F
flwrldy
Guest
<b>Mom, You've got Road Rage!</b>
<i>* AUTHORS NOTE: This article is intended to take a humorous look at a very serious problem that we all have experienced at one time or another. Whether you are on the receiving end or dishing it out, I'm sure you will be able to relate. A little more common courtesty on the road, a closer attention being paid to traffic laws, and a less-rushed lifestyle would benefit us all. Okay, so we can't do much about that last one, but we CAN do something about the first two. Let's try it for a while, and see what a difference it can make.</i>
<b>So my daughter informed me as I yelled "You Idiot! Learn how to drive!" at the driver who only seconds before had almost rear-ended me. The driver's young son glared at me as their car went around mine. As if I had done something wrong!
I had done it correctly. I had slowed down, turned on my turn signal and pulled over to the curb to let my passenger out.
Except that, the driver behind me, who was trying to make a four-lane road out of a two lane with parking lanes, had not been paying attention to her driving.
Every day I let the same passenger out at the same spot on this same street and four out of five days I come <i>this</i> close to being rear-ended by an inattentive driver.
"Mom, you need to chill out."
Chill out? How about these drivers learning to follow some basic traffic laws? They all took Drivers Ed. They were taught how to drive correctly. Do I have road rage? You betcha.
What gives with the driver that makes a right-hand turn from the left lane? With no signal?
How about all these folks who think a yellow light means, "Put the Pedal to the Metal"?
And the ones that really get to me are the ones that turn a corner into the far lane,instead of the nearest one. I pride myself on being able to turn into the proper lane, maintaining the speed limit, and STILL signal and cross into their lane in front of them. Then I slow down and go five miles an hour under the speed limit. Just to bug them.
I live two blocks from a middle school. It's located on the corner of a busy four-lane street. There's a bright white painted crosswalk there. And the police put one of those buoy-type markers in the middle of the street every morning. There's
a nice set of yellows lights on either side of the road that will wake you up with their blinking. There are BIG signs that say: 15 MPH when children are present.
That's the law. The normal speed limit on this street is 30 mph. When I turn my corner onto this street the traffic is barreling up behind me,going at least 35-40 mph.
Okay. Now they have less than two blocks to slow down from 35-40 to 15 mph. Want to guess how many accomplish that in the space allowed? One percent. And that's only because I switched lanes, (after signaling of course), and then slowed down to 15 mph a block before the crosswalk. They can't get around me because the other lane is packed with folks driving 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. I just smile and wave into my rearview mirror.
In a September 1997 article for People Magazine, Dr. Arnold P. Nerenberg, quoted as being a leading authority on Road Rage was asked, "How does a driver recognize that he or she may have a problem?"
"Well, if you brandish a weapon, you have a big problem. But if you flip people off more than twice a year or you shout at them and beep your horn or flash your lights more than twice a year, I'd say you have a problem."
No, I would not ever brandish a weapon. Yes, I do have a problem.
"Why is road rage on the rise?"
Dr. Nerenberg replied, "A simple reason is that roads in metropolitan areas are more congested. More people, more cars, more delays during the commute, more frustration. In the past 15 years, as more women have entered the workplace, families have gone from one car to two cars, even three. Additionally, many people say they are feeling more stress in their daily lives - there's more divorce, child-care issues in two-career families, less job security."
Did he say <i>more stress</i>? That's an understatement if I ever heard one.
My parents used to complain about the drivers in Arizona. "They tailgate, they drive too fast, they're always talking on a cell phone (don't even get me started on <i>that</i> one), and the really bad ones are almost always women."
In defense of women everywhere, and addressing Dr. Nerenberg's comment on stress, I have to say that yes, in my experience, most of the drivers who drive too fast and tailgate are women. Trying to balance getting the kids off to school, running errands that nobody else is willing to run, and getting to work on time besides, is very tricky business.
I do believe there is a time and place for
everything, however, applying mascara with one hand while sipping cappuccino with the other, is not my idea of responsible driving.
Recently my oldest daughter and I were reading through an original newspaper from 1928. She marveled at an article that spoke of a certain family who were leaving the community and going on an auto tour. This was big news in 1928. The
article stated the family expected to be gone for a week. "Can you imagine?" she asked me. "Well," I replied facetiously, "when there's only two vehicles total in the community, I guess this would be exciting news."
According to the U. S. Department of Transportation's Research Note dated March, 2001, there were 217,293,000 registered vehicles in early 2000 in the United States.
Just <i>think</i> of all those idiots on the road!
