Anti,

I realise the sand castle scenario isn't pertinent to a car park, yet it is pertinent to civilised human behaviour Why do we bother to instill a more "civilised" reaction in small children if we can rationalise ourselves out of it when we're adults?

Juniors first inclination would be retaliation in kind, because of his playmate's carelessness. The adults are charged with mitigating Junior's initial reaction and rationalising it within the bounds of civilised social behaviour. Hasbeen's own words were that he was too civilsed to actually enact a retaliatory gesture.

Hasbeen, I do understand your frustration - it's a jungle out there. Your car represents more than a means of transport, and is bound up in much pride, hard work and even a sense of beauty and aesthetics.

The problem is that shopping centre car parks are not conducive to things of beauty amidst the hurly-burly of modern life. Dings and scratches are likely to be inflicted in some places more than others.

(Hope that's the last time you're confronted with such a circumstance:)

Just wondering, Anti, if your dangerous projectile, the "can of beans" had severely injured or killed the driver - or a someone else in the vicinity, how you would rationalise that?

Yes, I expect you'll tell me that your aim was so good, that it was merely sent on a window-breaking trajectory - and that your "rage" was justified.

Do you ever despair when you see on the news the consequences of "road rage" where simple things (that could have been mitigated with a little common sense and civilised discourse) have blown right out of proportion resulting in serious injury or death? I'm always gob-smacked when I see those instances, because it seems to me that stressed out people in the modern world racing about in cars, are more likely to dispense with civility - and civility is one valued behaviour that has delivered us our so-called advancement....

Most of those situations Anti, could easily be characterized by a lack of awareness of the world around them. People in a Daze. The drugged masses, going through the motions on the treadmill of life.

They may not be as intelligent as your good self, but the fact they're not switched-on does not mean they are indifferent to the needs of others.

I remember one day at Marc and Sparcs, getting lunch, with a pretty thumping hangover. It was a metro type supermarket and the layout was pretty crowded. I waited for the current customer to be served, then walked up to buy my stuff. This elicited a screaming verbal tirade from another woman in the store, who claimed quite correctly that I had cut in front of a short line that had formed down an isle that I hadn't noticed.

Now, sure, she was right. But she called me an arrogant asshole who doesn't care about anyone else rah rah rah. I didn't feel it was fair. I was hungover, struggling through the day, and made a mistake.

Do you accept that people's skill levels and aptitudes on the road vary? Do you think that those who get a little bit freaked out by an ambulance, or don't notice the cars behind them, as they're lucky just to keep the car going straight and work out where they are, should be banned from driving altogether?

Sure, if people are genuinely dangerous, perhaps they shouldn't be driving. But if they inconvenience others, surely the independence people gain from being able to get to work, to get out of the house, for an Asian migrant who can barely speak english and learnt to drive late in life, to the old person who can only really manage 80km/h and is worried they'll miss their turn off, to the truck concerned about hitting overhanging trees in the slow lane, to the young hot chick who's a bit neurotic and...

Do you have no generosity at all for the human condition? Do we all have to be switched on 24/7 not to be poked with a big stick and made an example for, and a target for all that rage you've got built up?

Sure if it costs money, or injures you, you're entitled to be upset. But vengeance? Hate? Did your granma ever drive slowly? Be forgetful? Do you want old doddery people to be housebound? Do you want to punish the young for being young? And if it's only an inconvenience?

Is it worth shouting at cows who cross the road really slowly?

It's frustrating, but sometimes people are having a bad day man. This aggression will not stand!

Houlebecke is right...at last, a voice of reason.
We are only human, and humans make mistakes.
Spitting the dummy doesn't help in the long run...

'The person who refuses to get out of the way of an ambulance;'
Inexperienced driver? Stunned mullet?

'the person who blocks a left turning lane for 5 minutes because they want to get across to the right hand lane in one go when there is a perfectly clear left hand lane available to turn into;'

Riddled with anxiety. Genuinely fears will somehow end up in the M2 tunnel. Actually that's quite a valid fear.

'the person who blocks a left turn lane by parking a long way from the car in front and won't move forward regardless of the horn-blowing behind them;'

Probably wondering what the f&ck that idiot is doing blowing their horn. Horns are for warning people of danger, it's illegal to use them for anything else.

'the person who sits texting at every red light and has to finish what they're doing before moving off, blocking all the cars behind;'
Illegal for a reason. Unlikely, but it could be a genuinely important, even life-changing event, or they could be under intense pressure.

'the person who sits in the right hand lane of the motorway doing 80;'
I get annoyed at that too. But I rather those people than the people who drive on their tale 2 metres behind them to teach em a lesson and scare the sh1t out of me with their antics.

There's heaps of annoying driving, but it's your projection that gives someone the benefit of the doubt or not, and it's your choice how much you let it upset you.