Grr! Those idiotic other drivers make my blood boil

Last weekend I was making my 150-mile drive north from New YorkCity when a nut in an old red Camaro came careening through thetraffic behind me. He must have been doing 90 m.p.h.

As he came nearer, I pulled closer to the truck in front of me,thinking it would keep the Camaro from cutting in. It didn't and thedriver made a dangerous move as he veered into the narrow gap betweenme and the truck, forcing me to hit my brakes. He immediately cut tothe inside of the truck, passed it and flew on.

I was still simmering mad four miles down the road when I sawthe flashing red lights of a cop car pulled over to the side of theroad. He'd caught the smart alec in the red Camaro! I wasdelighted.

There was time enough for me to slow down and room enough for meto pull up next to the police car where the officer was sitting,writing a ticket. I rolled down my window and, as the surprisedofficer looked up, I yelled, "I hope he loses his license!"

I pulled back on the highway and drove off, hoping I never meetthe driver of the red Camaro in a dark alley.

There has been a recent rash of shootings on California highwaysand several times a year you read the story of an argument betweendrivers in a minor accident that leads to a fight or a shooting.

If you're a driver, you can understand how it happens. My angryreaction to the driver of the Camaro was a symptom of the samedisease that leads to shootings. In the course of any trip you take,long or short, some other driver does something you think is wrong.If you're an aggressive driver, you're angry. Go get 'em, cowboy!You have this weapon in your hands, your car, and your tendency is touse it. "I'll go get him and cut him off at the next light . . . givehim a taste of his own medicine."

Some plug along slowly but surely. Nothing bothers them.They're not competitive. They don't anger easily.

These safe and sane drivers are, unfortunately, oftenresponsible for the accidents other drivers have and they are notalways good at handling their cars. The slow, cautious driverarouses unreasonable resentment from me when I'm behind the wheel.The nut in the red Camaro knows more about how to handle his car thanthe very slow driver does.

There are a handful of driving maneuvers that bring out theworst in me. Traveling at five or 10 miles an hour above the legalspeed limit, which is average in America, I keep a respectfuldistance from the car or truck ahead of me. I hate it when anothercar passes me on the right or left and pulls into that space, forcingme back.

When someone who has just passed me slows down at anintersection and waits until he has started to make a turn beforeputting on his turn signal, I lay on my horn in protest. By the timehe starts turning, he no longer has to put on his flasher to let meknow about it. He's too late.

"You dumb SOB," I mutter under my breath. I'm not a nice personin a car.

The best truck drivers are better than the average passenger cardriver, but there are some terrible ones. Some enjoy coming up amere eight or 10 feet from your rear bumper. If you hit the brake,you're going to have a truck in the back seat. Truck drivers do thisto let you know you're in their way and that they own the road.

The next new gadget they might consider building into our carsis a hypnotic windshield wiper that talks: DONT FIGHT. DONT FIGHT.DONT FIGHT.

Andy Rooney is a regular on CBS-TV's "60 Minutes." His column issyndicated by Tribune Media Services.