Defusing Road Rage

Many incidences of road rage start with the honking of one of the impetuous drivers who wants to save 1 to 1½ seconds. The story usually ends here, when the honking is ignored. However, things can turn ugly if the impatient driver hoots the horn a second time. The extra honk is sometimes greeted by a middle finger. And, this may lead to verbal insults, physical violence and even fatalities.

One day after returning from a Hawaiian trip, I stopped at a red light waiting for it to turn green. The driver behind me sounded his horn. In my rear view mirror, I noticed that he was signaling to make a right turn (on red) and looking rather annoyed by the lack of movement of my car. He honked again. Suffering a little from jet-lag, I was in no mood to put up a fight. Instead of returning the favor with a finger, which I often do, I gave him the Hawaiian hang-loose sign and mouthed "Calm on down!". After that, I didn’t feel pissed at all by the extra honking (to my surprise), AND he didn’t seem to be upset any more. His desire to make a snappy right turn evaporated without a trace.

Since then, I have used the Hawaiian hahing-loose sign (a.k.a. Shaka sign) many times on drivers who cut me off, tailgated or honked me. It has been working very well. I think this is a simple and effective way to defuse road rage.

CALL FOR SUGGESTIONS: I believe this sign can be improved as it is not widely used outside of Hawaii. Please send me suggestions under "YOUR COMMENTS". Be sure to include your e-mail address, I probably will have many questions.