First Encounter With A Road Bully

                                                

Have you ever encountered a road bully in your life? If you have, then you will be able to relate to the following road rage incident.

We arrived in the United States in the winter of 1998 as my husband Hj. Khalil, took up his assignment as an officer at the Embassy of Malaysia in Washington D.C. While many would flock to the US in pursuit of the American dream,  for both Hj. Khalil and his Embassy colleague, En. Rosli, it was more of an American nightmare as they soon discover!

 Hj. Khalil, being new to the place was offered a lift to the Embassy by En. Rosli. One morning, they both had a close shave with death! While they were heading towards the Embassy, a tall, big boned American guy suddenly and aggressively overtook them and swerved his car right across  them. En. Rosli’s car almost hit his if not for his quick action in applying the brakes. The guy must be insane!

The guy then got off his car angrily, used abusive language and punched the side wind screen of En. Rosli’s car. Blood from his wounded knuckle spurted onto his winter coat! Ouch! That must be painful. The two Malaysians were stunned and were wise enough to sit tight and remained silent, while the crazy guy vent out his anger and temper tantrum.

The road bully then rushed back to his car, searched desperately for something but to no avail. He finally gave up and hurriedly left the scene. By this time, there was a massive traffic jam during the morning rush hour. The commuters bore witness to the highway drama, however, no one was brave enough to interfere or come to their aid.

 En. Rosli was puzzled and didn’t exactly know why the guy had reacted dangerously towards him. He wondered whether he had driven badly but he didn’t think so or was the guy prejudiced against him, a foreigner? Perhaps, the traffic congestion on that cold, wintry morning may have contributed to the guy’s frustration and road rage.

Subsequently, En. Rosli lodged a police report. According to the police officer, such incidents were common, that diplomats were not well-liked by certain members of the society and they were both very lucky to be alive! He further explained that the guy had gone back to his car in search of a gun or weapon which he may have kept. Had he found one, my husband and En. Rosli would probably hit the headlines!

The lesson to be learnt while on US soil is, never attempt to provoke those crazy ‘nuts’ a most of them carry guns! The American Bill of Rights allow them to keep and carry a handgun which explains the shocking numbers of murders in the United States!

Well, no matter how bad the traffic is, motorists should exercise patience and decorum, without which, there’ll be chaos on the street.

It is a known fact that American motorists fear road rage and such incidents are rampant. The American Automobile Association (AAA) even suggested that anger management education should be part of the penalty for such behaviour.

              

JMJ: Thank God, we have a strict gun control policy in Malaysia.