BBC Sussex contacted us recently to ask about instances of road rage and I was able to tell him Jill’s story as we’d discussed this at a previous networking evening.
She was happy to be interviewed about this subsequently and you can hear what she said on the Danny Pike show here.
The point is that the man in question clearly had a superiority and gender complex when it came to motoring. As he saw it, he was in the right at the Shoreham roundabout, and it sounds as if the fact that the other driver was female just added fuel to his fury. In our experience he isn’t alone in this attitude, much as some motorists associate bad driving with little old men wearing hats, many men automatically conclude that any suspect driving behaviour must mean a female driver whereas the problem may well lie with our misguided perceptions in the first place.
In this instance this bias affected his driving ability and, potentially, the safety of a queue of motorists in his wake.
Having lured Jill into the welcome relief of seeing him head for a different exit at the next roundabout (some 5 miles later) he then turned tail and followed her into Steyning. So he was now behind her rather than in front which is a more worrying scenario.
Fortunately Jill could remember the good advice we’d both been given at a Women In Gear Ladies Dealership evening at West Sussex Kia earlier this year. In short, never drive to your home because he’ll then know where you live. Much better to pull into a well lit and busy forecourt where others are or drive to a Police Station you know will be open (which may be trickier in future, what with the cuts…).
And most importantly, have a pen and paper handy so you can write down the registration number – you’ll have to memorise it of course and keep repeating it until you can stop safely and write it down. This means you can then report him to the Police as Jill did. And should the worst come to the worst, or you are accosted in a car park you can’t easily escape from, make sure you know how to lock yourself in your car or have something to defend yourself if he gets too close.
Such as a spray of sorts it was suggested. Hairspray anyone? Ideal for hair emergencies first and foremost – but it’s always good to be prepared just in case…
FOXY