Dealing with Road Rage

[Perpetual Change]

three or four “rage” honks

honked at half a dozen times

Exaggeration to rationalize a flimsy arguing point?

Eric, it was a bit of both. Yes, I was annoyed at behind honked at half a dozen times, and I'm not gonna drive for anyone when they're treating me like that?

Why? Yes, part of it is "ego"

I think this tells a lot more truth about the situation than the portion I snipped out of this post. Seems like the rest was just a really weak attempt to justify spite.

Someone behind me started honking away. While I hate being honked at regardless, the fact that I didn’t just get one “courtesy” honk but three or four “rage” honks bothered me... I continued to sit... the other driver continued sporadically rage-honking

Frankly, floyd, I'd really appreciate it if you (and eric) didn't keep assuming the worst out of me when you're only selectively reading my posts to prune out what points you want to see while ignoring the rest.

Seriously?  Rules of the road and expectations of other drivers say you turn.  If you're behind someone who has an advanced left light who doesn't go, what do you do?  Sit patiently and wait because they don't think it's safe.  An advanced left doesn't mean you HAVE to go, just that you can.  Piss poor argument.

Wrong. The rules in the road are that you MAY turn, if you've safely checked all the roads. As I already stated, hornblower's annoyances made that impossible already. 

Your argument as to why YOUR behaviour was ok is losing steam.  Your whole reasoning in your OP as to WHY you didn't turn was because you wanted to 'stick it' to the driver behind you - nothing to do with red-light camera's (which, at least up here, there's no such thing for ROR) or traffic density.

Uh, sorry for not remembering every detail right up-front, but I've said nothing false in this thread at all. Had I known I was going to be put on trial, I would have been more descriptive in my OP.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

ROR is aggressive?  Sure, whatever.

No, but RORORORORORORORORORO is. 

Anyway, not sure where to lie on this.  I'm the kind of person who automatically believes that most people I encounter on the road are idiots.  The general public has proven it to me far too many times for me to assume otherwise.  I'd be inclined to say the lady should've cut it out with the horn and stopped calling attention to herself, but as noted, who knows where she was going?  Possibly to the hospital.  Dont know.

[jingle.boy]

Uh, sorry for not remembering every detail right up-front, but I've said nothing false in this thread at all. Had I known I was going to be put on trial, I would have been more descriptive in my OP.

Dude... you're not being put on trial.  You're just shirking any accountability of your own to the situation.  We're just calling it out.  Put on your big boy panties and suck it up.  You had a part in it.

[eric42434224]

Uh, sorry for not remembering every detail right up-front, but I've said nothing false in this thread at all. Had I known I was going to be put on trial, I would have been more descriptive in my OP.

Dude... you're not being put on trial.  You're just shirking any accountability of your own to the situation.  We're just calling it out.  Put on your big boy panties and suck it up.  You had a part in it.

So now PC says the hornblowing made his ROR "impossible".   
Wow.

The only detail I needed to know is that PC intentionally sat at the light 2-3 minutes with the purpose of pissing off another driver.
Regardless of what instigated it, he is now fully engaged in passive aggressive road rage behavoir.  We arent assigning blame percentages here...(She looks to have started it, and we arent aquitting her)...but it took two to tango, and you danced willingly.

Yes, suck it up and put on the big boy panties.  Own your own poor behavoir, PC.

[Ħ]

I sympathize with PC when he says that road-ragers make it difficult to calmly concentrate on determining the correct course of action.

[KevShmev]

The only detail I needed to know is that PC intentionally sat at the light 2-3 minutes with the purpose of pissing off another driver.
 

Right, because ignoring everything else he said then makes it a lot easier to criticize him.  Who needs all of the details anyway?  Better to just focus on one and act like everything else is irrelevant.

And I thought you were done with this thread.  Oh, until someone else agrees with you, which propels you back to try and pile on.  Very poor form.

[black_biff_stadler]

Frankly, floyd, I'd really appreciate it if you (and eric) didn't keep assuming the worst out of me when you're only selectively reading my posts to prune out what points you want to see while ignoring the rest.

Uh...I did read your entire post which is how I came to the conclusion that:

Seems like the rest was just a really weak attempt to justify spite.

Seems hypocritical for you to accuse me of assuming when I didn't and you just proved you did assume that I didn't read your entire post.

I just hope you're okay with me pruning my own post for that quote.

[Perpetual Change]

Uh, sorry for not remembering every detail right up-front, but I've said nothing false in this thread at all. Had I known I was going to be put on trial, I would have been more descriptive in my OP.

Dude... you're not being put on trial.  You're just shirking any accountability of your own to the situation.  We're just calling it out.  Put on your big boy panties and suck it up. You had a part in it.

Once again, I'm not inclined to listen to this type of absolute disrespect.  The whole point of this thread is "Dealing" with Road Rage-- not getting DTF's acquittal; I am more interested in what to do when it happens, and how to react, and importantly how to stay relaxed behind the wheel. These sort of "man-up and go" comments exactly embody the type of driving attitude I reject, and really have no place here.

