Driving me crazy

Is it just me, or is driving to work, school, or just going out for a weekend jaunt becoming a very dangerous and stress-inducing activity?

I am convinced that it’s not, in fact, me. I thought maybe I was getting into the crotchety-getting-old-and-less-tolerant-of-bull-crap stage of my life (I am, but that’s another column … story … book …) So many people are driving just terribly, if not downright dangerously. I’m not talking about the texters or the speeders, or even the “Duh, where am I and how did I get in this car”? variety — but the very arrogant “I own the road/I am king of the world” driver.

You know, the ones who race ahead to cut in line, while you, doing the right thing, miss the light while they’re merrily on their way, 10 cars ahead of you — speeding, tailgating, just being annoying to others (their new victims.) Or the drivers who swerve, race-car style, in and out of lanes to find the fastest one (I do this myself at the supermarket checkout, but I’ve yet to cause a collision, other than a slightly dented shopping cart — and I’ve yet to pick the shortest line.)

Or the ones who will never, ever let you in if you’re trying to merge or heaven forbid, trying to get into traffic from a side-street or a school. To rub it in, they move up thistightsoyoucan’tgetitfrontofthem. They’ll show you!

What is wrong with people? I don’t believe that personalities change once we get behind the wheel. I think this feeling of cheating, entitlement and aggression is scarily becoming the norm in our lives — and I don’t like it.

These are people that will, if God forbid we ever have a shortage of food or water, cut in line ahead of you to get to it — and feel entitled to do that. These are people who see nothing wrong with the “survival of the fittest” lifestyle. They see the prize, they step on (or speed around) otheres to get it, and have not qualms about it.

Well, that may have worked with our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but, hey, rude people — get civilized — it ain’t working now!

Notice that I stopped talking about driving? Because that’s just a part of it, a symptom. Maybe it’s the economy, maybe a general feeling of discontent and frustration with our lives.