Driving Home The Anger

(I am on the main road when I need to take a turn on a side road. There is already a car on the side road. A young man in his early 20s is in there, and he seems to be not moving — there is no stop sign for either of us — and it looks like he’s having a conversation on his cell phone. So, figuring he’s stopped to make a phone call, I make the turn, looking everywhere. Just then, he darts forward, too. I try to brake, but too late, my van hits his car, damaging his tire. Part of it falls off. The man jumps out of his car, screaming.)

Man: “YOU LITTLE C***! A**HOLE! F*** YOU FOR HITTING MY CAR!”

Me: “I’m really sorry. Are you all right?”

Man: “F*** YOU! A**HOLE! LOOKIT MY TIRE!!”

(He screams so loudly that he catches the attention of a nearby police officer. I’m apologizing over and over, but the man keeps screaming obscenities at me, jumping up and down like a maniac. The police officer takes our information, calms him down, and turns to me.)

Police: “From what you two have told me, it looks like it’s your fault, Ms. [My Name]. Main road cars have to yield to side road cars.”

Me: “I know that but he wasn’t moving, so I thought—”

Man: “F*** YOU A**HOLE! YOU CAME TEARING AROUND LIKE—”

Police: “That’s enough. You aren’t hurt. You’ve made your point.”

(He sent us off and in the end, I got points on my driver’s license. But I heard the young man got busted for having an illegal substance in his car. It might’ve been my fault, but I hope he gets anger management calls before it’s too late!)