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March 10, 2010

There Is A Reason To Let It Go

Turn away. Do not engage
Don't take things personally
If things escalate too far
It could become dangerous

Watch what you are doing
Stay sane and calm
Keep things safe in your own space
You have control of only this

Stay focused straight ahead
Using your peripheral vision
Do not engage in eye contact
that would seem threatening

Stay within the lines
Follow the rules of the road
Ignore the honking and jeers
Do not give notice to hand gestures

Let them pass. Let them go.
Better to have them far away
than tailgating you for miles
and causing others to swerve

Turn away. Do not engage.
Do not give in to road rage.

41 comments:

Ronda Laveen said...

That's RIGHT! Do not give into that phenomena know as road rage. Take a moment. Reconsider. You'll find things different with the second look.

Anonymous said...

I totally agree. The driving here is soooo dangerous. Often cars are so close to each other that they are nearly touching and they still don't understand the need to belt their kids in. It is scary and no wonder that Oman has almost the highest statistics in road traffic accidents... especially scary if you consider that 85% of Oman is desert!!

Betty W said...

So true! I have not been subjected to road rage yet, and hope I won´t have to.

Brian Miller said...

why is it we fall into this trap...are we so rushed to get to the next big thing...are we so self centered to take it personally...i dunno, but i been there.

Shanel said...

I always let people have their way on the road.... I value my life... this a great read Technobabe:)

Sarah Sullivan said...

I love this..so true..people are so rude..just don't look..look the other way...let it go..ignore! People honking always makes me jump I hate that. Frankly anger makes me jump..who needs that.
Sending hugs to you hon. Thank you for always being there for me hon..you have touched my heart so many times! Hugs and Love, Sarah

Jeanie said...

Your second line "don't take things personally" says a lot. Why do people take other peoples rudeness in driving as a personal affront. Rage among strangers is a dangerous thing.

DJan said...

If you think about it, the whole concept is pretty recent. I don't remember people killing each other for tailgating before. I like the bus but there doesn't seems to be as much road rage here (in Washington state on I-5) as I saw everywhere in Colorado. But it could be that I'm driving less.

Rock Chef said...

I had a fit of road rage this morning, when the same guy tried to kill me 2nd day in a row...

Dave King said...

Good point, well made.

JStar said...

Just letting go is easier said than done, but the results are miraculous

Margie said...

I'm so enjoying your poems dear TechoBabe.
What a great message in this one!
So many people do give into that awful road rage!
I've seen it happen so often.

Have a wonderful day, wonderful you!

Margie xx

Kristina P. said...

Yes! I'm always afraid I will get shot.

Mike Minzes said...

Amen sister! Testify!

Big Dave T said...

Reminds me of the old George Carlin line--the guy driving too slow in front of you is an idiot and the guy driving too fast behind you is a maniac.

Kathy M. said...

Road rage is a big problem out here. People get shot over traffic slights. Just not worth it. Good message. Love the photo!

Crafty Green Poet said...

very good advice, I don't drive but i can see the relevance of your advice to other situations in life!

Ina in Alaska said...

Good advice and timely for me today! Not just for road rage but for potential unpleasant personal encounters too! xoxo

Everyday Goddess said...

On the nose, mamasan.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Just came to check on you..found a lady with green hair and it isn't even St Urho's Day yet!
We don't have enough cars on the road to have road rage:)

Liz Mays said...

I agree!!! My daughter has asked me so many times if she could flip somebody off and I always say NO!!!

Bill Lisleman said...

good advice
but certainly do NOT text about it while driving.

Unspoken said...

One temptation that I do not have!

Claudya Martinez said...

This should be the driver's version of a serenity prayer.

GEM said...

Words to live by for sure! Thanks for all your comments. I'm sorry I haven't been around lately.

Love and hugs!!
Green-Eyed Momster

LadyFi said...

Oh I agree. Road rage is a terrible and meaningless thing!

Anne H said...

Excellent words for driving and for life!

Shrinky said...

Oh this is so true. It took me TWO years to calm down and adjust from London driving to sleepy island life. Cutting people up and honking the horn was second nature! Over here, no one sits on the horn, even if the trafic lights change from red to green to red again.. if ever they do, we know they are just "blow-in's", visiting from the mainland (giggle)..

Mike said...

I can get very angry at certain situations, but nothing that would result in violence.

Kulio said...

What's so cool about this poem is that the whole thing, up until the end, could be about just getting through life - the advice just also happens to apply to driving :-)

Syd said...

So true. Great poem. I don't do road rage and pull over if I can when someone is tailgaiting. I'll just let Mr. or Mrs. SUV Who Is In Such A Hurry pass on by.

Lola Sharp said...

I stay calm, but I have to say, I am the one wanting to freak out now and then.
If people don't know the rules of the road, they need to take the bus.
It is a pet peeve of mine when people drive slow in the fast/PASSING lane. Or don't use turn signals.
But I hate more the aggressive weavers and tailgaters.

I don't do, gesture or say anything to anyone, but there is a little corner of my brain giving a mental birdie finger to them. Kinda even wishing for a James Bond car with torpedos.

Great poem/post, Babe. :o)

Nezzy (Cow Patty Surprise) said...

I'm sayin'.....no road rage here!

Have a beautiful day!!!

Unknown said...

Avoid the road rage like the plague.

Here I just avoid the road and cow rage is easy to avoid. {*grin*}

Once of the the things i miss not at all about living in LA.

Cheryl said...

You said it perfectly! Too many people trying to get somewhere fast with no mind to others. Everything moves so very fast in life, not always good. And thanks for your nice comment on my last post.

Julie said...

Oh, yeah! I need to print this out and hang it on the visor of my car as a reminder. I keep telling myself the person in the car who cut me off is probably a nice person who just did something stupid. Maybe they're not nice, but it helps me to visualize them that way.

I like how the poem could be about any type of rage in the beginning. I love these lines:

"Keep things safe in your own space
You have control of only this"

It's so true!

Sniffles and Smiles said...

Perfect!!!! Love this!!!! ~Janine XO

Joanna Jenkins said...

Great advice Techno. I wish more people listened to it.

I'm pretty easy on the road-- I let people have their way and take my time.

Hope you have a fun weekend planned.

jj

Unknown said...

Somebody hit my car from behind a week ago at a junction. He said he never saw the red light.

He was SNOTTY and SNOBBISH with capital SS'es'. Not a single word of sorry came out of his mouth.

I wished to club his brain out with my teacher's cane.

But the sight of his severely destroyed front bumper made my heart sing.

I made a police report eventually.

Moral of the story; Buy foreign car. Locally made brands are not strong enough to withstand a minor accident. :)

Take that

Casey Freeland said...

When I was 20, I would give hand signals all day long. Then a guy pulled a gun on me and chased me down. I don't go there anymore. I'm a pacifist to be sure.

Cheers,

SLC

Girl Tornado said...

On the rare occasions where someone has made a gesture at me, I have totally ignored them. I just won't go there. I don't believe in road rage.