DRIVING THE ROAD TO RAGE

I can hear those grunts from the older readers. The parents are shaking their heads sideways and any young people are shaking theirs up and down. As teenagers many of us couldn't wait to get their license and start driving. Borrowing dad's car, picking up some friends and just riding around, destination no-where, weren't those the" good old days". Not to mention the whole dating thing where you can actually pick the girl up without an escort. The father of the girl's nightmare, but the excitement of having some freedom of being on your own was incredible. It's these combinations of feelings that truly make life what it is for many of us.

Back to the driving thing, what has happened to the use of a directional or a hand signal (old school) to let your fellow drivers know your intentions? Not being clairvoyant puts me at a big disadvantage if the drivers around me don't signal for their turns. Not to sound petty, but not only would I appreciate a signal, but I would like you to turn in the direction you signal. You know what I'm talking about, those drivers who signal for a right turn then go straight or worse try to take a left. The left signal on then going right isn't acceptable either. It's amazing how so many drivers have forgotten, stopped using, or are too busy talking on their cell phones to make a turn signal.

I've been driving for around 40 years now and have seen most anything that can happen on the road. The bumper to bumper traffic due to construction or an unfortunate accident that takes hours to get through and all you can do is sit there and wait until you pass the problem and the road opens back up. Ice, snow, sleet, high winds and whatever else the weather has thrown our way I've had to drive in it. Just like the mailman sometimes you just have to go some where (usually work) no matter what the weather.

Oh lets not forget that memorable morning when I was getting onto the highway and there had been a horrendous accident. Only one lane was opened and as I passed by I witnessed a couple of the rescuer's putting someone in a body bag. It was a ghastly sight and if I had eaten breakfast that morning I probably would have lost it. As it was, I found myself shaking a bit as I continued down the road. Life is precious and seeing it taken away like that leaves a mark.

My point is I've done my share of driving and feel I can make some semi unbiased observations. For instance I have a theory that the root of road rage could be those drivers not signaling for turns. I know that's a huge leap but think about how many times you see a fellow driver not signal a turn and upset another driver, maybe even you. You can usually recognize these situations by horns blearing, a lot of yelling with some colorful language (swearing) and of course the universally known gesture of flipping the bird (giving the middle finger). Or as my daughters refer to it, flipping off or being flipped off. If the person flipping the bird is pumping it up and down or doing the double flip with both hands, then you know they are truly pissed off.

Who's to say that this type of behavior doesn't build up and fester until finally someone snap's. Let's face it there are some drivers out there that seem to be clueless or too busy gabbing on their cell phones to actually pay attention to how their driving is effecting the drivers around them. Having a driver's license is a privilege not a right (a police officer told me that once), so show a little courtesy to your fellow drivers and use your directional.

This signaling thing applies to the highway as well. Putting your blinker on to signal changing lanes is the proper way to do it. However that doesn't apply when you put your blinker on then CUT ME OFF or another driver. I use capital letters for all you texters and computer geeks so that you can hear me YELLING. Again remember you're not alone out there, look around there's plenty of other drivers on those roads. Be courteous; signal your lane changes, let fellow drivers know your intentions. It helps avoid accidents and may actually save lives including yours.

Hopefully I'm making my point, to further drive it home and help prove my road rage theory here's a series of events that happened to me on my way home from work. It was a nice spring day, warm enough to drive with the windows open. The time was mid afternoon and it had been an uneventful 8 hour shift at work. I was approaching my first four way traffic light on my route home and my light was red. There was room for two lanes, thus the cars on the left could make a left turn or go straight. Leaving the cars on right to take a right turn or possibly go straight. A normal situation and there were several cars on the other side of the street that would be coming our way also stopped at the light. Just a normal intersection we all encounter during our daily drives.

Let me further describe the situation by stating that there were three cars on the left side of the road in front of me, none of which were signaling for a left turn. Knowing this light as I did I was sure at least one of them would take the left even though they weren't signaling for it. Thus I pulled to the right side of the road and had two cars in front of me. The car directly in front of me was signaling for a right turn. The car in front of him had already started to make the turn to the right, but had no blinker on. There were three cars on the other side of the road that would be coming our way when the light changed and the front car was signaling for a left turn. Thus he was coming across traffic in my direction.

