Hmmmm.... I had, I guess what would be called an incident of "Road Rage". Even though there was no "rage" involved. Access to my daughter's Junior High School is via a narrow residential street. This school was built to be a small school just to serve the houses that surround it. Over time, though, the population has swelled and the school is taking on over 3 times the students the school was built to accomodate. So, when school is out, there is probably around 300 cars around the school at one time. Like I said earlier, to get there, you turn off a main street onto a skinny residential street that winds it's way around the school and then meets back up with itself. Imagine a funnel. Imagine 300 cars trying to get out at once and you can see that there will be a traffic back up from the signal where the little street meets the main drag. I was in that line, waiting my turn. Each cycle of the signal would allow about 12 cars through. So, we were slowly making our way down. Most everyone is very patient. I just happened to look in the rear view at the traffic backed up behind me. Suddenly, about 20 cars back, a lone car pulls out of traffic and starts to pass everyone, by driving in the opposite lane against traffic. A large SUV was coming towards him, but this jerk didn't pull to the side and forced the SUV to the curb so he could pass. About this time, the signal changed and I started to pull forward. I was the last car through before it turned yellow. As I started to make my left turn, the idiot who was passing everyone was next to me turning with me. (From the wrong lane). He honked his horn at me to let me know that he was beside me. I guess I should have let it go from there..... But, as he passed me, I fixed him with a dirty look. The driver ignored me, but his passenger smirked at me. It was two teenage boys. At the next signal, I ended up behind them waiting for the light to change. The driver looks up into his rear view mirror and stares at me. I just glared back. Next thing I know, he threw his car in reverse and started backing towards mine. I knew he wanted me to react and maybe see my eyes bug out, or something. But, I didn't give him the satisfaction. There was other traffic around, some of whom had seen his earlier shenanigans if he tried to say that I hit him. When the signal changed, I decided to just let the whole thing go. I would try to go a different direction than him. I know how these things could escalate. He turned right, the direction that I wanted to go, but I just continued straight. So, I made it home intact.
Posted by Valkyre at November 21, 2002 04:50 PM