Are You Aggressive or Zen on the Road?
What kind of driver are you on the road? Are you the type who blasts the horn every minute and curses at every driver who's too slow? Or are you the type who's so zen behind the wheel, your passengers actually have to get mad for you? Depending on where you fall on the spectrum, it can say a lot about your personality and your stress levels. Here are 10 signs you have terrible road rage, and 10 signs that say you're way too chill.
1. You Honk Almost Every Minute
At this point, honking is basically your second language. Every time someone cuts you off, drives too slow, turns too late, or takes too many attempts to park, you're blasting your horn until your wrist is tired. Everyone around you always has to brace themselves, and they'll be stuck with ringing ears long after you're done fuming.
2. You Have Your Window Rolled Down Just to Yell at People
It doesn't matter if it's freezing cold out—you'll have your window rolled down just to yell at people whenever they do something you think is wrong. Sure, you could just make angry gestures with your hands with the windows up, but to you, that's less effective than using your voice.
3. You Tailgate
Is someone driving too slowly in front of you? Even though you could technically change lanes and be on your merry way, you're not going to let slow drivers off the hook that easily. What do you do instead? You tailgate them. And you don't stop until they finally get the hint and speed up.
4. You Follow People to Their Destination
More than just tailgating, you follow people to their destination just to teach them a lesson. This is something you often do when you think yelling at them isn't enough, and you need to let your anger loose. You might even be used to having confrontations at the gas station.
5. Your Passengers Complain About Your Temper
Whenever you have passengers in your car, they feel like they need to tiptoe around you. They can also never say that they think the other driver was in the right, and you were in the wrong, unless they're okay with being kicked out of the car. Sometimes, they might even tell you honestly that you have a really bad temper.
6. You Brake-Check
You don't just tailgate—you brake-check people, too. Sure, you know it's technically illegal, but that's not going to stop you from teaching other drivers a lesson on the road. If they want to cut you off, they'll have to deal with you cutting them off and slamming on your brakes.
7. You Think You're Never in the Wrong
Despite passengers telling you that you have a temper problem on the road, you never think that your road rage is that bad. Most of the time, you think your reactions are pretty justified. After all, it's not your problem that other drivers are horrible on the road. If you can drive perfectly, why can't they?
8. You Always Assume You Have the Right of Way
You don't just think you're perfect behind the wheel and never in the wrong, but you also always think you have the right of way. Even if others were stopped at a four-way stop before you, it'd be easier for everyone if you just went first. In fact, don't you have the right to go first?
9. You Curse More Than You Drive
When you're behind the wheel, you curse more than you actually drive. That's why your windows are always rolled down slightly after all, to make it easier for you to yell profanities at other drivers whenever they do something wrong.
10. You Take Everything Personally
Even when people apologize when they make a minor mistake on the road, you still take everything personally. When someone merges into your lane, turns a second too late, or honks at you when you're doing something wrong, like brake checking, you're immediately angry all over again.
If these signs sound like you, congratulations—you have terrible road rage. Think you're innocent? Well, then you might fall on the other end of the extreme: you're way too chill for your own good. Here are 10 signs that say you're a bit too nice on the road:
1. You Never Honk
A person with terrible road rage knows exactly where the horn is on their steering wheel (and probably has a permanent handprint on there), but someone who's way too chill on the road likely has never honked another driver in their life. In fact, they don't even really know where the horn is.
2. You Let Everyone Merge in Front of You
Three people? Five people? Heck, it's okay—everyone can merge in front of you! You've got lots of time, anyway, so to keep things safe (and to be polite), other drivers can go ahead first. You're just not sure why you keep getting honked at from behind...
3. Your Passengers Get Mad for You
Because you're so chill and passive, most of the time, it's your passengers who get angry for you. They might reach over to blast the horn, or even roll their windows down to yell at someone for cutting you off. You, though? You think reacting so heatedly is unnecessary. As long as you get to your destination safe and sound, who cares?
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4. You Feel Embarrassed When You Accidentally Beep Someone
When you do accidentally honk someone, you feel so embarrassed, you can't stop thinking about it for days. Even after you apologize profusely to the driver in front of you, you still feel incredibly guilty. You still feel bad even when they technically did cut you off.
5. Slow & Steady Wins the Race
Sure, your passengers often complain that you drive too slowly. Sure, other drivers on the road often complain that you drive too slowly by honking at you or tailgating you. But hey, slow and steady wins the race. You're more focused on safety than speeding to your destination.
6. You Let Others Go First, Even When It's Your Right
You don't just let everyone else merge in front of you—you let them go first, even when it's your right of way. You stopped at the stop sign first? It's okay, you're not in a rush, so others can turn first. It technically can make things confusing, though, so you know not to do it all the time, but you're still pretty chill.
7. You Only Ever Curse Silently to Yourself
If you ever do get angry or frustrated by another driver, you only ever curse silently to yourself. You don't roll down your window and do a dramatic show or anything. At the end of the day, you understand that people can sometimes make mistakes, so you let it go.
8. You Avoid Confrontations at all Costs
Most of the time, you avoid confrontations at all costs, which is why you like to keep your window shut. If you make a mistake on the road, you know to apologize immediately for it, but if others do it, you'll let them off the hook. You don't want to honk or curse at them, or they might pull over and stalk out of their car.
9. You're Okay If Someone Takes Your Parking Spot
It's annoying when someone takes your parking spot, but because you're a chill person, you tell yourself that you can always find another one without getting into a yelling fight with that driver. Plus, what goes around comes around, right?
10. You're Also Okay If They Block You
If another car blocks your path, you're okay with waiting it out, especially if there isn't a safe way to go around it. Other drivers with temper issues might honk incessantly until the car moves aside, but you're not like that. You're not like that at all.
