Man attacks women for driving car on road

[KateSheppard]

nationalpost.com/news/world/an-oregon-man-broke-a-womans-arm-and-knocked-out-her-fiancee-in-a-road-rage-attack-police-say

This woman did what any motorist must do every work day - squeeze through a gap into jammed traffic. For having the temerity to put her car in front of a man's car, this man gave her and her fiancée serious and potentially life changing injuries.

Men have form for this sort of thing. Women driving legally, competently and, most egregiously, freely on public roads seems to inspire primal rage in some men. Here are a couple of illustrations.

www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/two-thirds-drivers-have-suffered-road-rage-attack-women-main/

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/26/dashcam-films-moment-road-rage-driver-smashes-into-family-of-fou/

Women driving may be legal in the west, but legal obviously isn't the same as equal and safe for women.

We've still got a long way to go, baby.

Some people are ducks on the road. I am not sure the first incident was because it was a woman, he was an angry, violent man and I am not sure he would discriminate based on sex.

It's probably not a coincidence that the angry, violent men often pick women to take that angry violence out on.

I used to drive my mother's car that had a sun roof and I would have crap from guys, especially if I had honked them...that really slowed down when I had my own car, without a sun roof, and they couldn't easily see that I was a woman.

I actually had an incident against me 2 days ago, from a guy in his 60's (at a guess), he was totally in the wrong but didn't like that I honked him as swerved around his car to miss it when he pulled out when he shouldn't have done at a roundabout. He tailgated, kept honking, and then drew up alongside when waiting at lights to shout at me, never mind that I had 2 children in the back.

Another time I had a child seat in the back, the guy wouldn't have known if I had a young child there, he over took me then kept trying to make me drive into the back of him by suddenly breaking...my crime was pulling out and going at the speed limit (I'm a girl racer in a fast car, I would not have held him up). There were three lanes and he could have chosen another but no, I was a woman to be harassed. White van man in Southampton.

Yes, I definitely get the men v women thing on the road. I always lock my doors and usually have the windows up, relying on air con instead.

I am not sure the first incident was because it was a woman, he was an angry, violent man and I am not sure he would discriminate based on sex

That's not this man's experience:

www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28027/when-i-stopped-cutting-my-hair-i-learned-how-men-treat-women-on-american-roads/

Even if those drivers had been in the wrong (which they weren't), it wouldn't excuse a violent reaction.

Here is something I still feel guilty about:

A few years ago, not long after passing my test, I ran into the back of another car (low speed, didn't leave enough of a gap and they stopped suddenly). Completely my fault (and I am still mortified about it).

We both pulled over to the side of the road. Their was a dent on their rear bumper. As I walked towards their car to speak to them I was terrified that it would be a man inside and that he might get abusive or violent. I cannot describe the relief I felt when I saw the driver was a woman, quickly followed by guilt for thinking this way.
Because how shitty is it to feel relief at bumping into a woman? She didn't deserve it any more than a man did.

Maybe my fear was irrational, but I know from experience that men are much more likely to respond in a violent way than women. Not all men, not even most men, but enough to make me wary.

Kyanite Yes! I noticed a couple of years ago that I received significantly more road harassment when I was driving a smaller and more "feminine" car than when I was driving a larger car - especially one usually driven by men. Same motorway, same city, same time of the day...totally different experience.

I also noticed that my chances of being abused on the road increased markedly where the other driver was (1) a man and (2) at a vantage point where they can see that I'm a female driver.

When changing lanes in a large masculine vehicle from a starting position which obscures the fact that I'm female, I rarely (if ever) receive abuse or obstruction.

I have come across some angry men driving over the years and some generous men.

The men that stick out were the ones that made enraged faces and put their finger to their temple and twist their hand, both men made mistakes, both had female passengers who made hand gestures to me, they seemed like very angry people.

