Why we need to be careful not to pass our bad driving habits on to children

Road rage habits can be passed on. Photo: Stock image

Eddie Cunningham

You might remember I told you some time back about an incident involving a right old bully of a male driver putting fierce pressure on a young woman motorist.

He honked the horn, flashed the lights and gesticulated energetically.

She was caught in a bind at a busy junction with the filter lane out of commission. All I could do was watch as she tried to ignore the abuse.

Well, only the other day I saw a reverse set of role play that was equally selfish and careless. A young female driver was fairly giving it socks to a middle-aged male driver (in a large SUV) because he refused to turn off the road until there was no traffic coming against him and she couldn’t pass on the inside of the narrow road. I and several others were held up too.

As I waited I wondered about where she got her antics. Did her dad drive like that? Did he hassle other drivers? Much of it is learned, you know. We all should remember how we can pass on such bad habits.