No Road Rage On Red

CONTENT WARNING: Violent/Threatening Behavior (No injuries)

I was driving my car; my people-pleasing sister was sitting in the passenger seat. We came to an intersection with a sign over the left turn lane that read “NO TURN ON RED” and a traffic camera right by the sign. Of course, I needed to turn left. I put my blinker on and waited. The truck behind me honked twice.

Sister: “He wants you to go.”

Me: “It’s ‘no turn on red’.”

Sister: “Okay, but he wants you to go.”

The driver of the truck honked again and gestured for me to turn.

Me: “I’m not going to ignore the rule because he’s in a hurry.”

This was followed by a long honk from the truck.

Sister: *Stressed* “Seriously! Just go! He’s getting mad!”

Me: “He can be mad. It’s okay.”

The driver behind me got out of his truck and came to my door. I locked the doors a second before he pulled on my door handle.

Driver: “Hey! Are you blind, b****?”

Me: *Smiling and pointing at the sign* “No turn on red, sir.”

Then, he punched my window and started screaming at me, calling me a “F****** c***!” and a lot of other not-so-nice things.

Sister: “Just go!”

The light turned green while the man was screaming at me. I let off the brake pedal, and the car started rolling forward. He jumped back before running back to his own truck. He followed me onto the highway and tailgated me for many miles, honking and screaming.

Unfortunately for him, his tantrum took us right by a police officer in wait. The man was pulled over, and we went on our way.

Sister: “You could have avoided all of that by turning.”

Me: “He could have avoided all of that by reading.”