Nothing out of the ordinary, so here's what I thought would happen when the light changed. The two cars in front of me would take their right turns, while that was happening, the three cars on my left would go across the intersection. If I was right one of them would end up taking the left allowing the car coming the other way to make his left. I intended on letting him make his turn in front of me then I would continue on straight across the intersection. I would deal with any of the cars on my left that went straight as well on the other side of intersection. Again it was a situation that happens all the time at this intersection.

I had already prepared myself for someone on my left taking an unscheduled or late signaled left turn. As it happened the front car started to take the left turn, thus opening the way for the car on opposite side of the road to make his left turn as well, let the chaos begin. Then we witnessed the first boneheaded move of the lead car in my lane. As I said, this vehicle had already started to make the right hand turn even though he hadn't signaled for it. He stopped and turned left back into the intersection and almost had a head on collision with the car turning from the opposite way.

Let the mayhem continue, both drivers were yelling out there windows. Some colorful language I might add. They were beeping their horns and as the vehicle in my lane made his way around the on coming car that he had almost hit head on they exchanged some bird flipping, then he went straight across the intersection. The car in front of me let the oncoming car make his turn then he followed him. The car making the left without a signal was still sitting in the intersection so I went on my way, straight.

Yes, I am now behind the vehicle that caused the whole situation. I could see his arms flailing up in the air as he continued down the road so I gave him plenty of space. Next we come to a 4 way stop sign. As luck would have it there were no cars at the other three stop signs. Since I have already referred to the driver in front of me as making a boneheaded move I will dub him bonehead for further references. He had no signal on but took a left turn, on the bright side he did come to a complete stop first. I signaled for a left turn, stopped and continued on behind him continuing to leave plenty of space between our vehicles.

Next another 4 way stop sign where bonehead stopped and then went straight. Again after I stopped I too went straight. Trust me I was giving this guy some space. The next stop sign was a simple decision, you could go left or right. My boy stopped then took a right, no blinker. At this point I figured he was heading to the highway just like me. I continued on behind him to the next stop sign where the choices were left or straight (which was a dead end). Thus even though he didn't use a signal I knew he was going left and he did.

As we approached the set of lights that led us to the highway the bonehead went into the left hand lane. To me that meant he was taking a left or going straight. I didn't care I was sliding into the right lane and signaling for a right turn. I was almost next to the bonehead when the light changed at which time he swung into my lane almost hitting me and definitely CUTTING ME OFF, yes now I was yelling. He never even looked just turned into the lane. I hit the horn to let him know I was there and that he had just cut me off and he was kind enough to flip me the bird. I had to hand it to him he was in a world of his own and seemed to be clueless.

Yes he turned onto the on ramp just like I was doing heading onto the highway. He hadn't signaled for one turn, almost caused a head on collision and had almost gotten me in an accident. I couldn't wait to get on the highway and get away from this turkey, sorry bonehead.

I would like to say he drove off and all was well, but that wasn't the case. He literally cut across all three lanes causing several drivers to hit their breaks and honk their horns. The poor driver in the left hand lane had to lock up his breaks and go into a skid to avoid rear ending the bonehead. Apparently this was a breaking point for that driver as once he got control of his car again he started chasing the bonehead down the highway. I had to just shake my head as the two of them were bobbing in and out of traffic, even going into the breakdown lane at one point. This continued as they drove out of my sight.

It was one of those times you wished a State Trooper was around to pull them over and stop the reckless driving. I continued down the highway around 10 miles when I noticed cars were starting to break and slow down up ahead. My first thought was an accident and I had a good guess how it would have happened. Then I saw the flashing blue lights well ahead in the breakdown lane. Hoping that he had the bonehead and his pursuer pulled over I signaled my way over to the right lane for a bird's eye view. Yes a childish move, but I couldn't help it.

To my delight there were the two of them, out of their cars yelling and pointing at each other. The Trooper in between them was trying to settle the situation down. I have to admit I slowed way down and had a huge smile on my face as I passed them by. I was hoping the bonehead would look my way and see me smiling and remember cutting me off. It didn't happen, but I felt like justice was being served. I had no idea how much the Trooper had seen of how they were driving but I was hoping he caught it all.

As I continued down the road I was pondering just what those tickets were going to look like for both drivers. Speeding, driving to endanger, reckless driving, driving in breakdown lane and my favorite "failure" to signal for a lane change. There are probably a few others I missed, but I knew they were facing some serious charges, not to mention road rage.

