My first ever road rage incident
TW: Assault
So um, yeah. I got into a road rage incident for the first time ever in my life, where I was on the receiving end, that too as a driver. It was quite a harrowing experience for me, and really made me reconsider life choices for a brief moment, especially because it has only been a few weeks since I’ve started hitting the streets in my car, going around places in my city by myself, and running errands.
Tad bit of history on car ownership and my experience of learning how to drive
For some context, I’ve been learning how to drive since I was ~16, practising in open fields for a couple of hours a week with a chauffeur my family had hired for a while. However during my diploma days, I didn’t get much time to go out with the car, and only had managed to drive in a handful of stretches, not exceeding 7-8 kilometres in total with the help of a relative. In late June last year, we had to sell our previous car owing to some serious mechanical issues, which would’ve cost a fortune and insurance would have 100% not considered covering. Fast forward to March this year, we decided to buy a car again, but being a little cash-strapped this time, we went for a this amazing pre-owned boxy hatchback from Suzuki.
Since this was right around the time I was also finishing up my diploma, I decided to take the initiative of learning how to drive yet once again, had my learner’s permit renewed, got on the streets with another chauffeur, whom my family hires on certain days. In about 2 months, I managed to get done with the entire learning process, and I was able to drive around the city and on some stretches on the highway without him having to intervene me. Later, on June 3rd, I finally appeared for my driving test, passed without much of a whim, and had my license issued on the same day. The solo driving experience has been fairly smooth ever since. WELP, that was till…
The incident™
The whole thing on the evening of 30th June, around 8:30PM1. I had just returned from meeting up with a couple of my old friends, and visiting this bakery chain whom I like, to get a cake and some snacks to surprise my dad for his birthday at midnight on the 1st of July. Now, the outlet where I got this cake from likes on a busy intersection of the city, where I barely managed to get a spot to park the car, amidst all the two-wheelers encroaching the streets, and if that wasn’t enough, on the sidewalk, along with vendor’s carts, who were nagging my ears off to somehow move the car by magic so that “people could spot them” (whatever the hell that meant).
The intersection in question:
Anyhow, I got this amazing raw mango-flavoured cake, a few snacks, along with a box of chocolates to go along with it, got out out of the store, and chucked them in the boot space with some care to make sure they wouldn’t be flying around, have I had required to brake abruptly. After that, I got in my car, buckled up, checked my surroundings a few times to make sure everything was clear, and verified with my rearview mirror. As I started the car, I realised I could use an extra feet of space to make a perfect U-turn without minimal disruption to anyone, and so I did. Right when I was braking, a man in the back asked loudly to halt, which I was doing anyway, but the loud tone made me hit the brake even harder, and engage my handbrake. Before I could open up my seatbelt, and go check on him to see if he was alright and maybe require any medical attention, he barged up to my window. This was a man (presumably) in his late 40s, kinda stout, bald, and had a fairly dark skin tone. He looked at me and said in an authoritative tone:
দেখে চালাবে, পিছনে তো লোক আছে! (bn-IN -> en: condescending tone “Look when you’re driving around, there’s people in the back!”)
A bit puzzled, and being helpless owing to the fact that he was in my blind spot from the driver’s seat, I pointed him to my rearview and side mirrors, explaining how I had limited visibility, also pointed to the reflective tapes and the student driver sticker in the back, asking to be a little considerate for a newbie on road like me. Now since this was a busy junction just in the latter part of the peak hour, I realised standing for too long wouldn’t help and that he probably understood my sitation, so I rolled up my windows, locked my doors, looked on my right carefully again to avoid anything like that happening.
Just while exiting, out of the blue, this man starts screaming at me, asking me to repeat what I had said, banging on my windows to the point where they would have probably shattered. There was a loud, distinctly metal sound coming from what seemed to be either a ring or a metal bracelet. I had a panic attack on the spot, and I don’t know how, but by some mirace, I barely managed to slip my car through whatever gap was available right after an e-rickshaw went past me, and I accelerated about 50 metres, somewhat risking a cyclist, swerving past them, and managed to exit the area by taking the first left.2 After that, I pulled up to an ATM near my home on my usual route, parked the vehicle, and sat for a while to process what had happened. That was when I had noticed that I was visibly trembling, which continued up until later that night when I went to sleep.
The immediate aftermath, and lessons learned
Without much thinking I called one of my seniors from school, who happens to be a lawyer, and I explained the situation to her. She wasn’t as surprised, for she knows how most people behave while driving, and how their, and I quote, “super-inflated egos” come at play when they’re knowingly in the wrong (which I suspect was definitely a factor in my case). I stated about getting a pepper spray in case things get heated and anyone attempts to lay their hands on me, to which she agreed, but (along with pretty much everyone to whom I’ve mentioned about the incident and getting a pepper spray) advised to be restraint, and use it as a last resort than to use it immediately when things get escalated.3
Nevertheless, I ordered two cans of pepper spray on Amazon almost immediately after I reached home. I’ll most likely store one in the glovebox, or near the handbrake/gear shifter, as it may seem fit.
Of course, this doesn’t mean I’ll start being outright hostile to everyone coming at me, I’m still choosing compassion and apologising first no matter what, but if their ego does come in the way and attempts to cause intentional harm to me or the car, I’ll be left with no choice but to make use of the spray. Praying something like this doesn’t happen with me anytime soon though. I have learned my lessons, and I’d definitely exercise more caution while reversing, especially in public.
Footnotes:
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Which, at the time of writing, has been around 19-20 hours since. Any language used at this moment might come off a little crude in nature, for I’m still in shock from the incident. ↩
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My heart rate was through the roof, I could hear my own heartbeat. I was almost paralysed from the shock, and naturally my own survival became the priorty. While I admit rushing like that was wrong, but it was in my own defense and to save my vehicle from any further damage from that man. ↩
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Which might seem obvious to some of you at the time of reading this, but then again, at the time of writing this, I’m fairly scared to interact with anyone with a two-wheeler, and would go to any length to avoid another incident like that evening. ↩