Road rage raises serious concerns
by Shannon Harrison
feature editor

   Everyday whether I am driving to school or work, it seems that at least twice I get cut off by other drivers. Sometimes, I wonder to myself if they received their licenses from K-Mart, but, no, unfortunately the Department of Public Safety has licensed most of these people.
   It baffles me how many times I am almost in an accident because some idiot who doesn’t use his turn signal cuts me off. The same person, after cutting me off, will swerve into the lane next to me and also endanger the lives of others. It happens all the time, but as frustrated as I am, I would never pull a gun out and shoot the driver.
   Road rage used to consist of honking at others, giving them the finger, cursing or, even worse, getting in front of the other vehicle and slamming on the brakes. Nowadays, however, it is worse than that. Not only are people doing all of the above-mentioned things, they are also shooting at the other drivers.
   Last year, a man was killed in broad daylight in front of a Luby’s because of road rage. Are these people so angry that murder is the only answer for them? People can handle such situations in other ways, but this rage seems unstoppable.
   A few nights ago, a local toddler was shot in the leg by a passing motorist. The police said even though motorists were everywhere, nobody could describe the car. I understand this because when driving, most people don’t expect to see a gun shooting into another car and cannot read the license plate number as the car speeds away.
   Driving is a privilege that most people take for granted. We need stricter rules on who can receive a license. Not only do we have drivers who don’t follow simple rules, like using a turn signal or yielding, but now we have people shooting at others because of it.
   I heard recently that police officers plan to issue fines to anyone who does not use turn signals. What a fantastic idea. However, I wonder how many people this enforcement has actually affected since there seems to be no shortage of non-signal drivers in the metroplex.
   How many other people will be injured or killed in the future because one person on the road cannot handle his anger? How many innocent children will have to take a fall because an angry driver shot at their car and hit them? I hope when these people get caught, if they do, they receive the maximum sentence. These individuals have no respect for themselves, others or the road.
   People think such things can’t happen to them, but do you really know who is in the car beside you? It could be someone who was angry before getting into the vehicle. Then when someone cuts him off, his anger escalates and BAM, he hits a target. That target could be you.
   People should consider the drivers around them and follow the rules of the road. In the meantime, these road ragers should be put off the streets.