The ones I really feel sympathy for though, are the ones that appear to be afraid to drive. You know the ones I mean. They drive 15 mph in a 30 mph zone. They sit at the intersection forever, waiting for the just the right moment to pull out. Of course, I'm usually right behind them with a whole list of things I need to get done, and I'm grinding my teeth saying, "Just floor it!" "Turn already!" "Take a chance, hey!" They're the ones that turn on their signal as if they're going to
change lanes, and then just simply forget to do it.
It would be nice to have the time to dilly-dally around behind some driver going 15 mph under the speed limit, but I don't. I already get up at 5 a.m. in order to be to work by 8. I'm not getting up any earlier, thank you very much. I realize I will be retired someday, but right now I'm not. I can't count the times I've told my kids, "When I start driving like that…take the darn car!"
My friends and co-workers tell me I'm going to regret that. I understand what they're implying, but I disagree. I'm going to write myself a letter. Soon. It will read like this:
"You're obviously driving like an idiot if your kids are here to take the car away. You are a danger to yourself and countless others on the road. You knew this day would come, and you were the one who told them to do it. Save your dignity and give them the car. Now."
Then under that, there will be a place for them each to sign. It will look like this:
I, ___________________, have just saved the community from an unsafe driver. I further my commitment by pledging to take my mother shopping when she asks, out to dinner once in a while, to the doctor for her appointments, and for a drive
just for fun a couple times a year. I pledge to find her other means of transportation, in advance, for those times when I am unavailable, such as Dial-A-Ride, a Senior Bus Pass, or helpful neighbors.
In the People Magazine article mentioned earlier, Dr. Nerenberg was asked, "Did road rage exist before cars?" To which he replied, "I think so. Think about the story of Oedipus, in ancient Greece. He's walking along a road and encounters a
royal carriage. They tell him to get out of the way. He won't. They argue. He kills everyone in the coach. And, as we all know, that was only the beginning of Oedipus's problems."
When I was learning to drive, my father called me 'Leadfoot." My husband tells me I drive like a maniac. "You accelerate too quickly. You brake too sharply."
Maybe so. I've even been known to make an abrupt move in a parking lot if there are no on-coming vehicles.
But I don't drive <i>stupid</i>. And I don't break the law.
There <i>is</i> a difference.</b>
© 2001 flwrldy
<i>* AUTHORS NOTE: This article is intended to take a humorous look at a very serious problem that we all have experienced at one time or another. Whether you are on the receiving end or dishing it out, I'm sure you will be able to relate. A little more common courtesty on the road, a closer attention being paid to traffic laws, and a less-rushed lifestyle would benefit us all. Okay, so we can't do much about that last one, but we CAN do something about the first two. Let's try it for a while, and see what a difference it can make.</i>
<b>So my daughter informed me as I yelled "You Idiot! Learn how to drive!" at the driver who only seconds before had almost rear-ended me. The driver's young son glared at me as their car went around mine. As if I had done something wrong!
I had done it correctly. I had slowed down, turned on my turn signal and pulled over to the curb to let my passenger out.
Except that, the driver behind me, who was trying to make a four-lane road out of a two lane with parking lanes, had not been paying attention to her driving.
Every day I let the same passenger out at the same spot on this same street and four out of five days I come <i>this</i> close to being rear-ended by an inattentive driver.
"Mom, you need to chill out."
Chill out? How about these drivers learning to follow some basic traffic laws? They all took Drivers Ed. They were taught how to drive correctly. Do I have road rage? You betcha.
What gives with the driver that makes a right-hand turn from the left lane? With no signal?
How about all these folks who think a yellow light means, "Put the Pedal to the Metal"?
And the ones that really get to me are the ones that turn a corner into the far lane,instead of the nearest one. I pride myself on being able to turn into the proper lane, maintaining the speed limit, and STILL signal and cross into their lane in front of them. Then I slow down and go five miles an hour under the speed limit. Just to bug them.
I live two blocks from a middle school. It's located on the corner of a busy four-lane street. There's a bright white painted crosswalk there. And the police put one of those buoy-type markers in the middle of the street every morning. There's
a nice set of yellows lights on either side of the road that will wake you up with their blinking. There are BIG signs that say: 15 MPH when children are present.
That's the law. The normal speed limit on this street is 30 mph. When I turn my corner onto this street the traffic is barreling up behind me,going at least 35-40 mph.
