Surprisingly not a dead subject, road-rage is still a problem in Colorado. The lax laws on gun use amplify this, as drivers actually brandish weapons, suggesting they'd murder someone due to their disapproval of someone else's driving habits.
I own no weapons, mostly because I don't live in perpetual fear due to that I took a significant amount of martial arts and realize self-defence on the most part is pretty easy to do based on the psychology of your opponent and their motives. I'm confident in my abilities. Subduing and/or killing someone is physically pretty easy to do, even if they're armed at semi-close distances. (Ranges over 20 feet is another matter and require a lot more skill and if they're hell-bent at killing you ... well, that's another matter.) My opinion on guns is that I really don't care much about them one way or the other. I take the RPG "Monk" approach on that whole combat thing. It's served me well so far. A lot of folks arm themselves with huge gun safes and have weapons at-the-ready in every room of their house, but let me tell you that in the dark, just waking up, being able to grab that weapon, unlock the safety, aim well, and fire accurately, often while lying down backwards is not as easy a task as some people think. Even if you were successful in a perfect-world scenario, where you had a good amount of time to snap-to and shoot admirably, if you work with a clearance, that's revoked for at least a year as you go to court for murder, albeit justified. All that blood, semi-permanent on the floor. Heck, I had that situation happen to me when someone was just "lost" and drunk, trying to sleep it off in North Dakota. Some 6-foot troll of a monster I was barking at, as I was shirtless. This 40-year-old Norseman then ran away, peed himself and hid behind a bathroom commode in a local bar when the cops caught him and his parents picked him up. "Oh, that's old Tommy!" the cop declared. "He always does that. The town drunk." I didn't press charges but warned him not to go into folks' houses because he could get shot or worse. Later he ended up in jail for a similar offense at Devil's Lake Penitentiary. He's still there I think. Poor old sod. Personally, I'm a fan of ADT. Thieves (from personal experience) do not care for LOUD 120db noises. Cops are notified and sent enroute. Your phone is ringing from ADT asking for pass-phrases. It's a cacophony. Not ideal thieving or murdering conditions. Heck, I'd run. Even professionals would take off. Done deal and no one gets hurt. Dealing with a murder on your hands, justified or not, is hard to sleep with. Just ask any of my buddies from Desert Storm. No joke, even if you are a hero.
SO... I notice that Road Rage still exists on streets and thoroughfares. Usually there's just the lumbering SUV crowd going 5-under or less. I still don't get why women drink the SUV Kool Aid and get those things; they handle poorly, get bad gas mileage, accelerate slow, stop slow, have near-zero grip despite 4WD claims, topple-over easily as they're top-heavy and are proven to actually be more dangerous in a crash than a small car. Worse still, often piloted by one individual, though it can seat 4, and sometimes 6 badly. If you've ever been crowded in a $70k Audi Q7 you'll know what I mean. Horrible accommodations.
So you got the slow movers, or the way-too-fast movers at odds. I'm one of the latter, though I feel it's justified if: a) I don't ride your ass, b) am not in your way in the slightest, and c) don't suddenly cut you off. I figure if I'm in the ultra-fast lane (now a crime if you're going too slow for people behind you and carries a fine) and flash blinkers or lights once, you'll understand your flaw and mislocation in the scheme of lanes. Most Coloradans now move-over, as is the law, which is nice. Still, sometimes traffic is just jammed and there's no fixing it. Annoying? Yes. Rubbernecking is thankfully not an issue as much here as it was in Boston where I grew up. Also, thankfully, cellphone use is also illegal except for hands-free ones, though fat soccer moms are still involved in their low-tech devices while their living rooms are careening down the road.
I'm still fine with slow-drivers, just as long as they keep in the left-ish lanes, it's just fine.
I think road-rage can be solved with everyone just "knowing their place" in the lane structure. Consider your driving style and place yourself accordingly and all will be well. At least it isn't Asia!
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