Road Rage...

I just had an interesting experience on the road. Truthfully it left me quite shaken. Someone apparently wanted to kill me...or at least do harm to me and my vehicle. Here's the story:

I was driving back to my place after having just spent a very nice evening at my parent's. I was listening to "The Men of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir" CD (which, by the way, is definitely worth the purchase) and just contemplating about what a wonderful day I had. As I was driving, I noticed the car in front of me was going a bit slower than the speed limit so instead of following too closely, I decided to move into the next lane. At that point I noticed the car then started to speed up. Perhaps they thought I was trying to pass them and they wanted to prevent me from doing so. Well, I really wasn't in a hurry, I just wanted to go the speed limit. So, I stayed where I was and kept driving.

When I got about two lights from where I needed to make a left turn I decided I should get back over into the lane I had previously exited. Upon doing so, I ended up behind that same car. When the light turned green and the cars ahead of us went through the light, the car in front of me continued to sit there for another 4-5 seconds. I just sat there and waited. I didn't honk my horn or appear to be in any kind of hurry. In fact, I didn't even step on the gas. I just sat there.

After the 4-5 seconds the car finally went. Very slowly. It was almost like they were the tortois and not the hare. I didn't want to go around them again because I knew I'd have to turn left anyway so I stayed behind them. As we were approaching the next light they hit their brakes. Hard. Nobody was in front of them and there was still a good 20 feet before they got to the light. I hit my brakes to avoid hitting them. Still I did nothing. No honking of the horn, no obscene gestures. I felt like I was in total control of myself and I was proud. I had no idea why these people were apparently so upset with me.

That light turned green and they started to go. Again, very slowly. In about 30 more feet I would have to turn left so I continued to stay behind them. Within about 5 seconds of my passing the intersection they slammed on their brakes again! This time harder than the first time. I once again hit my brakes and was able to stop within about a foot of hitting their car.

At that point I raised up my hands in frustration and yelled "What are you doing?" Obviously they couldn't hear me. I decided I had had enough so I pulled around them into the middle lane since I had to turn left anyway. When I started to pass them, the guy SWERVED toward me in the middle lane, coming within a foot of hitting the side of my car. He then swerved back into his own lane and I sped by as fast as I could to avoid getting hit.

I will be the first to admit that when a car is driving below the speed limit I will often times follow too closely behind them. But I didn't do that tonight. Tonight I simply switched lanes. I had done absolutely nothing wrong in this situation. I found it interesting that this guy was so concerned about his precious Audi that he was more focused on my driving than his own. Because of that he actually attempted to cause an accidet three separate times! If anyone was being a hazard it was him, not me. And what really got to me was that he not only put his life and mine at risk, but also the girl who was in the car with him. Did he even stop to consider her? Most likely not.

By the time I got to my house I was shaking and was so upset that I had to take several deep breaths to try and calm myself. Then I had to say a prayer just to get rid of the anger I felt. Never in my life have I experienced road rage quite like that. I hope it never happens again.

But I do have to say that I am very happy with how I handled this situation. I could have reacted very differently. I hope he somehow recognizes that.