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Steering clear of road rage

By Todd Balazovic
Updated: 2010-04-21 11:53

"#$%^&," a taxi driver grumbles as he gestures toward a driver that just cut him off.

It's a scene we're all familiar with, but not always able to translate.

Chugging along in the taxi, there's a high-pitched squeal and passengers suddenly lurch forward, hitting their heads on the seats ahead. Then the string of expletives flies from the driver's mouth. Some of these rants are mild, some just a single rude word, but most would have a puritan mother turning in her grave.

During my time riding along the streets of Beijing, I've bared witness to some of the most colorful aspects of the Chinese language. And while the color in these verbal assaults may produce a chuckle most of the time, it does point to an increasingly noticeable problem on Beijing's streets - road rage.

What the full moon is to the wolf man, traffic jams are to normally innocent Beijing drivers.

Foul language is not the most oblivious way frustrations are expressed. Honking, usually to no effect, is easily the most common outlet for traffic tantrums.

The cacophony of horns only adds to the stress of already seething drivers, who in turn look for an outlet for their own frustrations.

The first thing they usually find is that noise-inducing button in the middle of the steering wheel.

This method is used in combination with foul language.

Though relying on the horn may be incredibly annoying to bystanders, it's not the end of the world.

It grates on the nerves, but is hardly the worst course of action.

It's when motorists exit their cars and attempt to inflict physical violence on each other or damage the cars of others that road rage needs to be taken seriously.

As Beijing's byways continue to overflow with vehicles I'm seeing, and hearing about, more instances in which tempers boil over out of the car and into the roads.

Recently, a friend told me of an extreme instance in which a driver pulled in front of his taxi and slammed on the breaks, resulting in a collision and a sore neck for the passengers. The reason for the offensive action? The cab driver supposedly cut off the other driver.

What is it about driving that drives us to anger?

Beijing has not yet reached the level of road rage displayed in other countries.

For example, a US news outlet last week reported one driver and his son were charged with murder in the beating death of another driver in a road altercation.

That kind of thing is pretty unheard of in China. But temperatures are rising as the streets fill with vehicles.

It doesn't have to be that way.

Traffic can chafe the nerves, but finding ways to occupy the mind while sitting in traffic makes it seem far less frustrating. Something as simple as bringing a book to read or making a phone call to a friend can pass time that may otherwise be spent building anger.

Life's too short to let people who break the seemingly undefined rules of the road land drivers in jail.