What the heck was I supposed to do?

Parent Cafe
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<p>So earlier this morning, I went and picked up my DIPLOMA from my high school (woo hoo!). Then I had to go to the bank and deposit the money that my grandparents gave me for graduation, which just happens to be attached to the local grocery store.</p>

<p>I get it all deposited and go to leave. The way the parking lot is set up, you have to make kinda a lazy-s to get to the driveway to pull out. There was a HUGE truck blocking my view of anyone coming in the driveway (it’s two-way), so I was indeed trying to be careful. I make the left hand part and go to make the right hand part, and have to SLAM on the brakes in order to avoid hitting a woman who came SCREAMING in the driveway. She proceeds to lay on her horn and scream at me through her car window, then finally pulled away, all the while giving me the evil eye and nearly reducing me to tears.</p>

<p>As I was leaving, I just kept thinking, “gee, sorry that huge truck was in the way and I didn’t even see you.”</p>

<p>What was she expecting me to do? Get out, kiss her car and ask if it had a boo-boo when I was probably 6 feet away and stopped as SOON as I saw her? (And I couldn’t have been going an excess of 15 MPH to begin with, so it didn’t take me long to stop.) I mean, I had the good sense to stop my car before I slammed into her, and I didn’t honk at her or anything…am I being too sensitive, or did she overreact?</p>

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<p>Even if it had been 100% your fault, you should have honked and yelled right back at her. Then you flip her off, and drive away. That’s what I’d do, anyways.</p>

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<p>XD I wanted to pretty badly, but I was too stunned by her reaction.</p>

<p>Plus, I almost NEVER honk my horn unless someone is about to hit me. </p>

<p>Thanks for the tip though…I’ll have to remember that for next time. ^_^</p>

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<p>She definitely overreacted. Sounds like she has a case of road rage. Wave and smile at her and move on. You will develop a thicker skin the longer you’ve been driving and encounter people like this.</p>

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<p>And thanks, Primetimemom…I’ve got a pretty tough skin already (as you can probably imagine, with those crazy CA drivers! ;)).</p>

<p>I think it was more that I was already emotional this morning from getting my diploma, and then to add that just kinda set me over the edge.</p>

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<p>Don’t yell or honk at people like that. Say a prayer or feel sorry for them because their uncontrolled, unwarranted rage causes them lots of emotional, physical, and social problems.</p>

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<p>I agree with Northstarmom. </p>

<p>From a purely practical point of view, it’s important NOT to react to crazy drivers. The mother of one of my son’s classmates was seriously injured in a road rage incident. She is a doctor, and the closed head injury she suffered has made it impossible for her to continue practicing medicine. Ignoring idiot drivers should be rule #1.</p>

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<p>My father in law has the best response to this situation, particularly when the other driver is younger. He smiles a big smile, leans out the window, and yells “how’s your dad?”, leaving the errant driver to think not only was he recognized, but also that someone is going to report back to his dad (mom, grandparent, whatever) In your case, maybe you could have asked “how’s your daughter?” or “See you in church Sunday?”</p>

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<p>chintzy, I love it. Plan to use it.</p>

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<p>I love this better (can’t take credit for it-- someone shared it with me). They rolled down their window and said " Excuse me, are you in my way?" By the time the complaining driver did the double take and realized what she said, she’d gone. :)</p>

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<p>Every so often someone honks or gives you the evil eye (or finger) for no apparent reason. You took too long making a turn when they were in a hurry, or you were only going 5 mph over the speed limit and they were in a hurry, or…you get the idea.</p>

<p>All you can do is smile and feel sorry for them. I like it when someone else is in the car with me, so I can doublecheck that I wasn’t doing anything wrong.</p>

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<p>Honking and flipping off someone who is already enraged is a good way to end up dead. Some of those crazies are packing heat, and your little gesture may be just the thing to push them totally over the edge.</p>

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<p>^^ Good point, coureur. I once witnessed a finger puppet exchange between 2 drivers – The one who had initially tried to cut in made what he thought was the final, grand “one arm in the air outside the window with middle finger raised” gesture then sped off… until they were both stopped side by side at a traffic light!! LOL. I am GLAD I was BEHIND them! And it coulda been ugly.</p>

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<p>I was recently in a foreign country, driving through a residential area, while a car with a few young people in it made a stupid move. The people driving the car I was in were understandably annoyed, and they honked to get the other driver’s attention. It was the type of scenario in which I would’ve expected to see some fingers flying, but the other driver smiled, waved, pulled up alongside, and apologized before driving off. It was the weirdest, most refreshingly friendly thing! This was the same country that had a widely understood “thank you” signal (like when we wave into the rearview mirror) for use on the road, so I shouldn’t have been surprised.</p>

<p>Road rage drives me bonkers. Even if you were entirely at fault, there’s just no cause for that type of reaction from someone. It only makes everything worse. Just be uber-glad there was no actual collision, b/c aside from dealing with any damage, that is not the type of person with whom you want to be stuck in insurance negotiations.</p>

<p>Congrats on being officially graduated…paperwork and all ;)</p>