Is Road Rage mental illness?
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Anonymous
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Took my child to the doctor today and some guy I guess really didn't want me to get in front of him in the right turn lane going into the medical complex. (There was plenty of room and he actually accelerated once I put my blinker on.) He started honking and gesturing and then tailgated us to our parking spot where he then blocked our car in and rolled down his window to keep yelling at me and my child and calling us all sorts of names. I locked the car and quickly rushed into the building and snapped a quick picture of his car and license plate. All the while he is still screaming and and yelling. I called the police non emergency who said they would come patrol the parking lot but otherwise there was nothing they could do.
So scary. I don't really have a question. Just, wow. Mental illness is so scary. |
Anonymous
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You are a bad driver. You likely jumped in front of him and started hitting your brakes to turn right which is irritating and can cause an accident. People are not obligated to let you in and cutting people off causes wrecks.
That guy's reaction was extreme though. |
Anonymous
| I think it will be added to the dsm soon - part of intermittent explosive disorder. It’s scary. Glad you were not physically hurt. |
Anonymous
Plenty of room in the lane. Dude never learned to share. In 30 years of driving I’ve never had a ticket or an accident. Guarantee he can’t say the same. |
Anonymous
| Crazy loons |
Anonymous
| No, but narcissism is. Looking at you, OP. |
Anonymous
SO you are the jerk that most likely drives the speed limit in the left lane, cuts people off and probably has no sense of direction and does last second lane changes. |
Anonymous
Not OP, but there are definitely people out there who take a turn signal/lane change as some sort of personal affront. I think it has to do with weird insecurity issues causing them to lash out at anyone who tries to “get ahead” on the road. Normal drivers maintain their speed and allow someone to change lanes when they see a turn signal. But some weirdos speed up. The fact this guy followed OP into a parking lot to berate her in front of her kid supports that this is one of those hair trigger angry drivers who views the road as “his” space. |
Anonymous
Right? PP is definitely the type of person who absolutely loses their shit if another car passes into their lane 🤪 |
Anonymous
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Yes.
Since this is anonymous, I will admit that when I was confronted by a road raging witch on the road a few months ago, while I started out trying to respond with reason and kindness I quickly found myself screaming the same four letter expletive at her over and over when she wouldn’t stop screaming at me for being stuck in the same bumper to bumper traffic jam that I was. Her reason for screaming at me in the first place? A bumper sticker on my car which says ‘it isn’t nice to tailgate.’ She seemed to think I was a hypocrite for not leaving two car lengths between me and the car in front in a stopped dead bumper to bumper traffic jam. I had let several cars ahead of me and she was behind me but apparently got enraged looking at my sticker and so when the congestion broke up she drove up next to me at a stop light and started screaming. It was scary to realize how easy it became to tap into my own screaming harpy, but I honestly got the feeling she was somebody who wouldn’t go away unless I brought on more crazy than she was bringing. I hate driving anymore because where I live people are super tense, always distracted and speeding and aggressive- I have the sticker because I’ve been tailgated so much and I’ve found that in some cases it seems like the sticker makes tailgaters enraged. Like you’re calling them out and they have to attack you for it. Road rage is real and there’s a lot of it. I’m honestly much more of a homebody than I used to be because I am fearful of other drivers. |
Anonymous
| just look at all the ragey mental responses all over this board. It's here and on the road. No escape. |
Anonymous
| So many dumb drivers....hope you all get your licenses revoked. If you cannot comprehend getting into the lane pre-emptively so that you can enter a turning lane as it begins, then you suck at driving and shouldn't be on the damn road. There is absolutely zero reason to have to cut in front of anyone already in a turning lane making a turn. It just means your anticipation sucks, your spatial abilities suck, or you are just too stupid to drive. Get off the roads and stop making it dangeous for everyone around you. |
Anonymous
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You know, if he sped up to keep you out of the lane, you could have just gone up a block and turned around. This is what I'm teaching my teen student driver. It's not worth an accident or p*ssing off a crazy driver just to change lanes.
HE is the one in the wrong but don't let yourself become a victim. Just let the crazies go by and take the next turn. |
Anonymous
That's not actually easy to judge in the moment, PP, especially for a teen driver. Thankfully, in all my year of driving, and teaching my kids how to drive, experiences like OP's are few and far between. Thank goodness. OP, this person you encountered is ill and aggressive. I hope your child isn't too shaken. You did nothing wrong. |
Anonymous
Or just tell your teen that if they know they need to make a right turn then get in the right lane of the road 1/4 to 1/2 a mile down the road beforehand in anticipation that the turning lane is coming up. Don't teach them terrible driving like OP who has not ability to plan for turns and cuts in in front of other drivers already making turns. |