OK, so a couple days ago I was driving into work and this car pissed me off. He (and I'm almost certain it's a man) got in front of me and took the same off-ramp as I. I tried to get around him, but slow cars blocked my way. Meanwhile, he was able to find the open spots and get ahead of me, and yet he took the same goddamn off-ramp as I. I transmitted my frustration with him by clicking my high-beams on -- not once but twice.
The second I did that I stopped. He was taking a right past at the top of the off-ramp while I was going straight. But what if he was also going straight, right to my work? Or, what if he was taking a right, saw my high-beams for a second time, then decided to follow me to where I parked?
What I usually do with drivers who piss me off is take write in the Notes app of my phone the license plate, the description of both the car and, if possible, the driver, and when and where the road rage incident occurred. I did the same thing with this dude once I parked. But the more I thought about it, and the more I thought I was enraged by him, the more I thought that, frankly, I was in the wrong. First off, I know I can't antagonize anyone on the road; not only is it not the right thing to do, it's not smart, and I didn't have any weapons to defend myself. But more importantly, if I were honest with myself, this guy didn't do a wrong goddamn thing. My trigger when it comes to bad drivers is changing lanes without signaling. However, he did signal, every single time. All the other frustrations with him came from the asshole getting all the open spaces I didn't get. That's just it.
But because of my aggression, I picked a fight with someone who might be spoiling for one as well. So now I have to watch my ass in case I encounter him on the road again. Therefore, I've taken measures to avoid him as much as possible. Yesterday I took side streets to work. Today/this morning I come in a half-hour later, so assuming this fucker was going to work and has a job with a regular schedule, I won't have to worry about seeing him. Next week I think I'll need to keep taking those side streets, and maybe longer, just in case.
Man, why didn't I just let this prick go?
The second I did that I stopped. He was taking a right past at the top of the off-ramp while I was going straight. But what if he was also going straight, right to my work? Or, what if he was taking a right, saw my high-beams for a second time, then decided to follow me to where I parked?
What I usually do with drivers who piss me off is take write in the Notes app of my phone the license plate, the description of both the car and, if possible, the driver, and when and where the road rage incident occurred. I did the same thing with this dude once I parked. But the more I thought about it, and the more I thought I was enraged by him, the more I thought that, frankly, I was in the wrong. First off, I know I can't antagonize anyone on the road; not only is it not the right thing to do, it's not smart, and I didn't have any weapons to defend myself. But more importantly, if I were honest with myself, this guy didn't do a wrong goddamn thing. My trigger when it comes to bad drivers is changing lanes without signaling. However, he did signal, every single time. All the other frustrations with him came from the asshole getting all the open spaces I didn't get. That's just it.
But because of my aggression, I picked a fight with someone who might be spoiling for one as well. So now I have to watch my ass in case I encounter him on the road again. Therefore, I've taken measures to avoid him as much as possible. Yesterday I took side streets to work. Today/this morning I come in a half-hour later, so assuming this fucker was going to work and has a job with a regular schedule, I won't have to worry about seeing him. Next week I think I'll need to keep taking those side streets, and maybe longer, just in case.
Man, why didn't I just let this prick go?
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