This is unironically true -- being forced into a car-centric mindset makes monsters out of most people
This is unironically true -- being forced into a car-centric mindset makes monsters out of most people
This phenomenon is so well-known that Disney was making cartoons about it 75 years ago.
Yeah, that cartoon was the first thing that came to mind.
There is some scientific backing to this. Basically by isolating ourselves in these little bubbles of death, we stop seeing the other people as people and this removes any moral/societal blockers to descending into a pit of rage and calling for the termination of their bloodline, death by inept firing squad, etc.
I wouldn't even say we stopping seeing them as people, but instead that we view them as generally terrible people based on how they drive. They're either an idiot or an asshole, as the saying goes. ('Anyone that drives faster than me is an asshole and anyone that drives slower than me is a moron' is the saying)
Commuter rail is hilarious for this. All the same people that were in orderly lines, holding doors open, giving seats to older or disabled people, and saying “oh you go first” for the last hour spend thirty seconds back in the “safety” of their white SUV and they’re acting like absolute animals to all the same strangers.
As someone who mostly bikes (no license to drive), interacting with cars on the road definitely increases my bloodpressure compared to other public space users.
I walk and bike (driving makes my anxiety go crazy), cars never properly look out for us and it makes walking and biking way more dangerous than than it should be
Where I live (Philly suburb) the vast majority of drivers are actually very respectful and considerate. Unfortunately, even if 99.9% of drivers are great about it, that still means 1 out of every 1000 cars that passes you is going to be taking your life into their hands. For as much biking as I do, that means about one scary incident a week.
I would never ride my bicycle in Philadelphia proper, just way too insane. Ironically enough, it's also the cyclists who are batshit crazy there - it's quite common to see people riding against traffic on streets with no shoulders, or sailing through red lights and stop signs without even looking first. Somehow it's never those riders who are killed. The regular bicycle deaths are almost always the result of large trucks turning right across the bike lanes and mowing somebody down.
Peeps are more civil without a 1500Kg weapon at their fingertips.
I think it's both the weapon and the isolation: you get more angry when someone else's mistake could be deadly for you, and it's so much harder to see them, so you start to assume the worst.
But there's also time where people are literal dicks. Most times I drive, at least one driver does something selfishy reckless. I'm reminded every time I drive why I hate it
Reposting (with minor edits) something I wrote in another comment a few days ago:
Cars force communication that is inherently anti-social. If someone is genuinely sitting at a light too long, you honk at them. There aren’t a lot of other good options. But even a honk sounds aggressive. You could be as polite a person as can be in any other situation, but making the completely reasonable choice to honk at them makes it sound like you’re calling their mom fat.
When this happens to me, and the guy ends up pulling into the same parking lot, I tend to avoid any other contact, even if it's just walking by.
It can be different regionally too, where I'm at now everyone honks all the time so a little honk is a fine courtesy if you don't see the light change, where I moved from though it would come off as screaming at someone on the street.
But meanwhile as a cyclist if I pass someone and they give me extra space we can smile at each other and wave, or if I have to 'honk' it's a little polite bell. But also I semi-frequently have times where I think "that car could have killed me" and I continue my commute unfazed. It encourages an entirely different mindstate than car-brain.
I experienced the reverse of this when I spent 4 years biking around Los Angeles. Road rage...gone, even when I eventually got back into the coffin on wheels. And now I just get frustrated when friends and relatives get unreasonably angry with cyclists and pedestrians.
Like I have relatives who are completely nice people until they get behind the wheel, when they become just the most angry I've ever seen them even when just driving down a calm non-busy street...it's unreal.
The majority of human history has shown us that no, in fact, walking does not inherently make you kinder.
I think the point being made is that having to drive everywhere makes people even less kind than they usually are, as borne out by road rage incidents
Yeah, for sure! I was being tounge in cheek, mainly for my own amusement lol.
For the majority of human history we didn't have cars.
#thatsthejoke
I have,... had, a different problem.
I like engines, I like shifting gears, I am a bit of a thrill seeker, and I love driving.
I'm mid 30's now, but when I was a kid... man, some stuff you just shouldn't incriminate yourself with. Raise hell, praise Dale.
These days I have to keep in mind that I'm not only endangering myself, I'm endangering others, so I... tend to keep a light foot.
it's not the driving, it's the assholes on the road who drive like it's baby's 1st power wheels. when i moved from city to rural, the improvement in my mental health just from the zero traffic was unbelievable. there's like 2 good things about living in a city, and neither are remotely worth dealing with the many reasons NOT to live there
Yeah, there's little I dislike more than HAVING to drive in the city or through one. Luckily, we're working on a project that is close enough to public transportation for the time being.
I'll be sad once this one finishes because, I'll most likely need to return to car life.
Nah. Assholes will be assholes regardless of their mode of transportation. The car/bike is an instrument and a conduit that helps express one's assholeishness, but that state of mind exists even on foot where it gets even more up close and personal.
The difference is when a gaggle of young teens take up the sidewalk, I can walk around. When a truck comes barrelling down the road, it damages my hearing and actively threatens to kill me.
I had the extremely good fortune to move to a place where I don't need a car and I am always surprised by how quickly the hate returns when I get behind the wheel.
I'd say "you don't hate driving, you hate capitalism", but I guess that applies to mostly everything.
I'm not saying capitalism doesn't have a lot to answer for, but I'm pretty sure road rage has separate and distinct causes related to cars themselves, including but not limited to:
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When you're enclosed in a car you become more anonymous and may feel less accountable for your bad behavior than you would if you were exposed as a pedestrian. Conversely, other drivers are also enclosed so it becomes easier to dehumanize them.
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You're driving what's likely your most expensive piece of personal property, so you're prone to be defensive when it's threatened by other drivers' behavior.
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A car is also a very personal choice that's designed to provide the comfort of a private space, so it's easy to feel like the presence of other road users is intruding on your space.
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There would still be a lot of hate in my heart if I had to walk through crowds everyday.
While less dangerous (honestly with how people responded to covid maybe not that much less dangerous) you still have to put up with entitled idiots that arent fit to be out in public.
You don't really learn how to curse until you learn how to drive.
The first time I can recall someone not my brother giving me the middle finger was my first time driving on a real road, and I wasn't even in the wrong ahah.
The hate is always there, it's just not provoked.
With cars, there is no space. Other people are close. Traffic shows us how we feel when our expectations are not fulfilled.
Nah. The hate of other people never leaves my body. When driving it's the dumbasses that don't use their blinkers. While walking, it's the people that stay far enough from the wall in order to occupy the most space while staying close enough that you don't fit between the douchebag and the wall.
Am I the only one who hate-walks? Obviously my hate is directed at drivers.
Absolutely the opposite for me. I am a chill driver but get very frustrated when trying to walk through busy places. I still like when I can take a non-car option, though
That said, my "very frustrated" at no point ever rises to the level of the road-rage that is all too common amongst drivers
Its sorta annoying because the car culture is so engrained. I had a job prospect in a burb that was not easy by transit but I could swing it with by doing bike and commuting on the reverse (away from downtown) train line. My brother had a folder and since its possible you can be denied bike access and I need it on the other side of the trip to I asked if I can borrow. No he was hoping to use it to teach his kid to bike but he said hey I can borrow his car. Im pretty sure he is just trying to fix my bad decision on how to do things.
Unless you can see others driving. In which case you'll probably see or hear them doing rude or psychotic behavior. Or at least that's how it is here
