By Joy Fang

THE man's face was twisted into an angry snarl, and his mouth was spewing a hostile spiel.

He was a taxi driver in his late 40s, yelling at me from a rolled down car window for having the nerve to block his way.

Last week, his cab was travelling along Arab Street, where I was trying to manoeuvre my car out of a parallel parking spot.

I had noticed the cab some distance away before driving out.

But it suddenly charged right up, honking furiously and with headlights flashing.

It swerved into the right lane, meant for oncoming cars, in an aggressive attempt to overtake, but had to stop short and pull in behind mine when another car came towards us.

When the road became wider, it then sharply overtook my car on the left lane.

That's when the yelling started.

My friend beside me was about to roll down the passenger window, but I stopped him - I was apprehensive after having read horror stories in the newspapers about road rage.

Remember the tragic and horrifying case of Mr Alex Lim that happened two years ago?

After getting into a tiff with a cabby over a minor accident, the 30-year-old financial adviser tried to block the cabby from driving off and was mowed down.

He fell backwards, struck his head, lapsed into a coma and died a month later.

Fearing for my life, I stayed composed and refused to even look at the cabby after the initial glance.

The driver then drove off in a huff, his righteous anger appeased.

Even though I did not retaliate at the moment, the incident left me seething and shaken.

Yes, I acknowledge that it was partly my fault for not driving away fast enough, and blocking his way.

But after countless reports about the terrible consequences of road rage, why do people still persist in this egoistic show of bravado and impulsive anger? Is the momentary sense of triumph over the other driver worth it?

Such incidents make me feel indignant and sad. They can be avoided if people just learn to be more gracious, magnanimous and patient on the roads, instead of reacting so strongly to minor mishaps.

Reflecting on the incident, I realised that I should have taken action to stop the driver from repeating his deed.

Not by getting out of the car and blocking his way, but by taking down his licence-plate number and reporting the incident to the taxi company, which could warn him.

Or by filming his tirade and posting it on citizen-journalism website Stomp, to shame him and warn others about him.

Only when we take charge and expose these offensive deeds, can we make a difference and show that things need to, and can be changed.

Here's to a more pleasant drive on the road.

joyfang@sph.com.sg

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