It was your average Wednesday and I was on my way to pick up my daughter from school. Driving down the street in my neighborhood at a speed of 39 on a 40 MPH limit street, a person who shall be named, Butty, rides my tail. At first I become a little anxious, as I had no space to slow down or maneuver should anything happen. Swiftly, that anxiety changes to anger as I realize, this person could easily change into the left hand lane and go around me. Two blocks later, Butty is still there, now actually semi-swerving in the lane, insinuating I am driving too slow and blocking their progress. I then kindly gesture for them to go around me. Well, I guess my kind gesture aggravated them. Butty proceeds to speed up, quickly switch lanes, barely missing my rear bumper, roll their window down and spout profane comments and gestures at me. To add fuel to the fire, they jump in front of me and slow down to a crawl for about 500 yards and then peel off. Now, lets explore the two scenarios that could have happened:
- Eyes turn to red and in a semi-conscious state, I hit the gas ramming them over and over again until they lose control and crash. I then drive off as I watch their car go up in flames in my rear view mirror. Once the police finally catch up to me, tell them, I just lost it and cannot explain what came over me.
- I take a long deep breath, maintain a safe distance and thank God nothing worse happened. Have a conversation with my children of how to remain calm if something like this happens to them.
Which scenario is more like you? Do, you have a different scenario? I would love to here it. Share in the comments. When is road rage justified, if ever and to what degree?
The Sharp Doc 