Filed under: Etc., Government/Legal, Marketing/Advertising, Safety, First Drive, Australia
Aussie's anti-speeding campaign causes road rage instead
So, this guy in Australia is all offended because he was mocked in a manner promoted by an anti-hoonage advertising campaign. He was so offended, in fact, that he hurled a water bottle at a woman's car and promptly got himself charged with malicious damage. Since nothing can ever be anyone's fault, the Sydney man is blaming his behavior on the Roads and Traffic Authority's anti-speeding campaign in Australia that diminishes any macho cachet surrounding risky traffic moves by showing wagging pinky fingers, implying the behavior is compensation for, well, you know.
Simon Jardak received an AUS$400 fine, but contends that the wiggling pinky gesture his victim made was akin to sexual assault, and enraged him far more than her flashing her headlights and using other common rude gestures. Whatever, dude. Are you that insecure? If you're having a gestural fight with another driver while rolling down the highway, you deserve whatever rudeness you get. What amounts to a schoolyard taunt certainly doesn't deserve having things hurled at your car. Perhaps Mr. Jardak needs to cool his temper a bit – we can certainly imagine that anyone reckless enough to engage in an argument on the road and throw things at other cars might not be the most responsible driver.
[Source: Drive.com.au]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
strongbadinator 11:30AM (11/02/2007)
Actually, yeah that would piss me off. It's a funny campaign, but it is pretty sexist. Can we make ads of blondes yapping on cellphones driving SUVs awkwardly and never using their signals? Then make a sexist remark like "Blondes: Better in bed or in the kitchen than behind the wheel" for an entire campaign? I doubt it. But it's the same thing, just the roles reversed.
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Mark 3:57PM (11/02/2007)
It is rather sexist. I'm sure that would piss a lot of women off if the tables were turned.
josh 4:44PM (11/02/2007)
So this campaign suggests that men who drive fast only do so because they feel insecure about the size of their penis?
Please.
I guess everyone who drives a Hummer or a Corvette or a NSX all do so because they are genitally challenged.
There is a difference between driving fast and driving dangerously.
Christian 12:00PM (11/05/2007)
"I guess everyone who drives a Hummer or a Corvette or a NSX all do so because they are genitally challenged. "
Yup.
k.w.a 11:43AM (11/02/2007)
...i think slow drivers should just get out of the way. Then there'd be no honking, no slamming on brakes, no finger gestures, and no crazy men throwing water bottles at them
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naggs 12:18PM (11/02/2007)
would it be sexual harrassment if a man made a comment about the size of a part of the female anatomy?
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Mike Botros 12:21PM (11/02/2007)
I wonder if a woman came up with this ad. cause i'm pretty sure a normal guy would realize that this was a bad idea. i'd be pissed too.
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Guenther 1:35PM (11/02/2007)
Perhaps both parties should be sent to sensitivity counseling (snic).
If you're driving like an ass, its only fair someone should tell you. We're not talking about someone sleeping in the left (right, I suppose) lane, since Ms. Whatshername was flashing her lights. Throwing things is just dangerous.
And please, don't be so damn offended when someone brights you from behind- just means they would like to get by w/o tailgating or other dangerous behavior.
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RobZ4 3:57PM (11/02/2007)
Actually I always thought that flashing the high beams in the highway to the car in front of me was an acceptable behavior (not aggressively but just to let the driver know of my intention to pass him) Then one day I was chatting with a friend of mine who is a traffic cop and he told me that this is a dangerous thing to do ( and enough reason for a ticket )because it can temporarily blind the driver ,specially at night ,and cause an accident.
Guenther 4:15PM (11/02/2007)
Funny, because "flash-to-pass" is still part of most DMV driving instruction booklets.
Different argument- its legal in Germany, and they're strict as hell on anything that could cause a potential safety hazard.
Mike 1:43PM (11/02/2007)
By God, you can give me the finger, call me an a**hole, and flash your headlights, but don't you wag your pinky at me or we've got real trouble sister!
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Jackattak 3:52PM (11/02/2007)
That's just silly. What an insecure fool.
