According to a new poll, Americans are getting ruder. "From road rage in the morning commute to high decibel cell-phone conversations that ruin dinner out, men and women behaving badly has become the hallmark of a hurry-up world." "The most common complaint about rudeness in the poll was aggressive or reckless driving, with 91 percent citing it as the most frequent discourtesy."
Anyone who knows me knows that I am an aggressive driver. Therefore, I must take up the cross as it were, and perform my duties as an aggressive driver apologist.
It must be noted that, with exceptions, most drivers become "aggressive" and "rude" when another driver...a sloooowwwww driver...cuts in front of him or her. Take the following senario as an example. You are late. Very late. If you are good enough, you can just make it to (fill in the blank with an important place) on time. You are in the middle lane; people are filling up the right and left lanes to turn right up at the light ahead. The person in front of you gets over into the right lane, and the road in clear until past the light...you will make it! Then, just as you hit 30 mph, a mini-van "merges" in front of you (I would prefer "cuts", but I'll be nice). The driver proceeds to go slowly, causing you to miss the light. UGH!
There are many such examples. Sllloooowwww drivers going 10 mph below the speedlimit, coming to complete stops before turning, not using their indicators, stopping at yellow lights, sitting at stop signs waiting for everyone and his brother to go first (out of the order learned long ago in driver's ed). Though I would make the argument that they create us, slow drivers at the very least perpetuate the aggression and rudeness in those of us who actually like to get where we are going.
So I say to those of you who drive in two lanes, who drive slowly in the left lane versus the right lane like you should, who seem uncaring that the person behind is late and needs you to move over, YOU should stop being so selfish. Stop being selfish enough to think the road is yours alone; move over, to that right lane where you belong, obey more of the traffic laws, and I bet you will notice a marked decrease in the aggression of other drivers.
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SouthAfrica has a VERY high death toll on its roads. Mainly because EVERYONE speeds. Our city speed limits is 60km/h (37mph) most people go 80km/h or more. Provincial roads are either 80km/h or 100km/h. Most people go 120km/h. National roads are 120km/h most people go 150km/h or faster. Before I had children I was caught doing 93km/h in a 60 zone.
For me, speeding isn't the issue. I'm not for breaking the law. I'm for better drivers. Here, drivers ignore the "rules of the road" and do their own thing, i.e., going significantly below the speedlimit in the inside lane, coming to a complete stop before turning, stopping short at yellow lights, etc. I think road rage is at least in part fostered by stupidity on the part of what I call, slow drivers. Regardless, I'm going to have a part two on the subject to address better ways of dealing with it besides getting angry.
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