Why is road rage such a problem?

[Hossenfeffer]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
social psychologists have found there is a cognitive mistake so prevalent, it's called it the Fundamental Attribution Error.

basically, we tend to think that people do things because of who they are, rather than external influences.

i.e.: that guy cut me off because he is an asswipe, not because he didn't see me. that guy is driving 90 MPH because he thinks he owns the world, not because his wife is at the hospital giving birth. that lady ran the red light because she's too stupid to drive, not because at that moment her kid crapped his pants in the back seat and started screaming.

it's not just driving, of course: poor people are lazy, not unlucky. when i said hello to that woman at the coffee shop, she didn't say hello back because she's a bitch, not because she was having a bad day.

we make these mistakes so often and so predictably, it's scary. and they pretty much explain why we get so pissed off at each other when we're driving. driving simply puts us in a situation where we get into a lot of conflicts and have absolutely no information on the other person's reasons for their actions, so we always assume it's because they are stupid/mean/aggressive/etc.

QFT.

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
social psychologists have found there is a cognitive mistake so prevalent, it's called it the Fundamental Attribution Error.

basically, we tend to think that people do things because of who they are, rather than external influences.

i.e.: that guy cut me off because he is an asswipe, not because he didn't see me. that guy is driving 90 MPH because he thinks he owns the world, not because his wife is at the hospital giving birth. that lady ran the red light because she's too stupid to drive, not because at that moment her kid crapped his pants in the back seat and started screaming.

it's not just driving, of course: poor people are lazy, not unlucky. when i said hello to that woman at the coffee shop, she didn't say hello back because she's a bitch, not because she was having a bad day.

we make these mistakes so often and so predictably, it's scary. and they pretty much explain why we get so pissed off at each other when we're driving. driving simply puts us in a situation where we get into a lot of conflicts and have absolutely no information on the other person's reasons for their actions, so we always assume it's because they are stupid/mean/aggressive/etc.

Wow, that definitely puts a new spin on things. Perhaps if I can keep this in mind I'll reduce my frustrations on the road. Although, I think people pull out in front of me because they get tired of waiting for a break so they "make" one. I think the biggest external influence is the need to be at the destination. Trust me I'd rather not be driving in my car either but I'm not about to do something that violates traffic laws or is just plain senseless to hurry my progress.

 

[TwiceOver]

I usually get pissed because my life has been endangered.

 

[BriGy86]

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: Rudee
What's really annoyed me lately is people who leave 3 car lengths between their car and the car in front of them when STOPPED in traffic. Move up for crying out loud!

Why? What harm is there by leaving space between your car and the one in front of you? What would *you* gain by them moving up?

lets say i'm sitting there and the left or right turn lane is wide open on a green light... oh wait i can't get to it cause the fvck up front wont move his lazy ass

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: BriGy86

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: Rudee
What's really annoyed me lately is people who leave 3 car lengths between their car and the car in front of them when STOPPED in traffic. Move up for crying out loud!

Why? What harm is there by leaving space between your car and the one in front of you? What would *you* gain by them moving up?

lets say i'm sitting there and the left or right turn lane is wide open on a green light... oh wait i can't get to it cause the fvck up front wont move his lazy ass

Exactly. The person leaving the space gets not benefit from doing so, however he punished people behind him for no reason.

 

[franksta]

Originally posted by: BriGy86

lets say i'm sitting there and the left or right turn lane is wide open on a green light... oh wait i can't get to it cause the fvck up front wont move his lazy ass

Some guy actually had the nerve to honk at me when I was already too close to the car in front of me and I wouldn't move up so he could do just that. Then when the light turned green and I could go he yells "Thanks" to me. He could have saved a whole 2 minutes by me pulling dangerously close to another car. He wasn't worth it, and nobody is (police, fire/rescue, and ambulance excluded).

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: mobobuff
I only get angry when slow driving minivans with pro-Bush stickers and 5 little kids in the back making faces are preventing me from getting somewhere on time.
Other than that, I'm usually pretty laid back.

You'd never survive down here in the South.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I drive all cautiously these days, but it's obvious that some people just don't pay attention. It's like they're not aware of their surroundings.

 

[maziwanka]

ppl feel protected in their cars. i'd say only a handful of those ppl have the balls to continue their "rage" when the cars are no longer moving....

 

[imported_Phil]

Originally posted by: Jzero
It pisses me off because I'm afraid one of you morons is going to KILL me.

God. Damned. Right.

:beer:

 

[TwoBills]

Originally posted by: Skoorb

Originally posted by: Vic

Originally posted by: Sukhoi
Because so many drivers are incompotent fools that pay no fvcking attention to what they are doing when commanding a 4,000 lb vehicle moving at 75 MPH. Is that a good enough reason?

That's pretty much it. The label of "aggressive driving" is an excuse created by the inattentive drivers to condemn the attentive drivers for their righteous anger. If those inattentive drivers were actually paying attention to the dangers that drivers like them cause on the roads, they'd get pissed off too.
Think of it. How many times do need to get cut off by some asshole who never uses his mirrors or his turn signals before it pisses you off? How about some bitch running stop signs while chatting on her cell phone? What about the dick who always drives less than the speed limit in the left lane, blocking traffic and creating dangerous congestion behind him simply because he wants to police the road himself to make sure that no one breaks the speed limit?

These inattentive drivers are the true dangers on the road. Their arrogance and stupidity costs lives every day. And they want to tell you that it is the rest of us who get pissed off at them who are the problem... :roll:

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

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There it is. Bottom line.:thumbsup:

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: BriGy86

Originally posted by: cKGunslinger

Originally posted by: Rudee
What's really annoyed me lately is people who leave 3 car lengths between their car and the car in front of them when STOPPED in traffic. Move up for crying out loud!

Why? What harm is there by leaving space between your car and the one in front of you? What would *you* gain by them moving up?

lets say i'm sitting there and the left or right turn lane is wide open on a green light... oh wait i can't get to it cause the fvck up front wont move his lazy ass

Ok, you are talking about slow traffic with red lights. I thought you were talking about highway/interstate traffic stopped for a wreck or something.

On the highway, I leave 1 or 2 car lengths in front of me when things start to slow way down. When you have a mixture of cars going 80+ mph along with cars going 0 mph, it's a good idea to open things up a bit and give people some room.

At a red light, yeah - 3 car lengths is excessive, but I'll be damned if I am going to touch bumpers with the car in front of me, just so you can squeeze by into the turning lane. That 90 seconds of waiting isn't going to kill ya.

Of course, you could just do like most people here in the South -- get a 4WD truck or SUV and hop the curve and drive 2 wheels in the median. That lets everyone around you know just how important you are, as well as how mastadonic your road-penis must be. Be sure to rev your engine and throw some sod with your tires as you do it for that special jack-ass effect.

 

[Chaotic42]

We should adopt some of Germany's driving laws and we need to take rubber hoses to the people who don't signal and cruise in the left lane.

 

[Grunt03]

because some people should only be allowed to walk to work.
just try driving in California during the rain or fog, it will drive you crazy:roll:

 

[cKGunslinger]

Originally posted by: Grunt03
because some people should only be allowed to walk to work.
just try driving in California during the rain or fog, it will drive you crazy:roll:

Heh - try the deep south during a rare ice-storm.

"Hey Pa - what's that thar funny-looking shiny stuff on tha road thar?"

"I dunno, Bubba Jr, but let's all load up inthe pick-em-up truck and drive around on it as fast as we can and see what happens!"

"Yeeeeee-haw!"

*crash*