Re: Re[2]: Road Rage (Flame on, Johnny Torch!)

["Christoper Hartwell@bbn.com" <chartwel@bbn.com>]

This sort of response would only be valid if YOU yourself had never driven
that way, but as we can all read, ((("As a young, hot-blooded idiot, I used
to engage in this sort of juvenile tantrum until one target of my
self-righteous fury TOTALLY panic-braked and started sliding/swerving into
another lane, endangering not only him, but everyone else on the road.
Golly Beav, I hadn't thought that the other guy would actually *panic* when
I slammed him! It's a good thing I knew ahead of time that every driver
behind him was capable of slowing sufficiently without
overreacting, too -- otherwise I might have caused multiple deaths"))), at
some point in your life you did. Now maybe perhaps just maybe John is at
that point of his life where you were. Everyone goes through stages and I
don't think slander or profane lanquage across the internet is a very
mature way of voicing your opinion. You seem like an intelligent person, do
you not think you could express yourself more maturely. Now keep in mind
there are plenty of people on the road that drive recklessly sometimes,
they just don't chose to tell their story. And the ones that do have been
limited because of these sort of responses. Now you should learn to relax,
and not become so winded... A simple response would have been something
like, "Wow thats not too responsible, I don't suggest you continue, because
I went through an incident where it changed my thought process on those
sort of "Road Rage Tactics""...... Heres my story...Then you tell your story. 

Chillin' like Bob Dylan.....
98GLXVR6



At 05:40 PM 09/27/1998 -0500, you wrote:
>On Fri, 25 Sep 98, John Darwak <jpdarwak@flash.net> wrote;
>
>> To add to this, on my BMW,I had a spare spot on my dash for a switch. I
>> got a spare hazard light switch from the junk yard popped it in and wired
>> it up to my brake light switch at the pedal. Now I was able to turn my
>> brake lights off at will. My original reason for doing this was to allow
>> me to slow down quickly for radar traps without tipping off the cops
>> (useful in NY state), but I found it worked very well for tailgaters as
>> well. It goes without saying that this is VERY risky and you have to be
>> very careful if you go this route.
>> 
>> I don't have this feature on my GLX because the cops are pretty lax here
>> in MI and I can drive my speed without too much fear. But also, I don't
>> believe it's worth it to escalate the situation (yes I'm getting old...)
>> so I prefer to take a deep breathe and let it go whenever possible.
>> 
>> Safety Fast,
>> 
>> John Darwak
>> '97 Jetta GLX Sequoia/Biber beige
>> 
>If I'm reading this wrong, then please take no offense, but if what you
>mean here is what you wrote, then you've got to be one of the biggest
>assholes on the face of the planet. You MUST mean the *opposite* of what
>you wrote; that this switch also allowed you to turn your brake lights
>ON without stepping on the pedal, not just that it allowed you to step
>on the pedal without lighting up your brake lights. Anybody who would
>actually slam on the brakes in front of another driver while
>intentionally suppressing their brake lights is worse than a stupid
>teenager; they're the kind of unbalanced, violent, disturbed personality
>who should be institutionalized and/or culled from the herd,
>slaughtered, and fed to chickens. Clearly, however, a person who would
>do this sort of thing would not brag about it in a public forum,
>especially not while agreeing with someone who says they avoid
>aggressive driving in favor of calm, consequentialist dialogue, as you
>did. Therefore, you *must've* meant you light up the bulbs to make 'em
>back off without actually slowing down. But you can achieve that effect
>just by touching the brake pedal, so....
>
><SOAPBOX>
>Personally, I think slamming on the brakes (as opposed to tapping the
>brake pedal) in front of another driver (with or without brake lights)
>is a profoundly stupid, dangerous act. As a young, hot-blooded idiot, I
>used to engage in this sort of juvenile tantrum until one target of my
>self-righteous fury TOTALLY panic-braked and started sliding/swerving
>into another lane, endangering not only him, but everyone else on the
>road. Golly Beav, I hadn't thought that the other guy would actually
>*panic* when I slammed him! It's a good thing I knew ahead of time that
>every driver behind him was capable of slowing sufficiently without
>overreacting, too -- otherwise I might have caused multiple deaths. And
>of course, nobody ever drives a car with brakes/shocks/etc which
>compromise their ability to control it easily in an emergency situation.
>Lucky for me and everyone else on the road with me, I didn't cause a
>collision, and I realized that day what a complete fuckbag I was for
>pulling that infantile shit in the first place.
></SOAPBOX>
>
>One final thought about the concept of someone actually wiring up their
>car so that they can slam on the brakes without lamps glowing: It would
>be so cool when, after causing a rear-end collision, their ingenuity is
>discovered and they get convicted of some felony offense for it and end
>up in prison, and when they get out they hafta pay like a billion
>dollars a year in insurance, except they can't afford it, so they never
>drive again, and they hafta take the bus to McDonald's, which is the
>only place which would hire their ex-con ass.
>
>Again, if you didn't actually mean what you wrote, then please take no
>offense.
>
>Incredulously,
>Bruce Stapley
>98 blk/blk
>"Vitriolic Missive" edition
>