Road Rage! Be Careful Out There!

​It seems that the issue of ROAD RAGE is getting worse and worse by the minute. I live in Florida and I feel like I am seeing news reports about road rage shootings on the highways just about every week. It is so scary, especially knowing that some of these road ragers don’t even need much to get them going. It could be something as simple as looking at them the wrong way, it seems. I am seeing reports of being people being shot, and sometimes even killed, because of road rage here in Florida.

So, what can we do to protect ourselves from becoming a victim? Well, one obvious answer is to drive as perfectly as possible, so as not to piss off anybody near us. The other obvious answer is to avoid throwing middle fingers when somebody cuts you off or does some other unnecessary act on the road near you. Avoid speeding up to tailgate people, and avoid slowing down to brake-check other drivers. 

Furthermore, avoid reacting to a road rager if they make gestures toward you and/or yell at you. By responding to their actions, you are just making them even more upset, which could be all that it takes for them to “lose it.” If they give you a middle finger, then give them nothing in return. Do not aggravate them. They are aggravated enough as it is. If you return a middle finger to the wrong person, you could end up in danger of being shot, and that is no exaggeration nowadays.

I realize that sometimes it is tempting to send bad drivers a “message,” but it’s just not worth the risk. Just keep driving and be thankful you are still in on piece and able to make it to your destination safely. 

Ironically, I was in a road rage incident last week in the Orlando, FL area. I was driving southbound on US Highway 17-92 in Casselberry. I was in the middle lane of a 3-lane road. After crossing over the bridge that goes over State Road 436, I noticed a black SUV to the right of me, just driving alongside my truck. The driver never pulled in front of me to give any indication he was upset or trying to get to my lane, so all was good, or so I thought.

Seconds later, the driver saw an opening in front of me and quickly yanked his SUV into my lane and brake-checked me, giving me a middle finger during the process. He was also shouting at me through his mirror, but I had no idea what he was saying. Moments later, he pulled away and moved over into the 3rd lane as I remained in the middle lane. I was utterly confused as to why he was upset at me. I didn’t do anything. I remained in my lane the entire time, at the same speed, and did not try to get into anybody else’s lane. What’s the deal?

I continued driving down 17/92, but about 30 seconds later, I notice the black SUV swerve back into my lane. He then slowed down a bit and once again, started giving me the middle finger and creating various hand gestures toward me. I am still trying to figure out why this guy is so mad. Why did he come back to me? I thought he had already had his moment with me and moved on.  Apparently, he needed to give one more middle finger. Shortly thereafter, he pulled back into the fast lane (Lane #3). I was relieved to see him go in the lane on the far left because my turn was coming up, and it was on the right. 

I cross over to Lane #1, and then crossed over again to the right turn lane that merges onto State Road 414 in Maitland. I was going WEST, and he was going SOUTH. Nothing more to worry about, right? Or was there?

Just as I was about to merge onto S.R. 414, the man in the SUV suddenly cut across 4 lanes of traffic to place himself right in front of me again. Are you kidding me? As he was doing this, he was once again giving me middle fingers and other random hand gestures. At this point, I started to feel a little uneasy. This guy was clearly crazy and seemed determined to stay near me and continue showing his displeasure toward me. I still don’t even know what I did to make him mad?!

Approximately 20 seconds after merging onto the road, we approached a stop light as he was still driving in front me. He was even motioning out the window for me to follow him. The light then suddenly turned red. Great! I have to stop my truck right behind him. This should be interesting!

As we are stopped at the light, the man does what I expect. He once again gives the middle finger and starts shouting at me through his mirror. The man was not getting out of his car to approach me, so I figured we should all be ok regardless of his crazy antics. I just sat there and stared at him through my sunglasses. I gave him no reaction at all. I felt like he was looking for a fight with me. I was taking the high road on this one.

Moments later, I am surprised to see that there was actually a passenger in the backseat of the SUV. I never noticed any other heads in the SUV except for the driver up until then.  The man in the backseat then proceeded to climb half way out of the passenger window and turn toward me. He, like the driver, then gave me more and more fingers, and shouted things that I could not hear or understand. Keep in mind that there were about 50 other cars around us at the stop light during this time, so lots of running engines were making it difficult make out what was being said.

Then light then turns green, but the man hanging out the back window is not getting back in his seat. He is STILL going at it! They are not moving!  I am tempted to pull around the SUV and drive past them, but I was worried about them following me if I did that. I chose to stay put. I eventually honked my horn, as were many of the cars behind me, all the while the men in the SUV are still taunting me.

FINALLY, after being honked at for what felt like an eternity, the man gets back in the seat, and the SUV drives ahead. At this point, I have had enough of this circus, so I proceed at a very slow speed, allowing many other drivers to fill the growing space between myself and the SUV.

Once the SUV was out of view, I made a right-hand turn and arrived at my destination unharmed. I cannot lie. I was a bit shaken up after this. I honestly felt like the man in the backseat was going to pull a gun out. I don’t know if it made a difference, but I believe that I may have done myself a huge favor by not responding to any of the antics toward me. I honestly feel like if I gave even the slightest response to these guys, that things could have escalated very quickly.

I am very thankful all is well! So, yes, please be careful out there! Road rage is deadly.