For example, maybe my story doesn't add up. Maybe I don't know how many times I was honked at, whether there was too much traffic to turn safely, or whether I was even allowed to turn on red or not?

What does that say to you?

To me, it says I was definitely getting wrapped up in the feeling of road rage. Sitting tight, breathing, and just waiting for the light to know I was safe to go was necessary, if not a bit overboard.

Driving off while starting to feel the rage-- especially when the light was actually red and there was traffic-- was not something I'm sure I could have even done safely and alertly.

If jingle.boy, floyd, eric or others have other actual suggestions on how I could have dealt with this situation (or others where road rage exists) better-- again, driving off doesn't seem like it was a good idea, either-- I'm more than willing to listen. But I'm not gonna entertain insult-laden factual audits of my story; that's disrespectful to me and completely besides the point.

[eric42434224]

The only detail I needed to know is that PC intentionally sat at the light 2-3 minutes with the purpose of pissing off another driver.
 

Right, because ignoring everything else he said then makes it a lot easier to criticize him.  Who needs all of the details anyway?  Better to just focus on one and act like everything else is irrelevant.

And I thought you were done with this thread.  Oh, until someone else agrees with you, which propels you back to try and pile on.  Very poor form.

When the OP admits that he purposefully sat at the light just to piss off the other, already pissed driver, that is the only detail I need to know to make one specific conclusion.  That the OP was directly involved in escalating the road rage situation with purposeful passive agressive behavoir.  Please find a scenario where that would be an acceptable action with that purpose in mind.

And I wasnt aware that you were my Internet Mom today?  Poor form?  LOL

[eric42434224]

Uh, sorry for not remembering every detail right up-front, but I've said nothing false in this thread at all. Had I known I was going to be put on trial, I would have been more descriptive in my OP.

Dude... you're not being put on trial.  You're just shirking any accountability of your own to the situation.  We're just calling it out.  Put on your big boy panties and suck it up. You had a part in it.

Once again, I'm not inclined to listen to this type of absolute disrespect.  The whole point of this thread is "Dealing" with Road Rage-- not getting DTF's acquittal; I am more interested in what to do when it happens, and how to react, and importantly how to stay relaxed behind the wheel. These sort of "man-up and go" comments exactly embody the type of driving attitude I reject, and really have no place here.

For example, maybe my story doesn't add up. Maybe I don't know how many times I was honked at, whether there was too much traffic to turn safely, or whether I was even allowed to turn on red or not?

What does that say to you?

To me, it says I was definitely getting wrapped up in the feeling of road rage. Sitting tight, breathing, and just waiting for the light to know I was safe to go was necessary, if not a bit overboard.

Driving off while starting to feel the rage-- especially when the light was actually red and there was traffic-- was not something I'm sure I could have even done safely and alertly.

If jingle.boy, floyd, eric or others have other actual suggestions on how I could have dealt with this situation (or others where road rage exists) better-- again, driving off doesn't seem like it was a good idea, either-- I'm more than willing to listen. But I'm not gonna entertain insult-laden factual audits of my story; that's disrespectful to me and completely besides the point.

Ahhh...so now we were waiting at the light to gain a moment of zen....a Calgon moment of sorts....to get away from the bubling feeling of rage.  And of course you wanted to make 100% sure it was completely safe because of the imminent dangers of ROR.
What a crock.  You acted douchey.....are you seriously trying to say you didnt?  Who are you really trying to convince here?

And I dont think you really want to hear what you SHOULD have done, because I already told you.

When the chick honked, you wave the "Sorry" wave, and move up.  Look for oncoming traffic, and when there is a safe opportunity, you make the ROR.  Done. 

Not sit there for 2-3 minutes and make a bad situation worse.
Is it really that difficult?

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

This thread should be re-named "Dealing with thread rage".

[Ħ]

Lots of people be mad up in dis thread.

[kirksnosehair]

This thread should be re-named "Dealing with thread rage".

You win the internet 

[Perpetual Change]

Yeah, some people are definitely not getting the point of this thread, and are actually making me feel pretty insulted and disrespected here. I guess this is where, like with the honker earlier, I step away and refuse to take the bait.

Sorry for the short-lived thread and unclear discussion.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Lots of people be mad up in dis thread.

If this thread were a car, I would honk my horn at it repeatedly.

This thread should be re-named "Dealing with thread rage".

You win the internet 

That's a three-fer today. 

[jingle.boy]

Ima just gonna leave this thread on a  thanks to Coz.  Dude, you are all "that" and a bag of chips.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

*honks*

[Big Hath]

I fully embrace that it is a dick-move for me to box aggressive drivers in as we're driving down the road, and I love every minute of it.

[black_biff_stadler]

The whole point of this thread is "Dealing" with Road Rage-- not getting DTF's acquittal; I am more interested in what to do when it happens, and how to react, and importantly how to stay relaxed behind the wheel.

