Road Rage to Road Rash: Utah drivers need to cool down

In the middle of December, two drivers in Orem had an altercation. It seemed to escalate quickly, as initially one of the drivers got out and kicked the door of the other, prompting the second driver to follow the first home and box his car in, confront him and slash his cheek with a machete. It was such an ordeal that it made national headlines.

I’m left with two questions from this. First and foremost: Why the hell would you go home when a hostile is following you? That’s Car-Chase 101. Secondly, who honestly carries a machete around, let alone even owns one past a collection item? It’s not like we live in the Amazon where such a tool might come into daily use.

Road rage is a pretty serious issue, as you can tell. I am sure we are all guilty of it too. We are in an age of convenience, and a serious lack of patience. When things don’t go as planned, we easily grow frustrated. I know that I hate stupid drivers just as much as everyone else, if not more. But what makes it okay to take it out on someone else, and how far is too far?

We live in a pretty nurturing and loving state. We seem to look out for one another quite well here and live by the commandment of “Thou Shalt Love Thy Neighbor”–until we get behind the wheel that is. I’ve spent my time across the map (Vegas, Cali, Houston), and have come to find that Utah Drivers are some of the sketchiest and scariest I’ve seen. Ever.

People in Utah are not afraid to use their horns, and I’m not talking about a courtesy honk. I’ve gotten more middle fingers here than in other states, and feel like people are more distracted here. All of this leads back to the road rage issues. I don’t understand the concept of it, however.

Don’t get me wrong, I get frustrated, but I just yell some words, hit my wheel, and move on. What do we accomplish to follow Joe Somebody home, and to lay him out in his (or her) driveway? That’s more immature than a middle school locker room. Perhaps we could even learn a thing or two from their comparative restraint.

My biggest pet peeves while driving are most definitely when people feel the need to make that last second right turn as I’m coming up, causing me to slow down. It’s also how people feel the need to just cruise in the passing lane, which IS illegal. My biggest however, is when people feel the need to text/talk and drive. I have ADHD, and even I don’t multitask that hard. No one cares to talk to you that bad!

Share with me some pet peeves on twitter @thereal_jsanch and maybe we can compare scars.