Road Rage - not my fault... I think!

Lum

Road rage issues can indeed happen to anybody. All that is being suggested here by some posters is that if it is happening to you at a rate significantly higher than average, maybe you could look at your own driving.

These incidents are still inexcusable and I hope that everyone who tailgates or otherwise bullies or takes out their aggression is eventually caught and punished, but I still view trying not to annoy other road users as being the same kind of precaution as when I decide not to walk alone in certain areas of Newport late at night. I shouldn't have to do that, but I do anyway as it's safer.

I can see why people object to statements like this, it's getting dangerously close to victim-blaming. But I'm trying to put this forward as something you can do to protect yourself in the future rather than criticising things you've done in the past.

If, of course, you don't care about the aggressive actions of others and feel perfectly safe to ignore them while sat in your little metal box with lockable doors, then feel free to carry on as before.

Just hope that you don't eventually wind up someone enough that they put your windows through and/or try to ram you off the road, because when that happens it is utterly terrifying. It happened to my GF when she got home one day and interrupted a gang of criminals trying to steal my car.

Lum

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Lum, I apologise if I had you for a chap chapess.

But I think we are in sinc, ps, you need to change your username or be more femine in your replies.

There, I made my avatar purple instead of red, how is that?
Purple hair is awesome anyway.

Lirin

I could give a few incidents over the years of poor driving- but the funniest had to be when I pulled into the left hand lane at a set of lights. There were three lanes, middle and right going forward. As soon as I stopped at the lights, the woman in the middle lane- in a beemer, this was when they did 'own the road' started beeping and shouting at me. Wound my window down- apparantly, even though she was sitting in the wrong lane, made no attempt to let everyone know she was in the wrong lane, and had the usual missing indicators, I was supposed to know I was in 'her' lane, and was in her way! I just wound my window back up and left her to it.


The problem with aggravating drivers- if their driving is unpredictable, so may be their mood. I don't want someone acting dangerously towards me- I'd rather think they're an idiot and move away from them.

Over the years, it's possible to spot when someone may be a problem- the way they have been driving, etc. It's learning to spot a potential hazard too. I'm teaching DSD to drive, and she can't quite grasp that other people may drive like rubbish. It isn't watching the road and the car in front of you, it's watching another five cars in front of that, and behind, and beside or coming out of junctions- you can't get complacent.

Yes, when I was younger, I did occasionally react to an aggressive driver- now I just prefer to move away and minimise any risk.

There are defined groups which are more likely to act in certain ways- not everyone reacts like that, but you need a general basis to work from.

Lirin

Sorry, by the way, I'm usually a lurker on this section!

cyclonebri1

Lum wrote: »

There, I made my avatar purple instead of red, how is that?
Purple hair is awesome anyway.

Avatar??, didn't know this forum showed them? or at best I can't see them?

Lum

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Avatar??, didn't this forum showed them? or at best I can't see them?

I have one and so do some other posters.

Here's mine anyway

rev_henry

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Avatar??, didn't this forum showed them? or at best I can't see them?

There is a setting in your user cp...somewhere...to see them.

cyclonebri1

I am enlightened.:money:

1886

OP, the woman in the chavvy van most probably thought that because she was in a vehicle bigger than your's she could bully you. I drive a VW Polo, quite a small car. I get it all the time from driver's of bigger vehicles.
If I ever have anybody behind me trying to tailgate me and generally bully me into going faster I look at it as that I'm in front of them, therefore I decide how fast they'll travel.
I especially love it when I'm in my work van, it's 3.5T. 4x4 drivers get put in their place all day long. I think you handled the situation pretty well.
I was recently pulled over when an old codger decided that he had'nt got enough room to get his car past so he sat next to me blowing the horn. I sat there and ignored him, he then realised that he had infact got enough room to drive through