Please show us where, in your OP, that you conveyed this. The only points you expressed in it were:

1. Someone was hostile with you on the road.

2. You figured the person was trying to tell you it was okay to turn on red.

3. That bit of info wasn't worthy of your care based on your displeasure with their approach.

4. You admittedly waited an absurd amount of time in order to express spite.

5. You poured salt in the wound by driving out more slowly than you otherwise would've.

6. You gave yourself somewhat of a pat on the back for being a "safe" driver despite admitting you talk on the phone while driving occasionally while considering it "stupid" for others to text on the phone while driving.

Not once in that OP did you ask what to do when it happens, how to react, or how to stay relaxed. We all have vent threads from time to time and that's fine. I'm not criticizing you for venting. I was criticizing you for trying to justify your obvious escalation of the situation as well as backpedaling and evading the actual focus of the thread when people called you out for apparent bullshit.

The OP:

So coming back from lunch today while stopped at an unfamiliar light, I realized that I didn’t catch whether it was “no turn on red” or not. So, instead of taking any chances, I decided to sit tight.

Someone behind me started honking away. While I hate being honked at regardless, the fact that I didn’t just get one “courtesy” honk but three or four “rage” honks bothered me. I figured the driver was trying to tell me that I can turn on red… but, at that point, I just didn’t care. I continued to sit another 2-3 minutes while waiting for the light to turn green, the other driver continued sporadically rage-honking as we sat there. Eventually, the light did turn green, so I gently accelerated forward.

The car behind me passed me as soon as the street opened up to two lanes, and the driver summarily yelled something and flipped me off from her window.

Though I don’t mind driving in busy traffic, I really dislike aggressive driving, especially when people are aggressive for no reason. As I commute back and forth between home and work everyday, I notice lots of drivers doing stupid things, from the all-out idiotic (texting while driving), or simply lazy (not using turn signals). I’m not a perfect driver—I’ve taken calls while on the road before, too—but I like to think that I’m, at least, a safe driver, and I really don’t understand why other drivers can’t just relax while behind the wheel. 

[Tick]

A host of drivers are fucking idiots for various reasons.. Especially the dickhead who weaves in and out of lanes at 90 miles an hour on the highway to try and knock 20 seconds off his commute. That's the guy I want to beat the shit out of.

[Ħ]

This thread:

erik: no u
Kev: no u
erik: no u
Kev: no u
PC: no u
erik: no u, peace out
b_f: no u, peace out
PC: no u
erik: no u!!!
PC: brb
b_f: NO.  U.
H: trololol

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I'm really sincerely hoping that briang comes back right now, after years of inactivity, just to tell everyone that they're all wrong.

[black_biff_stadler]

I never peaced out at any point. I've sat eagerly at my keyboard throughout.

[Tick]

I love good drama when I'm not involved in it!

[Ħ]

I never peaced out at any point. I've sat eagerly at my keyboard throughout.

oops, that was jingle boy. d'oh.

[black_biff_stadler]

I love good drama when I'm not involved in it!

I, too, am a fan of rare moments

[JayOctavarium]

I agree with Kev and PC 150% (sorry b_f )
When it comes to a left turn or a ROR, I play the overly cautious role... I have seen too many people t-boned at the end of my street) a T style intersection onto a major road w/ one stop. Traffic travelly E / W on major road does not stop) I've spent probably more time than really needed waiting for it to be 110% clear. no one is going to push me into turning when I don't feel it is safe... and if they do, I will retaliate in a manner similar to PC
 
 
 
 

This thread:

erik: no u
Kev: no u
erik: no u
Kev: no u
PC: no u
erik: no u, peace out
b_f: no u, peace out
PC: no u
erik: no u!!!
PC: brb
b_f: NO.  U.
H: trololol

 
 

[MrBoom_shack-a-lack]

I fully embrace that it is a dick-move for me to box aggressive drivers in as we're driving down the road, and I love every minute of it.

[eric42434224]

I agree with Kev and PC 150% (sorry b_f )
When it comes to a left turn or a ROR, I play the overly cautious role... I have seen too many people t-boned at the end of my street) a T style intersection onto a major road w/ one stop. Traffic travelly E / W on major road does not stop) I've spent probably more time than really needed waiting for it to be 110% clear. no one is going to push me into turning when I don't feel it is safe... and if they do, I will retaliate in a manner similar to PC

I would agree with you except that he waited out of spite, not safety.
The safety factor is not the issue here.  He said he waited out of spite...not that it wasnt safe.
Big difference.  Big douchey difference.

[bosk1]

Well, since somebody has to be the Internet mom, and Kev isn't doing that job to Eric's satisfaction, I guess that falls on me.  Y'all are being a bunch of idiots, and that goes for plenty of people on both sides of this "debate."  If P.C. wants to start a new thread about how to handle road rage, that's cool.  I didn't get from the original post that that's what this was supposted to be about, and it is obvious that others didn't either.  Rather than hand out half a dozen or so warnings, I'm just going to lock this and say have a nice day.  Either discuss the topic of road rage without thread rage, or not at all.

[bosk1]

Oh, and...