Get off my Road
Before I get into the story proper, I should address the patient audience reg. the hiatus. Well, I have nothing much to offer in terms of juicy details, I have been commuting regularly on the bike and that’s about it. It has become so commonplace, I find it rote to write about the events of my commute. For those interested, Nov was a 500km month with average ride speeds of 24kmph. Nothing to write home about, but there it is anyway.
So something happened yesterday that gives me fodder to write. two separate incidents of road rage made me a bit miffed.
First case was in the morning, I was in my regular route which has 2 nasty road diversions. It is not a big deal but requires that I do an orchestrated jig to make sure I am visible to the drivers and I get my right of passage through the traffic signals. I was into the jig mid way, taking the lane, waving my hands, making myself look big, When I realized there was this white subaru (not the cops, they tend to use white subaru’s too) tailgating me, and sticking to my wheel like he wanted to pass me on a slip stream. It is one of those with the nearly illegal dark windshields and nearly black windows. It could have been a ninja but there is a higher probability of it being a beng (Note wiki shows a certain racist slur in here, but really, there is a beng in every social setup and a beng is a beng regardless of race).
What do you do when tailgated? Well, stick to your lane, and be predictable. Nothing works better. The downside is that once in a while you will get some ass like the one this morning, who passionately dole out their ignorance. He did it in abundance when he eventually passed me, unwound his windows and shouted that I had no right to be on the road. Sigh, man, I wonder how do these fellers get their licenses when they don’t seem to know the basic idea of who can and cannot use the roads.
The case 2 in point happened in the evening. I was heading back and almost home when a lorry passed inches away from me, I could feel the wind when the rear view mirror passed literally an inch from my ears. I usually am alright when people pass me close by but when 2 lanes are empty and the lorry rides inches past me at 50 kmph, I would like to voice out my opinion in the matter. I did with a Loud ‘oye’. Technically, it is just to vent the frustration and to relax the adrenalin glands and it does nothing else as the driver is oblivious listening to loud music in the cocoon of his car. Tonight was different, teh lorry was riding with windows down and he got my opinion loud and clear. He immediately stopped a few meters in front and waited for me to pass by for a confrontation.
Note, he was not in a hurry, so there is lesser reason for him to ride like a maniac.
Since I was near home, I figured I can take the opportunity to educate the feller. The conversation, however, went like this:
Me: Yo, can you make sure you give me space.
Him: You, you, why do you shout.
Me: Damn it man, you were an inch away from me, I have to get your attention. Now that I have survived, make sure you give others space while on the road.
Him (getting angrier): Why, Why did you shout. I did not hit you…
Me (flabbergasted, thinking WTF): …
How can I make an argument with some one whose case is that Since he did not physically injure me, he should not be subjected to criticism. Yikes. I hope these guys get their licenses revoked.
On a separate incident, I saw this lady drove into my lane like it was her Granny’s road. She did not bother signalling or slowing down, but she had a nice sticker on the rear window that screamed:
“Lady Driver – Please be considerate”
I don’t know, may be she thought that sticker was a license for her to behave like an idiot and get away with it. May be I should have a sticker on my back and then people will behave better. Who knows. stranger things have happened.








