There has been a precipitous drop off in the amount of road rage directed at me and my partner lately. Six months ago, we experienced frequent tailgating, cutting off, and flipping off. I always thought this was weird, because it never happens when we take my car, but no matter which of us was driving, it was a common occurrence in her car. I thought it might be anti-import sentiment, as I drive a Saturn and she drives a Honda. She didn't think much of it, because it had been happening regularly since she moved North.
The aggressors are usually male. I don't know why, and I don't know their motivation, but I think every single road rager we've encountered has been a "dude." We've been intentionally trapped alongside a semi for miles on the highway. We've been followed ten blocks with just an inch or two between bumpers. One guy did this down residential streets, then passed us at 50 miles an hour, screaming something we couldn't understand. My favorite is when someone does this on the highway, then cuts us off and slams on their brakes.
But now it has stopped. There has not been a single incident of aggression directed against us in six months. Did our driving habits change? We were never driving under the speed limit. We obey traffic laws. We are courteous to other drivers when merging. We know and obey the rules for a four-way stop. None of that has changed over the past six months. So what gives? What has changed? Think...think...think...
Oh! Six months ago, my partner left her car in neutral and it rolled backward into a pole. The bumper had to be replaced. The bumper with the rainbow sticker on it. This is the first time her car has been without a rainbow sticker since she moved North for college. Coincidence? You be the judge.
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