Last week, I was in Houston on business. Houston is about 100 times the size of the town where you’ll find my office (Bessemer, Alabama), meaning that the traffic is about one million times more intense. As a visitor on unfamiliar roads, it was even more challenging, merging in and out of lanes at the direction of my annoying know-it-all co-pilot, the female GPS voice. I witnessed many instances of road rage (and may have participated in one or two of them myself!).
It seems that road rage is all the rage these days. It is thought that aggressive driving might be responsible for up to two-thirds of all U.S. traffic accidents that involve injuries. CNN reports that cameras and guns are making road rage even worse, and in Houston, there are plenty of both!
An entire section of the DMV website is devoted to road rage, and businesses are popping up with products to support (or further antagonize) those who suffer from this affliction. There are road-rage themed bumper stickers like “Watch Out for the Idiot Behind Me”; road-rage megaphones (with an assortment of prerecorded insults for adults only); and a road-rage flip book you can keep on the passenger seat of your car that features 48 choice signs to flash at motorists. A few of the milder ones include: “I hope that cell phone gives you cancer!”; “Get out of the fast lane, moron! ” and “Thanks for littering, you disrespectful piece of s***!”
It seems we Americans are an angry lot these days, and we’re venting on America’s roads and highways. After a particularly stressful afternoon of maneuvering in Houston traffic, I decided to decompress with a glass of wine and a Google session where I found these two images to put a smile back on my face.
And, although I loved everything about my visit to Houston except the traffic, I’m hoping that my next business trip takes me to Canada, where our nice northern neighbors handle things a little bit differently.
Happy Monday,
Mary
