Austin finally importing LA's freeway shootings(road rage)? (Dallas, College Station: 2009, high school)

[inthecut]

Could be.......evidently some folks in Austin are now packing a piece for those frustrating moments on freeway exits when you just HAVE to fire at that car driving you batty in the next lane...

From the Austin American-Statesman...

"Police say details are fuzzy, but that the suspect, who was driving a white Dodge Ram extended-cab pickup with dark tinted windows, cut off the victim near Airport Boulevard.



Police said the suspect then started pumping his brakes, and the victim switched lanes to get around him. The suspect then slowed until the victim caught up, and the man driving fired two shots at the car, striking a male who was driving. "

And, last week, this...

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/..._rage_incident

Lets face it, the freeways in Austin are unbearable, with signage seemingly designed for accidents and confusion, frontage road retail strip mega merging every mile or so, and tons of new residents who don't know where they are.....

Can we try public transportation once more, and not just a train to nowhere fiasco like the Leander/DT joke?

Really, we can do so much better as a city......or slowly become LA/Southern Cal lite.....

[AustinTexan]

It's all those morons moving here from California who are ruining this city.

[iceshots]

That's a switch.

When I first started travelling down here for business (Dallas) I was given this tip by some of the Canadians that had moved down here a few years previous.

Don't cut anyone off, or ***** them off in traffic, because in Texas, you never know who's packing.

I found drivers to be very polite and courteous to each others. Since moving down here I have never seen incidents that the two reported.

[HappyTexan]

Over the years traffic has increased in Austin proper and I do notice that drivers are not as nice as they used to be. Probably the effects of more traffic than the roads can reasonably handle.

Outside of Austin though..it's a different world when driving IMHO.

[RoundRockinite]

Last Thursday I was driving north on the merge ramp of 360 to get back to MOPAC. I picked up some lunch and had to get back to work. There was lots of traffic and so I had no choice but to merge. There was more than enough room for my vehicle to get into the left lane (several car lengths). I signaled. Then merged slowly. Well, I look in my rear view mirror and the truck behind me was right on my ass and HONKED. Then a few seconds later as traffic slowed I hear his engine rev and I knew he was going to cut around me. However, instead of driving around he basically tried to run me off the road. I slowed so it didn't happen. His vehicle was VERY close. If I had an old vehicle I would have let him hit me. Then he gives me the finger. Driving onward I was to make a left. Then he sticks his left arm out the window and still giving me the finger. It's so dumb as he swtiched to the right lane and was now several vehicles ahead. I bet other drivers were wondering what the hell?

Why so much anger? I drove perfectly safe, for the most part. I had no intention what so ever in causing this person harm. Well, this incident got my heart racing and I was quite nervous - even physically ill from it - shaking. The problem with this is not only did he put me in danger, but everyone else around him. There was a ton of traffic at that point and he could have caused a disaster. If I were not a nice guy he could have had some trouble himself. It really sucks when people ASSUME that you are trying to personally attack them somehow and then they want revenge. I think perhaps 99% of them time it is displaced anger. Perhaps the guy is having job trouble or something. I would have been more than happy to apologize to him if he thought I hurt him. There's no way to safely do that in this situation. Sigh.

It is very frightening to think people can't drive normally and still get assaulted by other drivers.

There were two other incidents in the two years since living in Austin - equally frightening.

What to do? I do my best to drive safely. This road rage crap is stupid. I think people become alienated from others when they are in their vehicles. They assume every time someone drives in front of them that it is a personal attack. And you know what? I can understand that. If I am driving in the left lane and someone from the middle lane cuts in front of me and droves slower it is annoying. However, I do my best not to take it personally.

I just thought now that perhaps it is best to signal VERY early - as in signal, wait a solid moment, and THEN move over so that it doesn't look like an assault. And also, not to make quick movements with your vehicle. I think quick movements activates the primordial "chase" instinct in people and they latch onto it, and literally try to chase you.

I should also say that I have seen some very GOOD drivers in Austin, and the surrounding area. For the most part people let each other in. I've had many experiences where drivers are courteous and I try to do the same. So it is not all bad. It's just that two or three bad incidents can really ruin things.

I bet there are a lot of other horror stories out there. I know a couple other coworkers who were literally forced off the road on MOPAC.

Sigh........

[nomore07]

Originally Posted by AustinTexan

It's all those morons moving here from California who are ruining this city.

Don't forget the ones from Dallas too. They're accustomed to more/larger freeways and faster traffic. Some don't make the adjustment.

[orbius]

I got caught in a traffic jam in a strip mall. Not like I had to wait for 3 minutes and I'm exagerrating. I mean an honest to goodness traffic jam. I basically sat where I was for 20 minutes without moving, 'only in Austin' I thought between tearing my hair out. A no-prize for anyone who can guess what shopping center it was.

[Moonlady]

Originally Posted by orbius

I got caught in a traffic jam in a strip mall. Not like I had to wait for 3 minutes and I'm exagerrating. I mean an honest to goodness traffic jam. I basically sat where I was for 20 minutes without moving, 'only in Austin' I thought between tearing my hair out. A no-prize for anyone who can guess what shopping center it was.

I got caught in one of those at the new Arbor Walk at Mopac and Braker. That place drives me nuts - I avoid going there.

[orbius]

Yeah you guessed it.

[capcat]

RoundRockinite, that sounds like a situation I got into on my way to a high school football game in College Station, only it was worse. I actually feared for my life on that lonely stretch of road at night. I believe the glow from cell phones calling 911 caused this guy to finally move on and stop accosting us with his vehicle. As a result, I don't want to travel that road again, and I don't want my daughter to attend Texas A&M and have to travel on it. Extreme, but it's an incident I'll never forget.