The Deadly Futility Of Road Rage

What do you do when faced with a dangerous driver?

Steven Yeun in Netflix’s “Beef.” Source

I was heading back home from work this past Friday when I saw one of the most dangerous instances of road rage I’ve ever witnessed.

The incident, at least the part I saw, began when a sports car tailgated a compact sedan in the far-left lane. The sedan began brake-checking the sports car, to which the latter responded by moving to the right lane, speeding ahead, then cutting in front of the sedan. The sports car then started brake-checking, nearly causing a collision and forcing the sedan to brake dangerously in turn.

The entire time, I was two lanes over to the right. I had backed off to expose myself as little as possible to what seemed to be an inevitable collision. However, I was close enough that I then decided accelerating past the angry drivers was the safer bet. I hit the gas and, my luck being what it is, the sedan, still behind the sports car, abruptly shifted into the lane that’d been between us to avoid a collision just as I was passing them!

At that point, the rational choice would’ve been to let the sports car, which itself was now accelerating away, go. But when you’re angry, you don’t let it go. The sedan sped up and eventually caught the sports car and the two resumed playing chicken on a busy, if not congested, freeway. The sports car countered by rapidly switching lanes, with the sedan following suit, the two eventually ending up in the right-most lane. It’s here another collision nearly occurred and I think both drivers realized it was time to knock it off because the sports car drove off at reduced speed, while the sedan elected not to pursue. The sedan eventually took an exit while the sports car continued on the freeway.

We’ve all been witnesses to road rage or have engaged in it ourselves. Some of you might think I’m exaggerating the danger of the situation, but perhaps that says something about how we’ve become desensitized to road rage? This wasn’t two drivers gesturing at each other, these were two drivers using their vehicles to bluff and frustrate each other. The consequences of a collision would’ve been devastating and would’ve involved more than just the two road ragers. I could’ve been victimized.

With the exception of intentional criminal acts, most violence people are exposed to are simply uncontrolled emotional outbursts. That includes road rage. Violence as a result of out-of-control emotions is always senseless, but road rage is especially egregious, given the danger involved. Everyone thinks their actions are justifiable until a collision occurs. What then? Was it still worth it?

When you’re on the road, you have one objective - arrive at your destination in one piece. Nothing else matters. Trying “win” arguments with strangers is futile in general and attempting to win a roadway battle is lethally stupid. Really, what’s the prize in the end? Are you going to run them off the road? That’s called vehicular assault. Are you a violent criminal? Or are you going to follow them to their destination? And then what? Unless the goal is to engage in violence, road rage yields nothing of value in the end.

If you have a Netflix subscription, I highly recommend you watch their new series Beef. I won’t get into it too much except to say it’s about a road rage incident leading to a protracted feud between two strangers which spirals quickly out of control. Beef is an immensely entertaining series, but also conveys deadly-serious lessons: the pettiest of disputes can trigger violent confrontations, and it always takes two to make war, while one person can keep it from breaking out in the first place.

Fighting other motorists is rarely a consequence of endangerment. Certainly, there are dangerous, inconsiderate drivers out there. However, the response isn’t to pursue or try to put them in danger as retaliation. When you’re endangered, you have a responsibility to yourself and others to minimize risk and remove yourself from a perilous situation. Pursuing and road-raging are ego trips; we’re attempting to salve our wounded pride. Somehow, the thought that one or both parties could be seriously hurt or killed doesn’t seem to deter would-be road-ragers. But when you’re overwhelmed with anger, it’s difficult to be reasonable.

The only way to avoid being overwhelmed with anger on the road is to remember your objective: get to where you’re going in one piece. This involves a willingness to yield more often than not. Even when you have the right of way, if the alternative is to risk collision, don’t insist on it. Having the right of way helps your cause when it comes to ascertaining liability, but avoiding a collision is the goal.

What do you do when faced with a dangerous driver? It’s simple: don’t get in their way. Dangerous drivers are willing to risk far more than you to get to where they’re going. None of us possess the authority to stop dangerous drivers, nor do we have any means of doing so. What are you going to do, hit their car with yours? Your only option is avoidance. Let them speed off, or find a way to put them behind you. Just remove yourself from danger. If dangerous drivers want to kill themselves, let them. It’s your job to ensure you don’t become their casualty.

As the long weekend comes to an end and we go back to being commuters, let’s resolve to not allowing ourselves to succumb to road rage. It’s all risk, no reward. There’s plenty of danger out there; not only is road rage one of the more likely forms of violence we’re all at risk of encountering, it’s also avoidable. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

All you have to do is not play.

What are your suggestions for handling road rage? What’s the worst instance of road rage you’ve ever seen? Discuss in the comments below.

Max Remington writes about armed conflict and prepping. Follow him on Twitter at @AgentMax90.

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