HOWARD COUNTY resident and loyal Traffic Talk reader "Karen" responded to last week's column about road rage with an incident of her own. "I ask that you not print my name. If you could have seen the rage in this man's eyes, or felt my fear as he got out of his car and I was trapped, you would understand," she said.
"I was driving from Homespun Drive into the traffic circle at Cradlerock Way. I have been through this traffic circle countless times. I was already well into the circle, and this guy on Cradlerock raced into the circle, nearly plowing into me. I guess he thought I should have stopped because he was in a rush or something. I had to veer more left into the turn, almost up on the curb, and pressed on my horn," she recalled.
"He must have been within inches of hitting me and I could never have stopped in time. The circle was clear of traffic when I entered, so I did not have to completely stop before entering, and had some momentum going at the point when he entered from Cradlerock. Fortunately, he did not hit me, but when he exited at the other side, still on Cradlerock, he stopped his car to block me," she said.
"He got out of the car, looking about as angry as I have ever seen someone, and he was carrying something black in his right hand. In my rearview mirror, I could see that a mail truck and at least two other cars were also now stuck in the circle. He was coming toward me, glaring at me. I couldn't stop staring at what was in his hand, but it turned out just to be a cell phone. I'm guessing he was on it when he 'forgot' to yield to traffic already in the circle.
He started yelling at me and saying things like, 'Oh, you think you're so bad? You're not so bad!' and much more. I guess he thought I had no right to honk the horn at him, or he was challenging me to get out of the car, too?" she said.
"Whatever his intention, he was acting like a raging, unpredictable lunatic. He finally stopped yelling for a second and just continued to stand right outside my car staring at me. So I spoke loudly (with the window still up) and said 'I had the right of way. Not you! You were supposed to yield.' He looked a little surprised for a second, then went right back to glaring at me. I was really terrified at what this idiot was going to do.
"Finally, he went back to his car and drove away at about two miles an hour with a line of cars behind us, and still staring at me in his rearview mirror," Karen said.
She also said it bothers her that people think they have the right to behave this way and intimidate others who are obeying the law.
"Does he think I should have just veered into the circle median without using my horn to warn him of the impending accident? Does he think I should have stopped in the circle, allowing him to race through? Does he really feel he has the right to set the rules?" she wondered.
"It also bothers me that this person will likely go on with the rest of [his] life driving recklessly and intimidating others, while people like me not only obey traffic laws but have to alter our driving behavior to avoid accidents caused by drivers like him, and also not anger the reckless driver to avoid a confrontation," she said.
Sorry, Karen, but I suspect intimidation is the goal of such people, and it is working all too well.
Gregory Howard of Annapolis takes issue with the "Are You an Aggressive Driver?" quiz I ran last week, calling parts of it unrealistic and wrong. Although I respectfully disagree with him, he makes a very good point.
"Aggressive driving is not about you allowing another driver's rude behavior," he said. "It is about the behavior that you as a driver have to tolerate [from other drivers]." He noted as examples tailgating, lane jumping, multiple lane jumping without signaling, "force merging," driving on the shoulder to pass other drivers, speeding through parking lots, speeding through neighborhoods and running red lights.
New red-light camera
Speaking of running red lights, fans of red-light cameras will be pleased to learn that one more has been installed in Howard County, on Route 175 at Dobbin Road. So look out, slow down and obey traffic signals. There is no need to run red lights. It is a dangerous and stupid - and now increasingly expensive - practice.
Work on Route 32
It seems that something is always happening on Route 32. During the next few weeks, look for lane closures around Route 99 in both directions while the State Highway Administration installs reflective pavement markers.
Next week: What to do with Route 32?
What's your traffic trauma? Contact Jody K. Vilschick at elison@us.net or send faxes to 410-715-2816. Technophobes can mail letters to Traffic Talk, The Sun in Howard County, 5570 Sterrett Place, Suite 300, Columbia 21044.