I watched a cat fight go down while on my way to work this morning. A frustrated blonde in her late thirties in a Jeep Renegade cut into another younger woman in a black Civic’s lane. When the Honda held her hand on the horn, the Jeep lady gave her the big finger. That’s when shit got really rowdy. The Honda lady was overcome with pure road rage as she sped up and began blocking the Jeep lady’s path. Both those inconsiderate ego-driven hags were completely oblivious to the other cars in the road, almost knocking off three other cars on a lane as they ferociously chased each other down on the highway. They kept it up for a good ten minutes before the Jeep lady took a left turn, with her manicured middle finger still out the window. It was pure luck that left no one hurt following this stringent show of force, but in a split second, those two cars could have collided at such high-speeds leaving only a trail of destruction behind.
I’ve come to the realization, that such encounters are almost inevitable to a city with no traffic laws in place, or empowered traffic police, a city where only the foul, vulgar and short-sighted rule the road. I’ve come to the conclusion that the streets are here to stay, but it’s a change in your perspective, as a driver, that could bring about positive change, and if practiced collectively, then maybe, just maybe, things can get better.
Because the only reason some people participate in such madness is because they themselves are mad people. Mad, angry frustrated people having a bad day with only one place to vent: the road. So the next time that crazy old cabbie comes to a complete halt, or the annoying power-tripping guy in his huge SUV almost grazes the side of your car at full speed, or the silly woman tails your bumper for a good half hour, take a deep breath and remember, it is their unhappy ignorant lives that make them act this way, unless you share the same sentiments, please do not participate.
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I had a mini bus ride like that in Jamaica. Both our bus and the threatening car from which we were trying to escape were racing along against traffic on the wrong side of the road, while a religious minister prayed loudly from the back seat. The bus stations were crawling with police and soldiers, but funnily enough, no traffic enforcement on the actual roads.
I’m not a fan of road rage, quite the contrary, but in the interest of playing the devil’s advocate, life in Beirut is stressful and frustrating, and often times one of the few places people can vent is when they’re at the wheel. I’m not saying it’s okay for them to do so, it just happens that perfectly sane people (if there is such a thing) can totally lose it for no apparent valid reason while driving, and it doesn’t always have to be about their sanity levels. A big part of it is the fact that everybody else is completely inconsiderate on the road, and so after a bad day (or morning), there’s only a certain number of “pokes” you’re willing to take before the cap blows off your rage and you turn into a total road monster. Are you proud of it after the fact ? Probably not, are you likely to do it again ? Give or take a few days of stress, yes sure.
With that said, I do acknowledge that some people are real maniacs and take road rage as a lifestyle. Even this devil’s advocate won’t try to defend them 🙂
Cheers !
Is it wrong that I found that hot?
I think people should find new ways how to vent their frustration/stress/anger … go sign into box/karate/taebo/drawing landscapes classes…
I stopped at a crossroad today to allow 2 pedestrians (they were Sri-lankan but I’m hoping it had nothing to do with it) to cross the road without being crushed. The lady that was trying to do a u-turn on that crossroad (coming from the opposite side) took the time out from her busy day to roll out her window and call me an idiot.
All I could do was smile at her and drive on.