(Not a photoshop. The Queen is serious. Did you see her parachuting last night?)
Posted on 07/28/2012 4:27:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A new survey of America’s commuters reveals some interesting facts. Chief among them: many folks text and drive, while far more — especially women — have a tendency to fly off the handle.
The study was conducted by Harris Interactive between May 14 and June 4 of this year. Over 3,800 commuters were surveyed, all of whom were employed full-time and most of whom (83%) drove to their workplaces. For the purposes of the study, Harris limited participants to those who were not self-employed and not in government jobs.
When all the dust had settled, Harris found that America has some very angry drivers, and quite a few who aren’t entirely safety-conscious. Here are the major takeaways:
Women are more prone to road rage than men. Of those surveyed, 61% of women said that they had experienced road rage, compared to 56% of men.
Younger drivers are more prone to road rage than older ones. Roughly 68% of respondents between 25 and 34 years old said they experienced road rage, while just 47% of those 55 and older said the same.
It’s too darn hot (for road rage): 17% of those surveyed said they experienced less road rage during the summer months, while 10% said they experienced more.
Roughly 9% of commuters have actually gotten into a fight with another commuter.
Almost one in four commuters — 24% to be precise — has been involved in an accidenten route to work. We’d expect that figure to be a little higher because…
Fully 30% of commuters have sent text messages while driving to and from work.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimore.cbslocal.com ...
“For the purposes of the study, Harris limited participants to those who were not self-employed and not in government jobs.
Why?”
Because self-employed are those crappy 1% people who aren’t paying enough taxes and people with government jobs are saints.
I’ll admit to that.
I drove a fair amount in Italy 4 years ago. It was great being in a place where darn near everyone was paying attention, getting down the road, and acting cooperatively in doing so. I think driving is seen as more of an art there. Here it is something you do while drinking your Starbucks or eating your Mickey-Dees.
I try to do nothing more these days than wave in a really friendly manner, as if I’ve recognized a long-lost best friend.
This can really, really piss people off.
;-P
A long time ago (30+ years, thinking about it), I had a guy get out of his car like that and head towards me. I hit the throttle and dropped the clutch, going around him in a way such that if he hadn’t jumped back in his car and closed his door, I’d have taken his door off (and missed him).
I’m glad he jumped back in.
(Not a photoshop. The Queen is serious. Did you see her parachuting last night?)
You have that right. Never write checks with your mouth that your a$$ can't cash. I have been with women who jump out of the car to run up to the other car to confront the driver over some slight real or imagined. Always managed to convince them to get back in the car as they are looking to find out who is carrying a gun or recently were paroled. A friend of mine used to carry a small fire extinguisher in his car not only for fire prevention but to dissuade those who would try to open your door and pull you out over some trivial incident. It effectively calms some one down when their mouth,eyes and nose are drenched in fire retardant.
That is Jimmy Carter in a wig.
That’s a good idea. :-)
lol... Never heard it put that way before.
The fire extinguisher is a good idea.
Hey, you’d be upset too if someone put on the brakes and caused you to mess up the eye makeup you were putting on during a hands-free cell call. Thanks SeekAndFind.
Just glad you were safe.....
As a guy, I’m surprisingly not really subject to road rage....I really just don’t care enough when I get cut off....
However, I’ll relate a one story....
I was driving on a secondary road in metro Atlanata with my then 8 year old son in a rental car....the rental car passenger side mirror was broken (couldn’t be adjusted) properly for the blind spot.
I accidently cut of a guy in a jacked-up pickup truck (lost him in the blind spot), clearly my fault. I waved to him apologetically and yelled sorry....
He went totally “ape sh*t”, swevering around me, running up on my tail, cutting me off and slamming his brakes....I backed off and let him go....we came to a light and he pulled along side.he rolled his window down and I did mine....before he could say anything I loudly apologized again. (This was important since I wanted to use this as a point to my son to take responsibility, and sometimes this is embarassing)
Instead of accepting this, the giuy launched into a barrage of cursing and threats.....I again apologized and warned him that I had an 8 year old boy in the car and to watch his language....
Well...I put the car in park, got out and told him if he wanted to “dance” let’s go right here right now, however, I didn’t approach his vehicle and stood next to mine making this “his” call....the clear message; I was ready and willing but he would have to escalate....Obviously the “jacked” up truck was compensation for “other” inadequacies.... He took off....
My son learned some important lessons, 1. Accept responsibility for your actions 2. You have a right to stand up for yourself (my response was measured and appropriate to the threat)
I have seen numerous roadside fights...usually short (most fights are) but once anyone leaves a vehicle they have to expect at a minimum a punch to the face...probably worse....
Again, glad you were safe......if you can’t get away...call 911, stay in your vehicle, lock your doors, and get a gun or a good non-leathal device such as bear spray...
Considering how worked up you got about my comment, I have know doubt you suffer from more than road rage.
It happened to me once. A moron driver did something stupid close to me, and I went into full blown rage and did equally stupid things in response. Fortunately, there were no injuries or damage from the incident.
I scared the heck out of myself when I reflected on it later. I now count to ten before responding to moronic moves on the highway with anything other than a “read my lips” moment.
You handled that situation well. I’ve seen numerous roadside arguments and fights, too.
The first incident I described happened around six years ago. But, a couple of years ago, I had another incident, very similar to yours, that was clearly my fault. And all of my kids were in the car with me. Usually, I check the side mirror and then turn to look behind me. This one time, I checked the side mirror only... and saw nothing. The other car must’ve been in a blind spot.
When I started into the other lane, he honked, and I quickly got back over. I immediately told the kids it was my fault, and I slowed down a little bit to let him catch up to me so that I could apologize. Like the guy in your story, this guy was going totally nuts. When we stopped at the light, he was screaming, cursing, calling me all sorts of names, and I just kept saying sincerely, “I’m sorry.”
My sons were probably 14, 12, and 8 at the time. I was glad that they were so coolheaded, almost amused by the whole situation. While he was screaming, they were just looking at him as if he were an interesting anomaly. When the light turned green, he screeched away in a rage, and the oldest one said dryly, “Well, he was polite.”
Thinking about it later, considering how he screeched away, he probably was the type of driver who cuts off other drivers all the time.
We can’t carry a gun in my state, btw. I asked after that first incident. I liked the fire extinguisher idea, though.
No, she was just hollering at me.
Women should never have been allowed to vote or drive!
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