This brings to mind one what I see as one of the biggest drawbacks to car commuting. Driving can be incredibly frustrating. I see people come into the office ready to kick a wall because of traffic. The very few times I've driven to work in the last 15 years I've just about flipped out. And then add to that the isolation and sense of protection people have in their car, and I think it makes people act in a more base, ugly manner than they would if they weren't protected in their metal box. This is similar to how people can be completely unfiltered and rude on internet bulletin boards--there is very little consequence to their actions and they feel safe. That says something about human nature, I guess. I see people that otherwise look normal screaming and leaning on their horns, and I always think to myself that they wouldn't yell at me if we were standing next to each other on the subway or on bikes stopped next to each other. Not just because they would be creating a threatening situation for themselves, but because it would be incredibly uncivil, and virtually all of us have been raised better than that. I'm stretching things here, but I believe that car culture and suburban lifestyles are inherently bad for civilization. When I ride the subway or my bike, I actually interact with the people that live in my city. I see the homeless up close, I ride the train with rich and poor alike. In all my years riding public transportation, I've never been yelled at by a fellow commuter. I think it's changed my outlook. Perhaps it's just made me preachy and long-winded.

I bet the guy was as surprised as you were that he got out of his car. That happened to me once (well, the guy tried to jump out after he cut me off but I held his door mostly shut). While I held his door, I said in the calmest and toughest sounding voice I could muster "you're about to make a big mistake." He drove off, hollering like crazy.