Okay. Now they have less than two blocks to slow down from 35-40 to 15 mph. Want to guess how many accomplish that in the space allowed? One percent. And that's only because I switched lanes, (after signaling of course), and then slowed down to 15 mph a block before the crosswalk. They can't get around me because the other lane is packed with folks driving 40 mph in a 30 mph zone. I just smile and wave into my rearview mirror.
In a September 1997 article for People Magazine, Dr. Arnold P. Nerenberg, quoted as being a leading authority on Road Rage was asked, "How does a driver recognize that he or she may have a problem?"
"Well, if you brandish a weapon, you have a big problem. But if you flip people off more than twice a year or you shout at them and beep your horn or flash your lights more than twice a year, I'd say you have a problem."
No, I would not ever brandish a weapon. Yes, I do have a problem.
"Why is road rage on the rise?"
Dr. Nerenberg replied, "A simple reason is that roads in metropolitan areas are more congested. More people, more cars, more delays during the commute, more frustration. In the past 15 years, as more women have entered the workplace, families have gone from one car to two cars, even three. Additionally, many people say they are feeling more stress in their daily lives - there's more divorce, child-care issues in two-career families, less job security."
Did he say <i>more stress</i>? That's an understatement if I ever heard one.
My parents used to complain about the drivers in Arizona. "They tailgate, they drive too fast, they're always talking on a cell phone (don't even get me started on <i>that</i> one), and the really bad ones are almost always women."
In defense of women everywhere, and addressing Dr. Nerenberg's comment on stress, I have to say that yes, in my experience, most of the drivers who drive too fast and tailgate are women. Trying to balance getting the kids off to school, running errands that nobody else is willing to run, and getting to work on time besides, is very tricky business.
I do believe there is a time and place for
everything, however, applying mascara with one hand while sipping cappuccino with the other, is not my idea of responsible driving.
Recently my oldest daughter and I were reading through an original newspaper from 1928. She marveled at an article that spoke of a certain family who were leaving the community and going on an auto tour. This was big news in 1928. The
article stated the family expected to be gone for a week. "Can you imagine?" she asked me. "Well," I replied facetiously, "when there's only two vehicles total in the community, I guess this would be exciting news."
According to the U. S. Department of Transportation's Research Note dated March, 2001, there were 217,293,000 registered vehicles in early 2000 in the United States.
Just <i>think</i> of all those idiots on the road!
The ones I really feel sympathy for though, are the ones that appear to be afraid to drive. You know the ones I mean. They drive 15 mph in a 30 mph zone. They sit at the intersection forever, waiting for the just the right moment to pull out. Of course, I'm usually right behind them with a whole list of things I need to get done, and I'm grinding my teeth saying, "Just floor it!" "Turn already!" "Take a chance, hey!" They're the ones that turn on their signal as if they're going to
change lanes, and then just simply forget to do it.
It would be nice to have the time to dilly-dally around behind some driver going 15 mph under the speed limit, but I don't. I already get up at 5 a.m. in order to be to work by 8. I'm not getting up any earlier, thank you very much. I realize I will be retired someday, but right now I'm not. I can't count the times I've told my kids, "When I start driving like that…take the darn car!"
My friends and co-workers tell me I'm going to regret that. I understand what they're implying, but I disagree. I'm going to write myself a letter. Soon. It will read like this:
"You're obviously driving like an idiot if your kids are here to take the car away. You are a danger to yourself and countless others on the road. You knew this day would come, and you were the one who told them to do it. Save your dignity and give them the car. Now."
Then under that, there will be a place for them each to sign. It will look like this:
I, ___________________, have just saved the community from an unsafe driver. I further my commitment by pledging to take my mother shopping when she asks, out to dinner once in a while, to the doctor for her appointments, and for a drive
just for fun a couple times a year. I pledge to find her other means of transportation, in advance, for those times when I am unavailable, such as Dial-A-Ride, a Senior Bus Pass, or helpful neighbors.
In the People Magazine article mentioned earlier, Dr. Nerenberg was asked, "Did road rage exist before cars?" To which he replied, "I think so. Think about the story of Oedipus, in ancient Greece. He's walking along a road and encounters a
royal carriage. They tell him to get out of the way. He won't. They argue. He kills everyone in the coach. And, as we all know, that was only the beginning of Oedipus's problems."
When I was learning to drive, my father called me 'Leadfoot." My husband tells me I drive like a maniac. "You accelerate too quickly. You brake too sharply."
Maybe so. I've even been known to make an abrupt move in a parking lot if there are no on-coming vehicles.
But I don't drive <i>stupid</i>. And I don't break the law.
There <i>is</i> a difference.</b>
© 2001 flwrldy
