What I Realized From Highway Rage

After I was 20 years outdated, I used to be driving down a street simply outdoors of Atlanta, and got here to a pointy curve to the proper. At that second the automotive behind me selected to move. As he pulled parallel to my automotive, one other automotive coming from the other way noticed the passing automotive in his lane and pulled into mine. I used to be compelled to drive off the street and onto the shoulder to keep away from a head-on collision. There was a steep ditch to the proper of the shoulder, and if I’d been compelled to drive any additional to my proper my automotive would’ve flipped over into that ditch.

After the automotive handed, I used to be capable of pull again onto the street and proceed my journey, however I used to be shaking with adrenaline from my near-death expertise.

A half-mile down the street, I got here to a crimson mild. The man who handed me was within the left flip lane. I used to be going straight, so once I stopped we had been aspect by aspect. I used to be livid: he had gained nothing by practically inflicting my loss of life. He checked out me, so I flipped him off. He then began screaming at me and shaking his fist. So, I rolled my window down and yelled again, “You loopy #$%@&, you just about killed me passing me on that curve, and look, it received you nowhere!” He screamed some profanities again at me, and I rolled my window again up.

I Thought That Was the Finish of It

Then the sunshine modified to inexperienced, and I pulled ahead pondering that was the top of it. However, no, he pulled in behind me and rammed my rear bumper. That freaked me out, so I floored it. Inside moments, I used to be driving 90 miles an hour on a winding rural street. Worse, I couldn’t shake him. I knew I wanted to show someplace however there have been no roads I may flip down. Then I noticed a church developing on my proper. I may see it had two entrances, so I handed the primary then shortly pulled into the second.

The person adopted, however I believed if I may pull again out of the primary entrance and return the best way I had come, it will take me to a extra populated space the place I may take refuge among the many gasoline stations and shops I’d seen on the final site visitors mild. I believed possibly he’d go away me alone if I pulled right into a busy retailer car parking zone. Or possibly I may discover a hearth or police station to go for security.

However, in my panic, I missed the primary entrance and located myself in a decrease car parking zone that solely had a method out and in. The person realized he had me trapped and parked his automotive sideways to dam me in. At that time, I used to be so filled with adrenaline, concern, and fury, that I threw open my door, leapt out of my automotive, raised my fists, and yelled at him, “What would you like? You wanna battle? Effectively come on, I’ll battle you!” I used to be so pumped up I believed I may’ve taken anybody in that second.

Immediately, I used to be Wanting Down the Barrel of a Gun

He received out of his automotive and pointed a revolver at me throughout the roof of his automotive.

That scared the heck out of me, and I dove head first again into my automotive. Holding my head down, I slammed the shifter into first gear and drove away from him throughout the car parking zone and into the woods past. As I drove via the woods, dodging timber and hoping I wouldn’t get caught, I seen the person was following me into the woods.

I noticed a gap within the woods that led again as much as the road. I shortly pulled into the road turning onerous to the left (as I had meant to do from the primary church entrance), my tire squealing and smoking, as I actually burned rubber from the rear-wheel drive of my sports activities automotive, simply forward of an extended stream of site visitors. The person with the gun was too far behind me to get out and I used to be capable of get away. I shortly turned off that street, after which took flip after flip after flip, till I used to be positive he’d by no means discover me.

4 many years in the past, when this occurred, I used to be experiencing peak ranges of testosterone; my mind’s prefrontal cortex was 5 years from being absolutely fashioned and giving me a way of my very own vulnerability; and the time period Highway Rage had but to be coined. Nonetheless, I discovered a useful lesson that day—once I confronted the potential of being shot with a gun—to regulate my mood and to by no means once more worsen a possible psychopath on the street.