I was thinking about…

Pump the Brakes on Road Rage

By Andy Lee

Anybody else noticing an unsettling spike in aggressive driving and road rage lately? I’m talking about those reckless maneuvers executed with zero chill – cutting people off unapologetically, brake-checking over minor inevitable lapses, riding bumpers while gesturing obscenities. When did operating a couple tons of steel become such an emotionally volatile act?

Look, I get being occasionally irked in traffic happens to the best of us. We all have those days where timing feels off, nerves feel frayed and the commute’s collective chaos rubs us just a little too abrasively. Maybe some bonehead did blindly merge without signaling right into your path forcing reactive measures. Or perhaps you botched a right turn, impeding traffic momentarily while correcting course.

Frustrating? Sure, no one’s perfect and little lapses are inevitable when so many human variables interact on congested roads. But does that really justify escalating to aggressive, life-endangering retaliation? When did overreacting to minor driving snafus become such normalized fury?

Because that’s precisely what raging against every perceived slight behind the wheel represents – an over-correction grossly disproportionate to accidentally intermittent human flaws. Brake-checking some diverted dad already struggling to mentally transition from hectic workplace? Excessive and dangerous. Flipping off the elderly driver who couldn’t quite merge at your preferred pace? Wildly disrespectful overreaction.

Let’s apply that same draconian zero-tolerance policy to other spheres of life. How’d we all feel having our character constantly indicted and capability constantly scrutinized over inevitably awkward faux pas? At restaurants berating servers at the first misheard order or tardy refill? Verbally assaulting coworkers each time a minor detail gets overlooked in group projects? A slip up here and there in any domain is simply part of the human condition we all inhabit.

Yet for some reason when ensconced in automotive armor, overly self-important drivers transform into raging sociopaths demanding constant deference and absolute flawless execution under toughest road conditions. Any courtesy shortfall from strangers becomes grounds for meltdowns like misbehaving toddlers.

It’s lunacy, folks – not to mention reckless endangerment of innocent bystanders whenever road rage erupts. And maybe the current explosion stems partially from pandemic-era stresses reaching apocalyptic boiling points behind the wheel. Or maybe social media toxicity continuously models acting more enraged and entitled.

Whatever root causes fuel this concerning road rage surge, just know this human reality: every driver you encounter remains a flawed, imperfect individual simply trying their best through inevitable bouts of distraction and misjudgment. Losing your lid fixes nothing while only compounding dangerous negativity piling up.

So roll with grace through those oops moments inflicted on others and hopefully find it reciprocated when roles get reversed. This life’s far too brief and fragile to keep wasting emotional bandwidth raging at every misnavigated turn or inadvertent blown signal. Show some mercy out there! Deep breaths defuse far more road frustrations than laying on horns and middle fingers each time some poor fool makes a mistake.

Stay chill, keep cruising peacefully! 🚗😌