Share Your Road Rage Story

C

carouselsilver

Member
Location
Eastern PA
I'll start. One day I had driven into Philly to see a specialist, and got caught up in rush hour traffic on the way back. As I had over an hour of travel, I was eager to get on my way. I had just merged onto the highway and joined a long line of cars that were moving slowly. We reached another exit, full of more cars waiting to get onto the road. There was the usual stop and go, and then a mini van was just about to pull out when I blocked him. It wasn't deliberate, just one of those moments when it wasn't safe to wait.

The driver of the mini van started cursing and blowing his horn at me. As traffic moved along, I saw that he had succeeded in pulling out. He then proceeded to follow me. I would switch lanes and he would follow suit. I would switch back, and he would do the same. I took the nearest exit and he did too. At this point I was terrified and just driving aimlessly, wishing I could find a police station, but it was a residential area. I pulled into the parking lot of an office building and he followed me there, too so I went back on the street and then pulled in the parking lot again. After he had followed me three times, he saw that I was just going to keep circling the parking lot without stopping, so he finally gave up and blew his horn at me once more before driving off.

At that time I didn't have a cell phone, or I would have called the police. Has anyone else had a scary experience with road rage (your own or that of someone else?)
 

Great topic! I was living in South Florida in a gated community. This was right before the real estate bubble, so we had some questionable characters in our neighborhood. It was a relatively upscale neighborhood, but there were cars on blocks in driveways and multi-generational families living in the houses.

Someone had cut me off in traffic just before I arrived at the gate. I opened the gate and the other driver was on the Guest side. I mouthed something off-color to him (admittedly my mistake) and he followed me into the neighborhood and ultimately blocked me in his driveway. His entire family came out of their house and was cursing at me and accusing me of not living in the neighborhood. They were insisting I get out of my car so they could fight with me. I never put my windows down and I eventually drove off, but I was traumatized.

I have little patience for idiots on the road, but this has helped me a lot...

 
Yes when I was younger I was bringing my kids home from karate practice when this guy kept hanging on my tail. I put up with it for a while, then decided I'd had enough and slowed down and pulled off the road.

I told my kids to duck down because I didn't want them to see their mom deliberately running over some guy. I had decided if he stopped and got out of his car, I was going to use my car as a weapon and take him out. We were in an isolated spot and no one as far as I could see was on the road.

Thankfully for him, he slowly passed by and then took off, but I got a good look at him. I was going to possibly murder that guy and still feel that conviction today because I had my children with me.
 
I just don't have one road rage story. Thankfully, none have ended with fights or car damage. But I don't know why, but when someone cuts you off, etc. I get enraged. It's this anger that blots out reality.. And this only happens when I'm driving. I'm not a fighter-never been in a bar fight, out side of one fist fight in the 7th grade, I've never punch anyone in anger. Yet, behind the wheel of a car....................
I'm generally a pussy cat.
 
Yes, there is something about people being rude, disrespectful or just plain dangerous behind the wheel of a car. The most I have ever done when angry at someone cutting me, off was to put on some of my teenaged daughter's music and turn up the bass. If they were still riding in front of me, this was usually enough to make them pull over and let me pass!
 
Many years ago, while I was living in Manhattan, I was on my bike going from West 82nd Street, to Jane Street in the village (Greenwich Village), to my job. I was riding along Central Park West. I stopped for a red light. I noticed one car waiting for the light to turn green had an elderly woman in her 70's behind the wheel. Just as the light turned green, a city bus turned onto Central Park West in front of her. She had to put on her brakes, and this little elderly woman raised one hand and extended her middle finger at the bus and its driver. I laughed so hard, I think I almost fell off of my bike.
 
I never understood the point of being too ticked off by stupid or rude behavior.... we have incredibly dumb drivers who seem to realize last second they need to merge or need an exit .......
when i moved here i drove like I did in past city that if you were not smart enough to know your exit too bad.........i grew more forgiving in my time here.

I have been cut off or had people waving their fist .......as if I knew they needed THAT exit and were not paying attention
most of time there is NO room for them to sneak in and they hold up 2 lanes of traffic........ .....
I have .watched crazies weaving in and out etc just slow down to avoid them .... spouse takes it personally wants to catch up and give them the finger ......
i asked him WHY ?
people are laughing at the elderly man flipping someone off......
or maybe this nut job is dangerous is damage to car or possible someone following us......... worth being able to give someone the finger....
most of the time it is just speeding drivers.................... whom thankfully i have had a lot of satisfaction knowing we are about to pass a speed trap and waving to them as officers have them pulled over.....................
 
Yes I've had a couple of road rage attacks... the most memorable and scary one was in a multi-storey car park in the city...

I was driving down from the 5th floor, and the turning points down to each floor was very tight so people had to take it really slowly or they'd hit their bumpers (fenders) on the wall as they turned to descend down the slope to the next floor..

I'd got behind a car who'd done just that , and he was reversing to try and straighten up.. ( he had a wife and kids in the car).. so I beeped him once ( just a little toot , to let him know I was behind him and couldn't back up...

He went ballistic.. ..I wasn't expecting that reaction at all..:eek: he got out of his car, and I immediately wound my window up, and he started banging on my window, thumping the roof of my car ( all for one warning toot).. other cars started beeping him, so he jumped in his car and drove down to the exit..

