There was an accident on the way to school. I needed to get over because one lane was blocked off. I saw an opening and turned on my signal to get over. It looked like a car was giving me space to come over, so I did and waved thank you. Well, apparently I was wrong.
She laid on her horn and then drove up next to me on the shoulder to get back in front of me. We were stopped, so when she tried to get around me she had to stop next to me. I looked at her and she looked at me. I gave her a 'thumbs up' and a big smile. I was expecting her to look angry or use some hand gestures, but she didn't do either. She probably expected a different response from me too and was perplexed by my cheesy grin. I mean, how could you be angry at a women driving a minivan with 4 kids and who gives you a big smile and a thumbs up for showing off how cool you are?
I think a lot of people would have honked back or given her the "bird". Since I do a lot of driving with kids these days, I had to come up with something besides flipping people off to express myself. So, instead of getting angry and cursing under my breath, I decided to show my sarcasm through giving dumb drivers the thumbs up sign. I feel much better since I started doing it. :)
I'm a very passive driver most of the time. It drives my husband crazy. He's much more aggressive. I think it's pretty typical for men to be more aggressive drivers, but he also drives quite a bit for work too. When we're in the car together, he'll forget that the kids are in the car sometimes. I haven't gotten him to start giving people a thumbs up yet. (He doesn't flip people off either though.)
When I was eight months pregnant I encounter a very aggressive and foolish driver. I was driving in the center lane and needed to get over so I could get into the left turn lane at the next light. There was a lot of traffic and there wasn't much opportunity to get over without cutting someone off. I saw enough room to get over and turned on my signal. The car sped up and wouldn't let me over. I got over behind him and then preceded to move into the left turn lane. It was a double turn lane so I chose the lane he wasn't going into. Then he decided to play a game with me. I wasn't amused.
As I tried to get into the lane next to him, he got over in front of me. I tried to go into the opposite lane and he did it again. I tried a third time and he did it again. At first I didn't realize he was doing it on purpose. By the third time I knew he was screwing with me. We were finally stopped at the light and I was pissed. I laid on my horn for a good minute. I wanted to get out of the car and yell at him for being so stupid. But I didn't. I was so upset that I was shaking. Once the light turned green and we turned, he made sure to stay in front of me so I couldn't get around him. He finally turned onto a different street. I was very tempted to continue following him. I decided not to because it probably would not have ended well.
When I got home, I was so upset that I started crying. I was upset that it happened, but also that I let him get to me. Since I'm not an aggressive driver, it bothered me that he was baiting me and I fell for it.
When you mess with someone like that, you have no idea what the reaction is going to be. I was a hormonal pregnant women with 3 kids in a minivan. (He was driving a Ford Focus.) It made me think that you never know what the mental state of someone is going to be. I can see how road rage can get out of control and people get seriously hurt or killed.
Not long after that incident, I came up with giving the thumbs up to people instead of getting upset. It has helped me a lot and hopefully sets a better example for my kids.
We see examples of rude and aggressive drivers all the time. I've been able to explain to the kids what other drivers are doing that is wrong. Usually it's drivers slowing down because they think the person behind them is driving too close. They purposely drive slow enough to block in the person behind them so they cannot be passed. I know it's tempting and I've done it before.
Seeing it done to other people and personally experiencing overly aggressive drivers has caused me to rethink my actions. It's just not worth it. My life and my children's lives are worth so much more than an impatient driver and engaging in road rage. Of course, I'm not perfect and I make mistakes, but overall this new way of thinking while I drive has really helped me.
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I remember when I was working and driving my own car to make home visits, etc. The air conditioning was dead and it was over 100 degrees so I was completely miserable and I had my window down. I was sitting at a red light when I felt something wet on my face. It happened a couple of times and then I heard some kids giggling. It turned out to be some teens with squirt guns. Well, I didn't smile and give them a thumbs up. I was livid. The light turned green and I got in their lane and began the "chase". I followed them until they finally gave up and turned on to a side street. I stayed in my car and the driver of the car came over to talk to me. He apologized and I accepted it. It took a lot of guts for him to stop and get out of the car after this crazy woman followed them. I learned a lot about myself that day and I didn't like it. I've become a very easy going driver since that time.
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