Road rage incident: What would you have done?

[mwlmd]

This morning I was diving in to work (quickly for an emergency) in moderate to heavy traffic. 3 lanes moving at about 60mph. I was making my way as fast as I could, no obvious cutting off people etc. All of a sudden I hear repeated honking. I am in the middle lane. I look to the left and a guy in a 1999ish Acura TL is flipping me off. He is obviously fired up about something. He looks 50ish and geeky. Think Clark Kent with bad teeth.

So not knowing what his problem was I returned the sentiment and flipped him off back and mouthed "GO F*** YOURSELF!"

A couple minutes later after some car shuffling I find myself behind him in the left lane. I have given him 3 car lengths. He then proceeds to drive on the shoulder purposely kicking up gravel etc which I can hear bouncing off my car. I immediately move to the center lane. Later once he moved to the right lane I drove up beside him and he was looking straight ahead, hands 10 and 2 on the wheel not willing to look side to side.

I drove off thinking what a d bag and wondering if there was a better way to manage the situation.

Thoughts?

[kylek13]

tint your windows and when he flicks you off the first time, do nothing?

[jmh]

There are always idiots on the road.
I decided to leave them alone and not respond back (hand signs , words etc) and stay out of their
way (like take the next exit to get some room between them and me)
In the end it's not worth the aggravation and potential danger as they usually care much less about you and your car.
I've driven all over the world and this type of behavior I have really only noticed here in the US
(usually the same folks , hugging the left hand lane, cutting other people off, taking exit ramps on short notice etc...)

[stealth.pilot]

If you are going to induce road rage (I do it too) the key is not giving a damn. Focus on your driving, don't let other people or emotions affect your focus.

I usually use speed to avoid road rage drivers but obviously that is t an option in traffic.

Did you get any paint chips or did your clearbra protect as expected.

[Vic55]

Enjoy your M and if possible taken an alternative route after you realized you had an idiot about you (I know you were in a hurry but at what expense?)- and know that he drove away mad in a 1999 Acura.

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by kylek13

tint your windows and when he flicks you off the first time, do nothing?

Windows are tinted. Sunroof cover closed. No way he could make out any details about me. I am not even sure he saw me flip him off.

I was ok with everything until he started purposefully kicking up gravel...

[mwlmd]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

If you are going to induce road rage (I do it too) the key is not giving a damn. Focus on your driving, don't let other people or emotions affect your focus.

I usually use speed to avoid road rage drivers but obviously that is t an option in traffic.

Did you get any paint chips or did your clearbra protect as expected.

I agree with you. Honestly I didn't even look at the front of my car when I arrived at work. But if there are rock chips so be it. It was more the flagrant action he took rather than the result that really pissed me off.

There are definitely whack-jobs out there with nothing to lose. I need to just ignore them and move on. Try and not let it bother me.

[Tom C]

What I find is the best way to deal with mad road raging drivers is to laugh and point at them...if they were going to get a heartattack before that usually sends them over the edge. It actually makes you start laughing at them and puts you in so much better of a mood when you see how pissed they get. you aren't stooping to their angry level and responding in-kind...so you are kind of doing the right thing ...even though we know in reality we aren't....

[mwlmd]

I like the consensus here. Drive as you will and ignore all the pissed off people that are generated in our wake. Let them go away...mad.




I feel better now... until I look at the front of my car.

[nugent]

you can get in a mud wrestling contest with a pig, but only the pig will enjoy it. better to just avoid the mud, hard as it is to not act on instinct. in the end, keep the mindset that you have a lot more to lose than 99.9% of people on the road.

[info@trinityautosport]

Originally Posted by stealth.pilot

If you are going to induce road rage (I do it too) the key is not giving a damn. Focus on your driving, don't let other people or emotions affect your focus.

I usually use speed to avoid road rage drivers but obviously that is t an option in traffic.

heat of the moment I can understand, especially with an emergency on your mind. but +1 with above.

[RPiM5]

I've been the victim of road rage a couple of times in my F10 M5 as well already.

One of those times it was some lady in a Toyota Prius that flipped me off. That's like the insult of all insults to me! Haha! We were in bumper to bumper traffic moving at about 5mph and I had to get over to the right lane to make a right turn at the end of the road. I signaled and everything, still moving at about 5mph and she didn't like the fact that I got in front of her. So while I was still trying to make my way over, as gently as I could, she pulls onto the shoulder and proceeds to pass me on the right and as she does so, she flips me the bird (I hate when it does that. Guess that movie!). I had my 15% tinted windows and I know she couldn't see me. I eventually get over to the far right lane and pass her on the right. As I am passing her, this crazy lady has one of those small pocket size digital cameras and is taking pictures of me. I mean it wasn't even a smartphone camera. Lol! So what did I do?

Did I,

A: Let it go, and be on my merry way?
B: Flip her the bird as I am passing by her on the right?
C: Roll down my window and shot obsenities at her?
D: None of the above?

