2muchpain

Took a long weekend trip to the beach. It's true about Florida drivers. Many of them seem to have anger issues. Had some guy in a group of bikers swinging his fist at me cause I was making a right turn and I was a little out of my lane cause there was no room. Another guy behind me got upset cause I was going slow and decided to swerve into oncoming traffic and pull back in front of me, only to find out that I was going so slow cause of the car in front of me . He just pulled in front of me behind that car and ended up in the same situation. LOL. Had other close call situations. I was ready to get out of my car and deal with the next idiot. Just wanted to take a baseball bat to somebody. Road rage is a big problem here. And people say California drivers are nuts. Been there. Not even close. On the bright side, the beach was nice and I met a lot of nice people. Bought a nice scarf for my sister at an arts and crafts festival. Next time, I'll take the trolley!! There's no place like home. Just needed to vent. John

nova84

Hi John...glad you made it home safe and sound!!!!! I love coming home after a trip. Glad you had a good time despite the road rage 🚗🚗🚗

PippoRossi

Clearly you haven't met any Idaho drivers! Glad you enjoyed the beach, though.

CreativeThinker

Try driving in Boston MA...talk about crazy drivers!

tekink

Arizona has some bad ones. I don't find california bad at all. They drive aggressive but if you put your blinker on and merge folks will let you.

Maudcat

Yah, come to Massachusetts when you want some hair raising driving experiences.
Some days I feel like I have cheated death several times over!
Always good to get home and back in one's own bed.

2muchpain

I've thought about moving to Arizona, but I'd miss the beach too much. I don't get there too often but it's always nice to know it's always there. John

least

Glad you're home safe and sound. The situations you describe are why I can't drive on highways anymore - I panic!!

2muchpain

I know what you mean least. Part of my problem has to do with getting older and not doing so much driving as I used to so I have to take some responsibility for the problems I had. Just get nervous driving in areas that I don't know well. The place I just visited is very busy with people jogging and riding bikes. Really gotta watch out for them. I drove through a red light that was in the middle of the road that tells drivers people riding bikes are crossing. Wasn't expecting it. Some people on bikes and jogging had to pull back as I passed. A lady on a bike caught up to me and knocked on my window. I opened my door and she gave me a royal chewing out. I deserved it. Nowadays, I usually stay close to home where I know the roads well. John

Dee74

Good the break was largely good John

D

SoberLeigh

Glad you had fun, John.

2muchpain

No big deal. I plan on visiting the same area in maybe a few months. Thinking of moving there. But at least I know what to expect. Planning a few more road trips this summer, but will do things a little different next time. Taxis, buses, trolleys, trains, etc. might be the way to go. Let someone else deal with the headache. At my age, traveling in comfort and safety is probably a good idea. John

2muchpain

Yeah. It's almost like you've cheated death. John

2muchpain

Not today grim reaper. Beat ya again. John

2muchpain

I know this is old news, but today I drove around taking care of some chores. I was at a blinking left turn red arrow. This idiot behind me kept honking her horn. All this while cars were going straight so I couldn't make a left!! Then a few minutes later, I'm making a right waiting for the road to clear. This fool behind me kept beeping his horn for me to go. He must of seen cars going by so there was no way I could go. I beeped at him once. Once traffic cleared and I made my right, he drives by me flipping me off. I did the same. Stupid, I know. This is getting ridiculous. Time to buy a baseball bat and some mace. Maybe people are drunk or high because of the holidays but I don't care. I've had enough of this. John

Tankersfull

I was ready to get out of my car and deal with the next idiot. Just wanted to take a baseball bat to somebody.

John,

Glad you are thru this painful experience and are at home safely. When I read your post, however, I got stuck on the above sentences. Please, please don't ever, ever think about getting out of the car. You are risking your health in a major way, in my opinion, if you do that. You don't need that kind of frustration or confrontation. And the 1 out of 10 times you may actually meet a nut case ready to take that baseball bat to your head, you can never be sure.

I have a friend who is a master karate expert. I mean really. He could probably take on 4, 5 guys and not even break a sweat. His hands are like stone. You get the idea..

Once we were driving together and a similar situation happened. The other guy actually cut us off, pushed us to the side and totally forced us to stop. My friend simply locked the doors, stared at the guy with a smile and opened his hands face up to his sides as if saying sorry, s*** happens. (and he was nowhere at fault). The other guy was basically foaming at the mouth, yelling obscenities. Finally, my friend took out his cell phone and dialed the cops, and mouthed the word police to the other guy. That solved that pretty darn quickly, let me tell you. He was gone before we even got to talk to someone.

When it was all over, I couldn't help ask him why he simply didn't get out and kick this idiot's butt. He turned to me and said "I probably could do that. But I can never be sure that he is not carrying, a gun or a knife, or he might be fully jacked on God knows what. The risk is our life and the return is big fat zero. There is simply no sense in it".

I was stunned at first, but realized how right he was. The risk is everything, the probability is not low and the return for the risk, yes, a big fat zero.

Anyway, sorry to preach but just food for thought.

Hang in there, and remember breathe, breathe and breathe..

T.

MidnightRider

Yep... Florida beaches during a Holiday weekend... in the Summer .. crazy !

Glad you made it home OK..

AnvilheadII

I vote for Seattle area drivers being some of the worst. Heavy dose of stupid, arrogant and did i say stupid? Plus we are supposed to be all Bike friendly, but since they refuse to adhere to road rules you have to watch out for them as well.

it is really not worth it to ENGAGE in road rage. you are talking to woman who HATES to be tail gated. i can't tell you how many times i've cinched up my seatbelt and tapped my brakes super quick, just hoping the SOB will ram me and i'll get a new car. or i've slowed down to box someone in. got behind my former tailgater and hit the high beams. but seriously.....many of them are ARMED. **** off the wrong guy and you're gonna be taking bullets.

i will say the one time i did derive satisfaction out of a confrontation was waiting to turn onto the dreaded Mercer Mess with the sign overhead that clearly states NO TURN ON RED. the light is red. i am not turning. but the broad behind me starts beeping at me. i am still not turning. she keeps beeping. i threw my car in park, unhitched my belt, got out, turned to her while pointing up at the sign and BELLOWED at the top of my lungs "the sign says No Turn on Red, you stupid b.....!!!!" ah the terrified look on her face was priceless.

but it was stupid on my part. satisfying but STUPID.

2muchpain

Anvilheadll, great post!! Loved it. I know a lot of people are armed today so getting out of my car with a baseball bat is probably not a good idea. I actually thought of following the guy that flipped me off, but new better. I'm not violent, but I really wanted to put some smart into his dumb brain.
I just feel the day might come when some nut will get out of his car to confront me and I want to be prepared.
A long time ago, some guy got upset with me for some reason. He pulled his car into a parking lot and got out with a crowbar and started walking across the street towards me. I was stuck in traffic and wasn't sure what to do. I was about to get out of my car to deal with it since it looked like I had no choice. Luckily, the light turned green so I drove away. Like I said, I'm totally nonviolent but nowadays, you gotta be prepared. I know people are hurting and have their problems and I feel for them. But I'm not the one that caused them. Very sad really. John

2muchpain

Tankerfull, you and your friend are right. I'm really glad I posted my anger on this issue. If something really bad happens and gets out of control, I'll call the cops, but I still think it's important to be prepared. The wierd thing that until your post, I don't think I would of thought about calling the cops. I would of figured it's my problem to deal with. Thanks. John