What Are You So Mad About??

I want to take a moment to talk about something that is a very controversial and highly debated issue.

It’s a little thing the kids are calling, “Road Rage”. It’s where you rage….on the….road.

Please feel free to comment at the bottom, unless you just want to give me the finger, in that case, save it for your car.

First of all, why are you SO mad?? Listen, I get it. People drive crazily, unsafely and idiotically sometimes. A LOT of times…and it’s annoying. But, what do you think getting so mad that your blood pressure is through the sunroof, giving other drivers the finger, screaming and yelling in your car and honking at them frantically is going to do??? Nothing. That’s what.

This is what I think, there are only a few reasons to honk your horn…

If it’s a friendly honk, like…when you see your friend’s friend Clarissa on the street (at least you think it’s Clarissa. Wait, it’s not…and you beeped at her…yikes.)…a short, quick two honk is in order. You know, “Beep Beep!” That’s fine, of course. Any friendly honk is fine actually.

Say, you’re at a red light and the light turns green and the person in front of you doesn’t go. Just count to 5…and then, do the friendly “beep beep” I just spoke of.

Finally, if you’re about to be hit by another car, then yes, you can honk your horn as hard as you can to get their attention.

(Honk is a funny word. Say it out loud, right now…HONK! Okay, thanks.)

Generally, the person who is driving poorly fits into one of the following categories…

A. They are Lost

B. They are Old

C. They are New (To the road…or the Country…or the Planet…)

I can relate any situation back to one of these answers. Try me.

If you were to go to another state or country and rent a car, would you always know exactly where you were going? Or, would you have to slow down to read the signs that aren’t in your first language?

If you were 92 years old, do you want to have to call your 65 year old child to bring you everywhere?

When you first got your license and came to your first traffic circle, it was a horrifying moment, right? It would just be better to keep going around and around… (Do non-New Englander’s even know what a traffic circle is?)

Side Story: When I was in Driver’s Education at my High School (Go Lakers!) my Driver’s Ed Teacher, Mr. B taught driving in unorthodox ways. He’d drive around the State going from one Dunkin’ Donuts to another and he’d always put his hot coffee on the dashboard and tell you to drive without spilling his coffee. I mean, honestly, if that test failed, he’d be in the bad predicament, not me.

Alright, back to Road Rage…

Maybe someone cuts you off in traffic, but they still could be a nice, responsible person. Maybe it’s a girl or a guy that you went on a date with last night and you really like him or her and you don’t know it’s them in the poorly driven car, so you beep and freak out and then they realize it’s you and guess what? No second date my friend. And guess what else? The reason they were driving in a less than mediocre way, is because they were distracted thinking about what a great time they had with you the night before.

Are you telling me that you’ve NEVER cut someone off in traffic by mistake? Isn’t it nice when you did and the other driver just gave you a wink and a smile and not screamed obscenities at you and did the whole finger gun thing at you out their window??

Come on people. Let’s all take a deep breath when we’re on the road. Yes, let’s all try to focus a bit more on what we’re doing, but when we occasionally slip up and forget to check our side mirror (or any mirror) or just feel like driving really, really slowly…let’s give each other some kindness and patience, okay?

Can’t we all just get along?? 🙂

Alright, think about it.

Heart you all you crazy maniacs,

-Chick A