I'm just waking up to news reports of another shootout on the Dan Ryan expressway here in Chicago. Incidents of road rage seem to be increasing. It is absolutely out of control in Chicago. Every month, a major Chicago expressway is shut down for hours due to a crime scene investigation caused by a shooting incident.
I am thinking these incidents are a bit more than road rage. Sometimes shootings continue from local side streets and are then carried onto major expressways. I do not know. But, I do have thoughts on road rage. Here goes....
Drivers enter their cars irritated. Folks are bombarded with bad news from the Internet, TV, radio... everywhere. We have NEVER witnessed such viciousness in national politics as we have witnessed ever before in this once great country. So, it does not take a lot for drivers to erupt behind the wheel.
Motorists are distracted. Cellphones, texting, emailing, music playing now is the rule while driving. So, folks are no longer able to focus on driving. When the light goes from red to green, well, drivers do not notice and delays result.
Drivers are self-centered. They are discourteous, viciously cut off others and do not give a shit about safety.
Folks simply do not know how to drive! Turning signals not used. Changing lanes without checking. Ignoring stop signs. This causes safety concerns for others.
Folks do not plan time to reach destination. So the already irritated driver is now rushing to go from point A to point B. This is not going to work.
Here's my driving experience from yesterday. I simply drove a routinely very short distance to a grocery store. This is what happened:
1. Road construction and partial street closure on Michigan Avenue, so many lanes merged into just 1 lane.
2. A distracted driver at the light. So motorists angry, blowing horns and cutting into lanes without checking.
3. A slooooow truck driver did not know where he was going, so he held up all other drivers.
All of this in a 5 minute period on a hot Thursday morning. It just makes me so mad!!!!
This is how I plan my driving to avoid raged drivers:
1. Leave extra early.
2. Give others the right of way... even when they are wrong.
3. Check my route BEFORE leaving home using Google Maps or Waze.
4. Never make eye contact with other motorists. Folks are just crazy.
5. I limit my driving to before noon... as much as possible. Stuff happens in evening and at night.
6. Follow the Rules of the Road as I learned so many years ago.
Stay Safe
