"Traffic Turrets"

The Urban Dictionary defines the increasing occurrence of profanity-laced motorist tirades as “Traffic Turrets”. Seems we cannot accept calmly the boneheaded moves that other drivers inflict on us. We scream four letter words and pound the steering wheel at the imbeciles who thwart our enjoyment of the open road. Experts say our patience is getting thinner faster-and I cannot argue with them.

I must admit that I too am guilty of such outbursts, but if there are kids in the car, the language is strictly PG-13. I’d like to think that my level of control is better than average, but my wife may disagree with that assessment. After seeing some of the road antics out there, one does wonder how these people got drivers licenses in the first place.

I can handle the slowpoke in the fast lane. I can tolerate the guy (or gal) who slows down to almost a complete stop(without moving over) before making a right hand turn. I can even withstand the weaving-because-I-am-talking-on-my-cell-phone-or-putting-on-makeup-or-eating-while-driving-or-all-of-the-above.

The one thing I can’t stand—and don’t understand- is the driver who refuses to PULL OUT INTO THE INTERSECTION to make a left turn. We’ve all been a victim. We’re behind someone at a traffic light. We both want to go left. It may even be a dedicated left turn lane. The light turns green. Instead of pulling into the intersection while waiting for traffic to clear (allowing you to do the same), this brainchild STAYS PUT until traffic clears. He or she then makes a hasty left-just in time for the light to turn back to red. This Mensa-society member has no clue what they are doing. A gentle tap of your horn to remind them to pull up a bit is completely lost on them. In fact, they’re up there saying “why is that idiot honking at me? Can’t he see the cars coming the other way?”

Because they are completely numb to their lack of road manners, there is no cure for this behavior. But there is hope. If you are one of these drivers, well now you know. If you are riding with one of these drivers, do your part by gently reminding them to inch up a bit. Not only will they be able to make the turn faster once the opportunity arises-if they happen to be IN THE INTERSECTION when the light turns yellow, they get to turn! I’ve actually endured the driver who missed a couple of lights by not moving ahead just enough to even take care of themselves!

Maybe you can share your pet peeves regarding drivers who really should just be riders. Eliminating road rage has always been seen as a function of dealing with the source of the outburst-rather than the source of the problem!

Can’t we all just please learn to drive?