I assume most of us who have driven over a year or so have been exposed to road rage in some form or another ? In no way do I support the idea that road rage is OK. It is wrong and should be dealt with quickly and severely. But I am bothered that we are not addressing the person(s) who cause the rage to begin with. It has only been recently that it was acknowledged that these kids who go to school and blow away their friends and piers have been driven to that point by ass hole bullies, and dumb ass princesses who have made these kids life pure hell. What I’m getting at, is that we not only need to address the person who goes nuts on the road, but also the ass holes out there whothink it’s OK to put someone life in danger by reckless driving. Unfortunately the police don’t have the manpower to get these ass holes and focus mainly on drunk driving and speeders. After many years of driving I’ve never seen or herd of one of these people being pulled over and ticketed. Understand, I am not talking about the person who makes an occasional goof. God knows we are all guilty of that. I’m talking about the person who nearly runs you off the road and continues on driving down the highway/road in the same manner. Sorry, but if they get blown away I don’t have any pity for them. If they valued life they wouldn’t have got into this mess and we have no idea how many deaths are due to these people. .
One of the problems about trying to get the police to do something about people who drive recklessly is that they have to witness them doing it, otherwise it's just hearsay. One solution was to mount cameras along the roadways. Then everybody started squawking about Big Brother and loss of privacy. The states and cities won't increase their police budgets, and even if they did, people would probably point to the increased number of cops and start screaming about a police state. If they are put in plainclothes units, it gets even worse because they're obviously spying on us. What are the police supposed to do? I've been cut-off before, and I admit I have cut people off. Nobody's perfect. When these idiots start shooting (I had the opportunity to witness one, thankfully no casualties) I fall waaaaaaaaay back in traffic and hope a cop is around. Generally, if somebody gets pissed off at me on the road enough to pull up alongside of me, I brake hard and try to get away. So far I haven't been chased, and I hope I never am. My truck isn't exactly jet-powered, or bulletproof. Maybe everybody should have to pass a psychological exam before they get their license. I don't know, what would you suggest?
I tend to think life balances itself well. Does it matter whether or not we see it when that person finally gets their comeuppance? Driving west from Idaho ... Cadillac roars by no muffler, louder than a jet, it seems, around 100 mph. Five minutes later, police officer with stopped Cadillac. Ten minutes later, jet-roar Cadillac going by. Ten minutes later, police officer giving even heftier ticket to Caddy. Five minutes later, Caddy roars by. Five minutes later, Caddy is flipped over in the dirt beside the road. This was about eleven years ago--I was fifteen. I still wonder why nobody--including us--stopped to make sure the guy wasn't dead. I guess we didn't care. thx, Tiassa ------------------ "Let us not launch the boat until the ground is wet." (Khaavren of Castlerock)
I think I actually would have stopped to render aid. I mean, did the driver actually do anything to warrant a potential death sentence? It is amazing, however, how many people will stop to gawk and rubberneck at an accident without checking to see if assistance is needed. It's like wherever they're going is worth more than a person's life. It's not like most of us don't have cell phones these days. I get pissed off at people who do stupid things on the road. I'd hate to get killed because of someone else's stupidity, and I'd hate to see anybody else go the same way. But it doesn't matter to me if they get their comeuppance or not. As long as they haven't hurt anybody, I tend to let the situation drop. Don't ride with my brother, though. He'll moan non-stop about it until the next guy does something stupid. Then he starts in on that one...
I probably would have pulled over to view the situation, but I cannot condemn anyone who did not under the circumstances that Tiassa has described. The guy apparently was not drunk and it sounds like he wasn't dealing with a full deck. Under these circumstances if my family were with me I may have drove on myself. But under no circumstances do I have any pity for the person. He was pulled over twice which should have given a normal person time to cool down and think about it. I also have to wonder if this guy would have pulled over had he run Tiassa and her family off the road. My gut feeling says no. And we have no idea if perhaps he has forced someone off the road and left the scene. If this guy is alive today it'd be interesting to hear his story, which might be as follows. 'God, those dam police have noting to do. My speedometer was broken and I couldn't have been going over the limit by five miles per hour and got a ticket. I was upset and didn't realize I was speeding again when he pulled me over a second time. By this time I was so upset that I accidentally went off the road. Boy what a bunch of ass holes'. Yes I may have pulled over myself but I can see why someone might not have. This guy gets no pity from me, nor do I condemn anyone for not pulling over.
Yeah, a lot of people who get pulled over don't realize that they were posing a safety hazard for themselves and others. What really ticks me off is when I see a car tearing down the highway, leaping from one lane to another and endangering everyone, and seeing a baby seat in it. It's bad enough that the driver considers their and our lives worth less than a sale at Sears, but to rate your own kid that low? There was only one time when getting a ticket really got me steamed. I had just pulled out of a parking lot driveway. It wasn't 30 feet to the stoplight. I realized that I had forgotten to put on my seatbelt. I did so at the stoplight, but the Highway Patrol pulled me over anyway. I know the technicalities involved. I had, after all, driven without a seatbelt. But unless he hadn't had a bite all day or just plain hated blue Yugos, it really wasn't worth his time. I corrected the situation before he even hit his lights. To top it off, he had this really frustrated attitude and talked down to me and my passenger the whole time. I stayed calm, accepted the ticket and paid it, but it still annoyed the heck out of me.
