Redneck Road Rage

Scott Hardie | April 1, 2014
Perhaps this belongs in Tony's crazy-Florida-news collection: In local events, a tailgating driver flipped off a slower driver, then crashed his truck, and the resulting video (filmed by the slow driver) has become a hit online.

First question: Was the slow driver being worse -- driving slowly in the left lane while the right was wide open, filming on a cell phone while driving, etc?

Second question: Is the Internet justified in celebrating the crash of the truck driver? Is his rudeness merely the justification that we need to enjoy a car wreck, something that we'd subconsciously like to do whenever an accident occurs but that usually feels morally wrong?

Third question: Are you guilty of the bad habits of either of these drivers? Be honest. :-)

Samir Mehta | April 1, 2014
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | April 2, 2014
Most people that ask me if I've seen it are mad at the slow driver for hogging the left lane, and thus contributing to the redneck's erratic driving if not causing the entire accident. These people admit to being speeders. One's own preferences behind the wheel seem likely to inform whether one sympathizes with one driver or the other. Me, I say let's agree that both parties in the video demonstrated bad habits and leave it at that.

For the record, I often drive slowly, which around here means at the speed limit or just below. I loathe rude drivers who flip the middle finger, but I married one in spite of her preference for doing that, and I wouldn't wish an accident on someone just for that anyway.