Why "road rage"?

Image by Tony the Misfit via Flickr

Let me see, in any given week I probably spend about 12 to 15 hours behind the wheel, which I know in the big scheme of things isn't much. I mean, look at rush hour driving in LA and you can see how some folks spend that much time behind the wheel just in the first couple days of the week.

However, regardless of how much time I spend behind the wheel, I can't help but notice the same things happening practically all the time, and it's not getting any better.

I want to know what driver's class it is that teaches that having your signal on means that everyone HAS to give way for you to move over. I don't mean from the, "Hey, I need to merge into traffic from this highway on-ramp" sort of fashion, but rather from the, "Hey, I want to be in that lane cuz it's moving faster than this one, so let me in there" or the "Hey, I didn't want to wait behind everyone in that lane like you and all those other people did. I wanted to zip up in the next lane and then cut over at the last minute, so now you HAVE to let me in there." I'm thinking, no, to you I say, "Sorry Charlie. Snooze ya lose. You didn't want to get over when you had more than ample opportunity to do so earlier, so don't expect me to make room for you now."

Of course, my favorite person on the road is the cell-phone talker. Because this call is JUST so important, they just couldn't possibly NOT talk on the phone until after they park, or even pull off the road. Nope, they gotta talk RIGHT NOW. Oh, and I suppose this wouldn't be so bad, but then they want to give themselves a good "buffer zone" cuz they aren't really paying attention to the traffic. So they will routinely drive 10 miles an hour slower than everyone else to, I suppose, not pose a hazard to themselves or others? They make lane changes without signaling (how can they, with one hand on the wheel and one holding the phone?)

Another type of driver I like is the, "I can see that you are coming up on me rather quickly and that the other lane is open, but I'm not going to move cuz I have a right to be in this lane. Even if I'm driving at or even BELOW the limit, you can move around me, cuz I'm not moving." These are the type of people that CAUSE road-rage, IMHO. I'm sorry, but I'M of the opinion that if you see someone coming up rather quickly on your tail, it doesn't matter what your PREFERENCE is, how's about a little common courtesy and GET THE HELL OUTTA THE WAY?!?!?!

~~Justacoasterfan~~

Customer Service - it's not the complaint department

You know, over the past few years I've noticed that people, on the whole, have become blatantly self-centered and oblivious of anyone else's feelings. This is especially true when observing how people inter-act with those who are in a customer service type profession. I mean, have you ever SEEN the way some people act towards the unfortunate souls who work the cash registers at a JC Penny on a sale day? How about the people that work the returns counter at a Wal-Mart? Oh, and let's not forget the thankless job of being a gate agent at the airport. You would think that the way passengers yell, berate, belittle and basically degrade the airline employees, that these reps have control over every airline, in every airport around the world. No matter how courteous the person behind the counter is, they receive the brunt of someone's anger whenever a flight is delayed or canceled, there is a gate change, a change in aircraft, whatever. The debate has been going on for a while now about allowing pilots to be armed in the cockpit in an effort to reduce the possibility of hijackings and terrorist actions. All I can say is that if it were allowed for gate agents to be armed, I think we'd have a sudden rash of passenger shootings the likes of which would make the Waco, Texas massacre pale in comparison.

Is it really so hard for people to take a moment to realize that they aren't being singled out and that it is NOT the fault of the person behind the counter (whether at the airport or the department store) for whatever the problem is? Even if it IS due to human error in some fashion, they are much more likely to help if they aren't being chastised. Especially if the person doing the chastising is spewing like a sailor.

It would also do folks well to remember they aren't alone in most of these situations and that there are often times "younger ears" in the vicinity that shouldn't be hearing the tirade. Would it hurt everyone to learn a little tolerance and patience?

~~Justacoasterfan~~