Why do people get angry when other drivers honk at them?

Question

One time I forgot to yield to a highway off ramp and this car getting off the highway had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting me. The driver laid on the horn for 5 seconds. I didn't get mad at the driver. I messed up and nearly caused a wreck. Why do other drivers get mad when they get honked at? They give the middle finger or swear back at the driver who honked. Today someone pulled out right in front of me causing me to slam on my brakes(I was going the posted speed limit). I didn't honk because I thought the driver would retaliate.

Answer 1

Bless you for being such a patient and good-hearted person!  You're kinda like me; I don't get mad that easily either.....the main reason why other people get angry when other drivers honk at them is because they have a big ego or they're short tempered where they get pissed off easily.....they also don't wanna look like a fool so they react that way by giving you the middle finger or swear at you...or they think you almost caused an accident...it's happened to me before and I'm pretty sure everyone else who drives.....but I don't let it bother me because chances are I'll never see them again plus I don't like to cause road rage who knows that other driver might be a psycho and follow me home! It's ok to mess up every once in a while because we're human and we make mistakes......accidents happen......but we should be careful when driving so we can try to prevent accidents as much as possible......

Answer 2

Whenever I honk at someone for a stupid thing they did driving they flip me the bird, cuss at me or start acting irrational....they don't like being called out as a fool for doing something stupid.

We all do stupid things while driving but when someone calls you out for it, just take your lumps.

Answer 3

Because no one likes being called out for doing something stupid.

I was exiting the Wal-Mart parking lot today, all the aisles are one-way, had this one genius turn and go the wrong way down one aisle and almost hit me head-on, then wonder why I honked.