatever rocks they were living under just to test my resolve. And test it and test it!

My son says I should just strive to be a better person and not strive for actual perfection. And maybe he’s right. That might be the better tack to take.

But good grief, when I’m even getting flashes of road rage just touring down the Walmart aisles with my buggy…well, is there really any hope for me and my resolution at all?

walmart

26 thoughts on “Road Rage Redux”

  1. I was the queen of road rage and made this same resolution years ago. I’m still working on it, Wendy! I am making headway, so I’m here to tell you that there is hope for you. 😉

  2. I’m sorry, I just had to crack a smile (or was that a big grin) over your post.. Yes there are loads of bad drivers out there, and yes I think they are out to get you!!! 😉 did you consider that their resolution this year is to be less careful and that’s why you are coming across them so often 😉

    No seriously, kidding aside! Yes there are loads of idiots out ther that have no business driving a car, I fully understand your road rage issues, even at Walmart (or any other grocery store)… Unfortunately I’m afraid we will have to put up with these people… And blow a fuse on occasions… Occasions, OK? !!! 😉

  4. OMG! Can I relate to this…I’ve given up trying. When it gets bad enough that I want to get a bat and start smashing in the windows and lights and every other part of the car ahead of me, I try to take deep breaths, while enjoying the small movie playing in my brain. If you find a way to get rid of road rage, let me know right away. Thank you very much.

    P.S. Once, when I was at the DMV, an elderly gentleman could NOT keep his eyes open to have his photo taken. They took his picture over and over and over again and every single time he closed his eyes at the perfect moment. He could not understand what the woman at the camera post was saying. That’s not the worst part, he could not find his way out of the building/room. He wandered around and around, until he was finally led to the exit by a guard. He could NOT FIND THE DOOR. He was so confused, he didn’t even know where he was and they gave him a new driver’s license.

    • I don’t think I’ll ever get rid of it. If I can just tone it down, I’ll be happy. Although the cursing HAS gotten quite creative of late. 😀 It’s truly scary to think that guy’s out on the road somewhere! Good grief.

  5. What about the pedestrians (and bicyclists) who have to put up with motorists who: abruptly turn into parking lots without warning?; fail to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks who have the right-of-way (when making turns)?; speed through parking lots or alleys?; shortcut through parking lots to avoid waiting for the (traffic) light to change?; cut pedestrians off at intersections (as they’re starting to cross) when doing right-on-reds?; and etc.?

    • Oh I am with you on that! A serious pet peeve of mine is drivers who do not stop at cross walks or when the walker clearly has the go ahead from the “walk” sign. I agree with you on everything you said! Some drivers pose a real danger to those around them.

  6. Cheer up, it could always be worse! Youtube “drivers in Russia” to get my meaning, and a good laugh… along with some amazement and fright.

  7. This post cracked me up.I love to see some good road rage! Maybe you missed your calling? Perhaps you were meant to own a driving school! 😉

  8. So today, Wendy, there’s a foot-plus down and more snow falling. I’m stopped, first waiting for the left-turn signal. It turns green, I go, slowly on the very slippery road, and the clown driver in the right lane opposite direction decides to make a right on red in front of me. I lay on my horn, I’m already moving and sliding, and she keeps going anyway and cuts me off completing her illegal right on red. Yes, I road-raged behind her for a mile.

  9. Wow you hit my sentiments exactly. I believe there is an drive the sane people crazy alert button out there somewhere…because I get more than my fair share especially the ones that turn without signaling ugh!!!!!!! The weavers and the bobbers are the worse until they end up in a accident, then things even out …but yes I feel you totally!!!

  11. In SoCal, most people think that using their turn signals is a form of “giving information to the enemy.”

    My favorite is the local post office with the one-way, one-lane, do-not-enter, all-the-parking-slots-are-slanted-away-from-you, clearly marked entrance. It’s normal for me to be exiting while facing down the what-kind-of-a-freakin’-idiot-are-you, oh-it’s-OK-you’ve-got-a-BMW, the-rules-are-make-for-peons, you’re-REALLY-going-to-drive-up-over-the-sidewalk sector of the populace.

    On the other hand, a couple years ago, on a long training run, along a busy street, a guy pulling out of a shopping center parking lot damn near smeared me all over Ventura Boulevard. I jumped, did some Dukes of Hazzard hood-sliding, kept on running (as much as I wanted to stop and scream) and listened to him screaming obscenities at me for “getting in his way.” I figured karma would work it out. A few blocks later, here he is, pulling up next to me and getting out. I’m wondering what his problem is now and looking around for the nearest cop, but the guy was there to apologize. He was having a bad day, hadn’t seen me, blew up, felt bad about it, and came looking to apologize. We parted on good terms.

    Sometimes civilization wins. (But not at the post office.)

  12. I have been where you are, can still get there if I am running late. As I read, I felt your anger building. What helped me stop being angry at the dumb drivers was a form of practice along the lines of”forgive them Lord they know not what they do.” If I expect drivers to be good, I can get mad when they are not; if I expect them to be idiots I feel good because my intuitions are confirmed. Feeling good about my skill, I can more easily bless than curse.

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