Urgh my ex was like this. The whole time he was driving he would be raging about other drivers, constantly angry at every other person on the road. He never got out of the car but definitely lots of shouting, gesticulating, winding windows down to lean out and shout. Just horrible. One of many reasons why he is an ex.

Also, does anyone else get a lot of "helpfulness that isn't actually helpful" from male drivers?

I know its nothing like as serious but its still annoying!

I remember once when I was turning right onto a dual carriage way, I had crossed the first half of the road and was waiting in the middle bit (where you're supposed to wait) for a safe gap.

A man in a white van also had to turn right, and positioned himself on my left completely obscuring my view of the traffic approaching from the left.

I waited for him to move. It was perfectly possible for him to do so. He didn't, but kept waving me forward when (he could see) it was safe. I refused to move unless I could personally see that there was a big enough gap. Even though I had no reason to mistrust him, who would be liable if he was wrong?
Who would pull out blindly into speeding traffic on the gesture of a stranger?

We stayed in a sort of weird stalemate for ages, with him becoming visibly irritated with me until eventually he mouthed something angry at me and went. I pulled out into the next gap in the traffic a few seconds later.

Also, I am quite cautious when reversing out of parking spaces etc.
If I see pedestrians approaching, I stop and wait for them to get clear. (Obviously.) On several occasions men (always men!) have interpreted me stopping to wait for them to get out of the way as a sign that I don't know how to get out (of the very easy parking space).
So they have stood, uncomfortably close to my bumper, waving at me to "guide me out". Except it would be much easier to reverse out if they moved out of the bloody way! I don't think this happens to male drivers.

Has anyone run across the type of man who will deliberately attempt to block you from changing lane? They will speed up and slow down in order to prevent you getting either in front of or behind them.

They seem to particularly like to do this when the lane change is required to stay on or to exit the motorway.

Yeah that's the thing, we have to hide ourselves. I drive a large 4x4 car and I get no bother but when I had my Ibiza I got loads of harassment

I also agree completely OP.

A few weeks ago I was waiting at a junction to pull out right onto a main road. It was so busy, I was sitting waiting for ages with a few cars building up behind me but there genuinely wasn't a break in traffic to pull out. Anyway, a car turned into the junction that I was at a white van was behind it. I think at some point, I don't know when as I didn't see it he must have flashed or gestured for me to pull out. I didn't see him and wouldn't just pull out on his say so anyway, it's my judgment not his. He was fuming! He drove so slowly past with his hands up and pointing at me to the cars behind me to embarrass me and show me up. I shouted "sorry" very sarcastically and was then worried he would stop and do something to my car or me. I wish so much I'd told him to fuck off.

He as so angry, fuming that he had given me instructions and I hadn't done as I was told.

Would he have done that if it was my 6ft bearded husband driving? No.

@SquishySquirmy just read your post, very similar to mine. How dare we not do as we are told!

SquishySquirmy

I had some bin men do that to me. I started to go, but held back a little on the throttle as I didn't trust them due to their earlier driving conduct. Fortunately for me, as there was one very obvious oncoming vehicle which I would have hit.

I also had an older man punch the back of my car not long ago as I reverse parked. He was "helping" me, he claimed, to know when I was near the back of the carpark. The distraction of my car being punched as I park it is very helpful, indeed. Many thanks.

Who knows why these guys do it. Kicks?

Oh god I hope they are going to be ok.wjat a horrid horrid man

I'd never thought that much about it but all these stories explain so much. I have lo g hair and a "girl car" (fiesta)

And I forever get cars tail gating me..lorries and vans right up my backside.

I'm fact just yesterday I had to stop at a green light due to a van who had pulled out of the garage and was practically horizontal across the road meaning i couldn't go anywhere. In fact the van had to reverse and manouvre to make the turn. Needless to say despite the favt I couldn't go anywhere the car behind me decided he just had to overtake me . Even when my Speedo is bang on the speed limit they come zooming up the side of me and then pull in front of me right at the last point of where you merge. They then have to break suddenly as shock horror there are other people on the road in front of them

It is 99 percent of the time men.

