It’s that time of season where people are going on mini vacations, driving on the highways and the byways. Something that came to my attention this past week was bullying on the highways and byways. Say what? That’s right, bullying on the roadways. Unbelievable, however I did a little looking into this concept. I was surprised to find “bullying” on the highways was a real phenomenon. I had to blink twice. Once I heard someone say they enjoyed intimidating others while driving and admitted to being a bully while driving. I could not believe such a thing, however on second thought it made a lot of sense. Knowing bullying takes place pretty much everywhere, in schools of all ages, in the workplace regardless of the profession we know bullying takes place. Now we understand more about road ragewhich is a form of bullying when you dissect it. The car itself is not a bully however the person behind the wheel is using the car to intimidate other drivers. Tailgating close behind, raving up their motors as they fly by, semitrucks included. It sounds unbelievable however we know people have been sent to prison or killed due to road rage. Now we can pin the tail to the donkey knowing there are people who feel they can take their frustration out on others when they shy away from face-to-faceconfrontations. According to one report, 55% of teens have witnessed road rage, and 56% of all car accidents are caused by road rage. Think about the children who are in a car when road rage takes place and the impact, it teaches them it’s okay to “be a bully” or stay quiet when one is being bullied, a Bystander. The big question is what can you do safely as a “Bully Blocker”? The next time you get ready to get on the highway or take a long car trip, remember you share the road with others,and you may just come across a Bully on the road! As I was writing this blog, a car purposely crashed their car trying to go after a government vehicle but the pop-up barrier stopped them, this happened in Atlanta Georgia. No motive, just having a bad day or fed up with being bullied and became a bully!
Can you share your experience of being bullied on the roadway? What action did you take when you saw bullying taking place while driving, did you report it or take note of the make and model of the car or truck and report it? Follow the contact directions.
Yours Truly
Simplynerdie