Everyone hates being stuck in traffic. Whether you’re stressed trying to get to work on time, exhausted and ready to be home after a long day, or on a road trip desperate to find a bathroom, wasting time in traffic can be excruciating. But everyone’s in it together. No matter how frustrated you may be, it’s not right to try to circumvent traffic through illegal routes or cutting others off.

However, not everyone seems to understand the rules of the road. 5 days ago, a semi-truck driver shared a story on the Malicious Compliance subreddit about his recent encounter in traffic with a very entitled woman. r/Malicious Compliance has 2 million members and is famous for users sharing stories of “conforming to the letter, but not the spirit, of a request”. Below, you can read the truck driver’s account and our interview with him, as well as responses from readers, and be thankful that you weren’t stuck in that traffic jam. 

And if you’re interested in even more Malicious Compliance content from Bored Panda, we suggest you check out this story next.

Last week, a semi-truck driver hopped onto Reddit to share his recent encounter with a Karen in bumper to bumper traffic

Image credits: Amanda Mills (not the actual photo)

The woman demanded that the truck driver let her through to drive on the shoulder

Image credits: rawpixel (not the actual photo)

After reluctantly allowing the woman through, the semi-driver witnessed her crash into a cop car

We reached out to the semi driver, fmintar1 on Reddit, to hear how he was feeling after  seeing the woman collide with the cop car. “I felt sorry for the cops,” he told Bored Panda. “But that’s definitely unexpected. I honestly didn’t know that would happen.” We also asked if he witnesses a lot of aggressive driving, considering how many hours he spends driving for his job. “I do not see a lot of road rage actually, less than 1%, which is surprising,” he told us. He does think that the woman learned a lesson that day, though. “Collisions can be very traumatizing.” Lastly, he wanted to add a warning to readers not to block shoulders on the road “unless you really have no other options”. He also wants to “encourage the public to call for emergency even if they’re rushing to an emergency” or if there’s an emergency in their vehicle. “The least they can get is an emergency escort in case of traffic jam.”

We all know what it’s like to be annoyed with traffic, but some people don’t know how to handle their frustrations without becoming aggressive. Road rage is actually a significant issue, being a contributing factor to 54% of all fatal car crashes, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The term road rage was coined in the 90’s, after reckless driving seemed to be on the rise in the United States, and over time legislation has been formed around it. Today, 78% of drivers admit displaying road rage at least once over the past year, with common reactions including tailgating, yelling at other drivers and honking. But road rage can lead to much more dangerous situations.

AAA reports that over the course of seven years, road rage incidents in the US have been the cause of 218 murders and 12,610 injuries. In some states, it’s even common for road rage encounters to involve a firearm, making it much more likely for the situation to become deadly. But there are other factors that make situations on the road more likely to escalate. Studies show that “drivers aged 19 and below are more than four times more likely to be involved in an aggressive driving crash than their older counterparts”. Being out during rush hour also puts drivers at higher risk, with 4pm-7pm being the most common time for road rage incidents to ensue. Thankfully, some states have taken action to reduce frightening road rage encounters. For example, Texas clearly defines reckless driving as “a willful disregard for the safety of persons or property”, with penalties ranging from fines up to $200 to being sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Regardless of how late the Karen in this story was running, she decided to endanger herself and others while driving. It’s scary to realize how road rage can cloud drivers’ judgment, but hopefully this particular woman learned a lesson that day. I would recommend that she listens to meditation music the next time she’s caught in a traffic jam (if the police officer allowed her license to remain valid). Have you ever dealt with a dangerously enraged driver? We’d love to hear in the comments what your best strategy is to keep calm, collected and safe on the roads!  

Responses from readers are mixed, some support the truck driver in his malicious compliance while others warn about the dangers of blocking a shoulder

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