I even get honked at when im.in the protected right turn box by lorries usually and yes I'm within the markings I wa sbt going slowly my crimes seems to just be being in front of them , not waiting on box junctions and stopping to let people cross at zebra crossings.

Correct me of I'm wrong but aren't you meant to wait until they are fully across until you go?

I see it frequently, especially when it comes to merging into slow moving traffic. Men can be real prats to women drivers.

People drive very differently around me depending if I am in the Audi or the ford smax. The former drivers are often more aggressive in their driving style, whilst the latter they just drive as normal.

On the whole though there are lots of aggressive, bad drivers. People are very impatient they want to be everywhere 5 minutes ago.

I don't think I have ever felt that the aggressive angry driving around me is because I am a woman, they are just aggressive angry drivers.

Atthebottomofthesea

You may not have felt it, but that doesn't mean it isn't true.

Men don't treat other men like this. Men don't interfere in the parking manoeuvres of other men, or become enraged that another man refused to follow their blind and unsolicited direction into a busy intersection. Men simply do not interact with other men in the intimidatory and appropriative manner that they adopt with women.

It is life changing to realise that women experience more intimidation and less tolerance than the men around us, due only to being female. It's normal to want that not to be true but, unfortunately, it is true.

And that's why we're here.

There is no evidence in this situation that it was just because it was a female driving. A man who is at the point of breaking a women's arm and punching another unconscious is unlikely to go 'oh it's a man it doesn't matter' There are plenty of examples of man on man violence.

Violent road rage is very different to general attitudes towards day to day driving.

Atthebottomofthesea

There's also no "evidence" that men beat their wives, or attack women walking about on the street simply because the victims are women, but we know that it is true because of the sex discrepancy in the crime stats.

This link demonstrates that women are targeted for road rage more often than men, and specifically by men.

www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/news/two-thirds-drivers-have-suffered-road-rage-attack-women-main/

The link provided by DisturblinglyOrangeScrambleEgg fascinatingly demonstrates the surprise of a man at his treatment on the road when other motorists assume that he is female - and the change in the demeanor of the road-ragers when they realise that he is actually male.

www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a28027/when-i-stopped-cutting-my-hair-i-learned-how-men-treat-women-on-american-roads/

Yep I had a man well I say man he was 20 years younger than me shouting obscenities at me on a busy A road and kept driving up alongside me to shout with his window down. I had my 2 children in the car too.
He was spouting really awful stuff to me and I just kept saying "kids in the car"
He didn't stop. I ended up taking a photo on my phone of the number plate from back of his car just in case anything happened.
Basically the speed limit was 50 mph and I was doing 50mph in the outside lane and he was angry as couldn't get past me even though I was doing speed limit.

I noticed increased aggression when my son started school and I had to do the school run. Some male drivers (the type to be driving for work related reasons) seem to believe that we have no right to be on the road at that time.

One pulled along side me and shouted that I was a fucking bellend for having the temerity to indicate and legally park my car there by holding him up for a nanosecond.

Yep, the man indicating you pull out and their anger when you refuse to blindly follow their instructions and follow your own judgement. Been there. Worse, I once pulled out because white van man was hassling me so much and narrowly avoided getting hit. Now I just shake my head no if I'm not going to go. A lot of them don't like it and mouth obscenities but it's safer.

If you overtake men, they nearly always look over to see who's driving. Quite often, the man I have overtaken will speed up to overtake me afterwards. It's pathetic

Male drivers is one of the main reasons I got a dash cam.

Sadly after an incident where a bloke got out of his car on a slip road and started walking aggressively towards my (he had been driving like a dick before that but i didn't have it on camera because he was behind me at that point) the police claimed they couldn't do anything because there was no evidence he was being aggressive.

FFS, you heard me lock my car door as he came towards me. I hadn't hit him, so what reason did he have for getting out on a slip road?