I felt a bit bad for the second driver who got sucked into the bonehead's reckless behavior. Who knows how many other drivers this guy pissed off before I got behind him at that set of lights? For me it was the lack of signaling for those turns and blatant disregard for the drivers around him. For the second driver who got totally cutoff with no signal and almost lost control of his car he just snapped. I couldn't help but wonder how many other drivers had failed to signal for turns in his journey? I know it's a stretch, but that's why the road rage thing is a theory not fact.

I'm sure most of you have had a similar type situation develop while you were driving. Hopefully you kept your cool and just watched it unfold. If the driver of the second car is reading this then now you know a few events that happened before you got sucked in. For anyone else who may have gotten sucked into a similar situation there was probably a series of events that triggered the whole thing. The moral of the story is being courteous to your fellow drivers and of course signal for your turns.

Obviously there is a lot more to driving than the use of turn signals. Traffic lights, stop and yield signs, speed limits and the list goes on. With the exception of the speed limit being violated the lack of signaling for turns is right up there with most violations. It's also a pet peeve of mine in case you hadn't notice. I think I made my point so let's move on to parking.

NO PARKING signs mean NO PARKING, yes I'm yelling again. It doesn't get any simpler, no means no. Again not to sound petty but waiting in the car while someone runs into a store for a quick item doesn't change the meaning of the sign. That goes for you the driver running in as well. The NO is for everyone. When there are other exceptions like FIRE LANE they are clearly noted. You're not special; you should park in the designated area for your vehicle.

That goes for designated handicapped spaces as well. Unless you have a handicap placard like myself stay out of those spaces. Trust me they serve a purpose for those of us that need them.

Along the same lines we are seeing more and more designated spaces for expecting mothers. Not to be rude, but just because you may be an overweight woman who may look pregnant doesn't qualify. I'm sure I'll be getting some hate mail for that statement, but seriously, the signs are there to help the people, who need them, find another spot.

By the way most parking areas or lots have painted lines to designate where you can park your cars. The lines are spaced so that you can park your vehicle between them, not in the middle of them or across them. They are there to keep the parking uniform and in most cases maximize the spaces available. When someone doesn't park between the lines it usually starts a chain reaction with the next car unable to get between the lines. I'm not writing in a foreign language here, I would like to think you all know what I'm eluding too.

My family thinks I tend to be a little anal about things, but honestly sometimes you follow the rules to be courteous to the people around you. What a novel concept actually considering another person or being courteous. I must be some kind of rebel to think this way, lock me up and throw away the key.

I'm not going to bore you with any parking lot stories, just go to the store and look around. I'm guessing you will see some type of parking violation, probably more than one. The bigger the parking lots (like a shopping mall) the more violations. They tend to be so blatant and unnecessary you almost expect to see them. If you happen to be one of these offenders, again think of your fellow parkers. Who knows it might catch on, doing the right thing, following the rules, what a concept?

To wrap up this subject let me leave you with a fun little game I play when driving on short trips. It tracks how many vehicles are properly using their directionals. It's real simple; if a driver signals for a turn and takes it you add 1 point, when the driver doesn't signal for a turn that they take it -1 point. If they signal for a turn and then don't take it -1 point. As a bonus for a real bonehead move its -2 for signaling for one turn and then taking another. I only count the vehicles affecting my trip.

The point unfortunately is more often than not your going to end your trip in negative numbers. The higher the negative the less courteous your fellow drivers tend to be. I live in Southeastern Mass. and my fellow drivers fail on a regular basis.

There you have my first chapter, if you liked it then hopefully you will enjoy the other subjects to follow. Like the title suggests this is how I see it right, wrong or some cases aggravating and hopefully with a little added humor. No matter how serious a subject is I always try to find some humor. It drives my wife crazy, but she's stuck around for over 34 years.

I need to sneak in an audible here, as while I was just driving to the Dentist I realized I missed two important aspects regarding driving. The first is seatbelts, without them you probably would not be reading this book. Hopefully that's considered a positive; although it could be debated depending on how mad my wife or kids are with me.

When I was growing up seatbelts weren't even in cars yet, nor car seats for infants and young children. Back in my youth we would ride in the back bed of pickup trucks. Today that would be considered a hanging offense for the driver if caught.