The correct answer is D! Here's what I did (and this was especially sweet since she was driving her Prius). As I passed her on the right I stop so that the rear of my M5 is right in front of her. This was the day that I first got my new Catless Downpipes installed and with those in combination with the RPi GTM exhaust, well you know. I then throw the DCT into Nuetral and proceed to rev the crap out of my M5. She couldn't go anywhere and had to endure the fumes and smoke of fully catless straightpiped M5 blowing gases and destroying the environment right in front of her. After I had enough fun I drove off and made my right turn but the best part was that as I drove off there were cars up ahead where people in front of her were giving me thumbs up! LOL! Poetic justice I say!

[nugent]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

I've been the victim of road rage a couple of times in my F10 M5 as well already.

One of those times it was some lady in a Toyota Prius that flipped me off. That's like the insult of all insults to me! Haha! We were in bumper to bumper traffic moving at about 5mph and I had to get over to the right lane to make a right turn at the end of the road. I signaled and everything, still moving at about 5mph and she didn't like the fact that I got in front of her. So while I was still trying to make my way over, as gently as I could, she pulls onto the shoulder and proceeds to pass me on the right and as she does so, she flips me the bird (I hate when it does that. Guess that movie!). I had my 15% tinted windows and I know she couldn't see me. I eventually get over to the far right lane and pass her on the right. As I am passing her, this crazy lady has one of those small pocket size digital cameras and is taking pictures of me. I mean it wasn't even a smartphone camera. Lol! So what did I do?

Did I,

A: Let it go, and be on my merry way?
B: Flip her the bird as I am passing by her on the right?
C: Roll down my window and shot obsenities at her?
D: None of the above?

The correct answer is D! Here's what I did (and this was especially sweet since she was driving her Prius). As I passed her on the right I stop so that the rear of my M5 is right in front of her. This was the day that I first got my new Catless Downpipes installed and with those in combination with the RPi GTM exhaust, well you know. I then throw the DCT into Nuetral and proceed to rev the crap out of my M5. She couldn't go anywhere and had to endure the fumes and smoke of fully catless straightpiped M5 blowing gases and destroying the environment right in front of her. After I had enough fun I drove off and made my right turn but the best part was that as I drove off there were cars up ahead where people in front of her were giving me thumbs up! LOL! Poetic justice I say!

this is a good story. however, if the person behind you was on edge or had a gun, you might have had a big problem. people can be pretty whacked nowadays.

[UniqueCheese]

Anger leads to poor decision-making an unpredictability on the roads, and even worse, cuts down on the amount of planning that you can do ahead of your current position. Unpredictable drivers make everyone behind them slow down, which makes traffic worse. If you can't just press the lol pedal harder until the person annoyed with you is no longer anywhere near you, then you either have to box them in to slower moving traffic, or you give them the "I'm sorry, I know that was a dick move" look and hope that defuses the situation. Then everyone can get back to driving sensibly and quicker.

Look at your journey today - did you honestly gain anything that you didn't lose waiting at traffic lights? It's just not worth fighting in traffic. Plan for long-cuts - alternative routes that are less direct or longer, but that take you through fewer lights. They're frequently quicker.

Plan ahead, drive smooth, drive around, get there quicker and calmer.

[nugent]

i forgot to ask, are you sure you didn't have the d**k move/M2 button depressed, like you did when passing me on the right in Germany?

[Bokke]

This is one of those times when your unique M5 is very easy to remember especially if you have a personalized plate!!! I just smile a laugh!

[BC87]

Now I'm a young guy, so not the most mature. But I would of handled it by ignoring him. Best way to handle road rage situations is by not adding fuel to the fire. Plain and simple. If it gets too serious fall back get his plates, call police. I mean when are you gonna see this guy again..um prob never. So is it really worth it to respond in anger or respond at all? I don't think so.

[johntomferg]

quickly for an emergency

Did the patient survive?

[Richard Cranium]

You escalated the situation, bad call.

Next time just get on with your life and ignore the idiots.

Cheers.

[cjackson1906]

Originally Posted by Tom C

What I find is the best way to deal with mad road raging drivers is to laugh and point at them...if they were going to get a heartattack before that usually sends them over the edge. It actually makes you start laughing at them and puts you in so much better of a mood when you see how pissed they get. you aren't stooping to their angry level and responding in-kind...so you are kind of doing the right thing ...even though we know in reality we aren't....

^ This x 10. We're located near the same area and I find laughing or an occasional "Go do us a favor and just kill yourself" response quite refreshing...but hey, I'm secure in my a$$hole status...

[py0413]

I was in a parking lot rage rather than a road rage a few months back. Some lady in her wagon wanted my spot and she probably thought I took too much time to get ready to leave so she gave me a mid fingering and honked many times. I looked to my 11 o'clock direction and there are more than 5 empty spots just a few yards away from where I parked. Some people are just weird maybe.

[AGS]

Originally Posted by RPiM5

(I hate when it does that. Guess that movie!).

Top Gun.

You know I love this game Dave!