by Derek Snow

Created on: March 03, 2007   Last Updated: March 23, 2007

"MOVE THE @%%^&$@! YOU STUPID #$%^&#!~!" IF YOU ARE ADEPT AT LIP READING IN YOUR REAR VIEW MIRROR AND SEE THIS MESSAGE MORE THAN ONCE YOU MAY WANT TO STOP BEING A ROAD HOG!

ROAD HOGS can prevent 99.99% of all road-rage by moving their vehicles out of the way when approached from the rear by a vehicle traveler at a faster speed. Imposing their idea of how fast the traffic behind them should move is the cardinal sin and well known trademark of the ROAD HOG.

As a law enforcement officer for 25 years in a large metropolitan area I saw hundreds of cases of road-rage, including a couple of shooting fatalities that were invariably caused by one driver trying to impose his or her will over a fellow user of the roadways.

Dealing with road-rage simply means, don't instigate violent behavior because you think you are invincible enough inside of your steel and glass vehicle to drive side-by-side with slower traffic thereby creating a fatal clot in the traffic artery that you clogging.

High speed on modern highways does NOT kill; that is a myth. There are highways all over the world that do not have a maximum speed limit. What they do have are minimum speed limits for the slow lanes. "Differential Speed" is what kills. The mixture of slow drivers and fast drivers in the "fast" lane is lethal.

What type of behavior do you expect from someone whose path you are trying to block. Here is a little experiment that you can try. Go to a public building, say a bank, and block the doorway, refusing to let anyone pass your position. We both know the result of that experiment without having to try it out. So why do you feel that you can get away with it in your vehicle?

The other major cause of incidents of road-rage, cut-offs, stems from the same problem. Slow drivers and faster traffic attempting to weave around them in heavy traffic. The other drivers of the world have not appointed you as a road monitor.

When approached from behind by a vehicle traveling faster than you, simply yield the right of way as if it were a State Trooper with emergency equipment blazing and the chances of you being involved in a road-rage incident drop to those of you being struck by lightning. Challenge another driver and the person who accepts might not be your vision of pleasant company.

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