Road rage scares the bejesus out of me.

Two men were stabbed in a road rage incident in western Sydney yesterday, after one car cut another car off to do a u-turn. There was honking and slammed brakes, and then, police say, both cars stopped and the occupants got out.

I understand road rage. Over the weekend I drove back to Sydney after visiting family in a country town, and I could feel the tension creeping back into my shoulders as we re-entered Sydney traffic. The road situation in this city is epically slow, poorly-planned and expensive, and drivers are understandably frustrated.

What I don't understand is, why anyone would ever get out of the car?!

Only bad things can come of it!

You're never going to have a civil, pleasant conversation, where each person listens to the other make salient points, and you part ways feeling better about the situation.

"Oh, no, I completely understand! You're obviously in a hurry to be driving that fast, and sometimes I forget to indicate as well - it happens to the best of us!"


"Well, thank you for saying so, but I can appreciate how you would have been frustrated by my weaving in and out of traffic. Sometimes I just get so engrossed in my phone conversation..."

Moral of the story: never get out of the car. My very practical and clever sister-in-law, a lawyer, says the best thing to do if you're involved in road rage is to drive to the nearest police station. No matter how angry the other person is, they're unlikely to go ape-shit crazy on you if you're in the police parking lot. And also: Never. Get. Out. Of. The. Car. Ever!