Anonymous wrote:Hi OP. I was in an emotionally abusive relationship for a long time which eventually turned to threats of physical abuse. I finally left after the second threat of physical abuse.

In retrospect, road rage was one of the earliest red flags.

I wish I had gotten out at the first display of road rage. It would have saved me years of wasted time in a dysfunctional relationship and much damage to my psyche. Staying with this kind of dysfunction teaches you to walk on eggshells and constantly monitor your partner's emotions and adjust your own behavior to maximize chances to get your partner not to lose his cool. That is no way to live and permanently damages the way you interact with others, not just your partner.

Of course, everyone loses their cool once in awhile and honking is part of driving (but not excessively so).

I think if you came here to comment on this behavior, then you know also that it was out of line.

The choice is simple -- do you want to live with that kind of anger in your life? If not, it is time to end the relationship. If you are willing to live with such anger, you really should get into therapy to ask examine why you are willing to live like this.

Anonymous wrote:OP again,

Didn't expect to get this type of response.
For the person who accused me of wanting applause, I just posted mostly to see if anyone could relate. I never thought of breaking up with someone for road rage.
Yes I do consider what he did road rage.
We were in a neighborhood street because he wanted to take a shortcut to the restaurant.

There's a main street with two way traffic, if you want to turn you have to stop if there's approaching traffic.

The other driver didn't stop short or suddenly.
They slowed down and signaled with plenty of time and warning and there were cars coming.

But my now ex was just in a hurry. Like I said he could have gone round.

We weren't even waiting that long not even 2 minutes.

He was slamming on the horn.

I think what bothered me most about it afterwards is that he didn't seem to care, wouldn't even consider another viewpoint and instead chose to call me names.

It's going to be difficult to explain why I broke up with Mr. Perfect thought.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^In the city, at lower speeds, honking happens and you move on. And it happens non stop. I know. I lived with it in New York. But honking accomplishes nothing in those driving situations other than noise pollution and aggravation.

On highways, in suburbs, on busy roads not in the city (and yes even in the city, too), honking can startle drivers. Sorry, it just does. It may not startle you, but the fact that you are immune means nothing.

Other people are in fact startled by honking and it can create a dangerous distraction.

This is ridiculous. Sometimes you're about to be in a collision, and you need to honk. The other driver swerves or stops at that point.

Try driving around the Chevy Chase Circle on Connecticut at rush hour, when cars coming down Connecticut don't yield to cars inside the circle until they honk.

And yes, I've lived and driven in NY too. I don't believe in honking just to show someone they made a mistake, [b]but I do honk when someone is cutting me off and about to kill me and my little kids. [\b]Everything in moderation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^In the city, at lower speeds, honking happens and you move on. And it happens non stop. I know. I lived with it in New York. But honking accomplishes nothing in those driving situations other than noise pollution and aggravation.

On highways, in suburbs, on busy roads not in the city (and yes even in the city, too), honking can startle drivers. Sorry, it just does. It may not startle you, but the fact that you are immune means nothing.

Other people are in fact startled by honking and it can create a dangerous distraction.

Yes PP.

It startles me and distracts me when someone honks several times. I start trying to figure out what exactly is going on, whether oil is leaking out of my car, whether I have a flat tire. etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^In the city, at lower speeds, honking happens and you move on. And it happens non stop. I know. I lived with it in New York. But honking accomplishes nothing in those driving situations other than noise pollution and aggravation.

On highways, in suburbs, on busy roads not in the city (and yes even in the city, too), honking can startle drivers. Sorry, it just does. It may not startle you, but the fact that you are immune means nothing.

Other people are in fact startled by honking and it can create a dangerous distraction.

This is ridiculous. Sometimes you're about to be in a collision, and you need to honk. The other driver swerves or stops at that point.

Try driving around the Chevy Chase Circle on Connecticut at rush hour, when cars coming down Connecticut don't yield to cars inside the circle until they honk.

And yes, I've lived and driven in NY too. I don't believe in honking just to show someone they made a mistake, but I do honk when someone is cutting me off and about to kill me and my little kids. Everything in moderation.