There was 3 exit ways so I got in the one next to him, put my ticket in and drove away. At the first set of lights he caught up with me and jumped out and repeated his screaming.. he was going to kill me.. smashing his fist on the car.. ..I was going to run him over if he got in front of the car but he didn't, he stayed at the drivers door.. but I was absolutely going to kill him out of sheer panic.. if I'd got the chance

the lights changed and again..I drove off with him standing there.. and rushing to his car .. and he gave chase.. all the way through the city... .
It was just the most incredible thing.. a woman in the front seat and kids in the back...

My heart was racing.. ( no phone with me..) so I drove through all the back streets at break neck speed to lose him.. and he still followed.. fortunately I'm a very good driver..I drove straight to the police station and my heart completely sunk when I saw it was CLOSED.... but after another back street chase I managed to lose him by getting enough in front of him that I was able to turn into a car park in one road before he saw where I'd gone.. and I saw him drive straight past
 
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hollydolly said:
Yes I've had a couple of road rage attacks... the most memorable and scary one was in a multi-storey car park in the city...

I was driving down from the 5th floor, and the turning points down to each floor was very tight so people had to take it really slowly or they'd hit their bumpers (fenders) on the wall as they turned to descend down the slope to the next floor..

I'd got behind a car who'd done just that , and he was reversing to try and straighten up.. ( he had a wife and kids in the car).. so I beeped him once ( just a little toot , to let him know I was behind him and couldn't back up...

He went ballistic.. ..I wasn't expecting that reaction at all..:eek: he got out of his car, and I immediately wound my window up, and he started banging on my window, thumping the roof of my car ( all for one warning toot).. other cars started beeping him, so he jumped in his car and drove down to the exit..

There was 3 exit ways so I got in the one next to him, put my ticket in and drove away. At the first set of lights he caught up with me and jumped out and repeated his screaming.. he was going to kill me.. smashing his fist on the car.. ..I was going to run him over if he got in front of the car but he didn't, he stayed at the drivers door.. but I was absolutely going to kill him out of sheer panic.. if Id got the chance

the lights changed and again..I drove off with him standing there.. and rushing to his car .. and he gave chase.. all the way through the city... .
It was just the most incredible thing.. a woman i the front seat and kids in the back...

My heart was racing.. ( no phone with me..) so I drove through all the back streets at break neck speed to lose him.. and he still followed.. fortunately I'm a very good driver..I drove straight to the police station and my heart completely sunk when I saw it was CLOSED.... but after another back street chase I managed to lose him by getting enough in front of him that I was able to turn into a car park in one road before he saw where I'd gone.. and I saw him drive straight past
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OK, Holly, this one wins the prize,(if there was one, lol) That was one maniacal character! Geeze!
 
I usually drive the speed limit, because it is there, so the only real trouble I have is with tailgaters who pitch a fit because they can't intimidate me into going faster. Its not like there is much traffic around here and they couldn't just pass. I have had them pass, slam on the brakes 2 or 3 times before speeding off.
 
Pinky said:
We're thinking of getting a dash cam for our next vehicle. Lots of instances where drivers have done crazy
things.
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I've got a dashcam but it keeps coming unstuck from the windscreen, and then swinging dangerously by it's wire across the front of me when I'm driving, so I've taken it off..
 
I say a set of prayers every day, and part of the section where I pray for protection from danger, I include a plea to remind me to not engage because it usually takes two to tango, as they say.
 
When we moved to Dallas over 16 years ago, driving was pretty easy, especially in our little 10-mile "bubble" going on errands. Now, we've had such an influx of new residents that no one seems to know where they are going. It is not uncommon to see people turn very suddenly or even cross several lanes to make a turn. There are also more incidents of people running red lights, so I always wait and look both ways after the light turns green. At first, I was appalled and angry. Now, I just anticipate that it is going to happen so it doesn't upset me anymore.

I think the reason we get so angry in our cars when someone cuts us off is 1) because we leave our homes in our cars expecting people to act a certain way and they don't and 2) because we consider our cars our "personal space" and someone has just invaded it.

I just keep referring back to the video I posted, remembering that we all make mistakes and that the affront wasn't directed at me personally.
 
I never had a personal encounter with road rage but I have "silently" cursed a few dumb drivers in my day. 😆 One night my husband and I were getting ready to get on the highway. We had just turned onto the entrance to two of them and were approaching the fork in the road. My husband was trying to decide which way to go so he slowed down a little. Two (Caucasian) guys were in back of us and started honking and honking. My husband opened the door and started to step out of the car. They backed their as*ses up out of there. I thought it was so funny. :ROFLMAO: My husband was always one to approach things calmly and peacefully but of course, they didn't know that. Bet they won't roll up on a Brotha again...selling sh*t! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:
 
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dseag2 said:
I think the reason we get so angry in our cars when someone cuts us off is 1) because we leave our homes in our cars expecting people to act a certain way and they don't and 2) because we consider our cars our "personal space" and someone has just invaded it.
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I believe those 2 considerations are the essence and main trigger for Road Rage. The expectations thing can be relative, when driving locally there is one set of expectations, but when going down to L.A. to visit my son the traffic is so heavy, people do so thoroughly crazy stuff but strangely drivers are more tolerant of being cutoff, sudden lane changes etc. :unsure:
 

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