Although I agree that both parties should be sent to anger management. Together. As in at the same time.
From the sounds of some of these comments, there are tons of insecure men in the world. Glad I'm not one of them.
Women have been dealing with sexism LONG before men ever heard a peep otherwise. Get over yourselves, dudes. The only reason we men put women down for so many eons is because in an astonishing feat of intelligence we one day realized that they were more powerful and needed to be "put in their place." It would seem to me that there are still some men out there who need a wakeup call, and that to me is sad in a supposedly "advanced society."
And if you disagree, you should get married and educate yourself.
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Kaptain75329 5:39PM (11/02/2007)
Translation: get whipped. That's fine if you wanna fly the feminist flag. That's all you buddy. Sexism is wrong no matter who's doing it to whom.
That said, an honest reality check here would be ideal. Sure, sexism is "wrong" but what's the big deal at the end of the day? C'mon guys.. most of you generally accept that women are the "weaker" sex when it comes to matters of emotion and physicality anyway, so who cares if some dumb hag thinks your penis is small? Why get that pissed at some never-was who isn't worthy to know the truth? As a matter of women being inferior, them being incorrect is par for the course, so just shut up about it; you already know they won't. (They don't know how.)
Seems just a wee bit hypocritical to feign outrage over some imagined injustice and still insist women have an absolute monopoly on being emotional psychopaths.
john riley 4:30PM (11/02/2007)
I suppose it depends on what you mean by hoonage, but in ontario it can get you a lot more than a rude finger gesture. How about car seizure and a thousands in fines?
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20071010.HIGHWAY10/TPStory/TPNational/Ontario/
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TigerMil 4:59PM (11/02/2007)
Hah. Do that in Virginia HewHessHay and get a monster fine and 60 days in the slammer. Of course, only if you're minority female and have no money or political pull or wealthy/connected parents.
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PJ 7:59PM (11/02/2007)
LOL... of course it causes "rage." Because it's so true!
Now, I'm not saying it's *literally* the size of one's penis that causes antisocial behavior on the road.
But c'mon; you can't deny that, in traffic, most overt displays of speed, swerves, and tailgating boil down to one man beating his chest at another; it's essentially shouting "mine's bigger than yours." Except, you know, with a 3,000+ lb machine. Which makes it even more stupid.
And no, it doesn't impress women even the tiniest bit.
Having fun with a car where it doesn't endanger others, purely for the thrill of it, that's a different matter entirely.
Jackattak hit the nail on the head regarding the "sexism" BS. Being male, it's easy to see a double standard whenever anything with vaguely sexist content targets men. If it was done to a woman, it'd be a capital crime, right? Well, not really, and not until very recently. Women are crying "foul" about this stuff because it's the first chance they've had to do so in *hundreds of years.* If you think it doesn't still exist, you're kidding yourself. So give 'em a chance to air their grievances, while letting yourself off the hook for the prejudices of past generations. If they're reasonable people, they'll do you the same courtesy.
This stuff sets men off because, in interpersonal relationships, we see women having *all kinds* of power; behind closed doors, they end up calling the shots more often than not. But don't confuse interpersonal power with social power. Women weren't even allowed to *vote* in this country until eighty years ago. Think about that. They still make less money on average. And they still have a mostly-male Congress telling them what they can and can't do with their bodies.
I'm not promoting "male guilt," either; I think it's important to recognize anti-male sexism when it happens (and it definitely does happen). But don't kid yourselves, guys; it's still the exception, not the rule.
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Eric Smith 9:59AM (11/03/2007)
Or, moron, because it's actually fun to drive like that.
With that logic, going on rollercoasters is a guy's way of saying HAHA OMG I R BETTAR THAN U LULZ
MasterCKO 9:53PM (11/02/2007)
This is probably one of the more entertaining posts that I've read in a while.
I, myself, would also like to see slow people GET THE FRACK OUT OF THE FAST LANE, but this guy's behavior is unacceptable. It's just a gesture. Get over it.
Also, PJ and Jackattak: Exactly.
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Sam 10:54PM (11/02/2007)
lmao, i guess the taunt hit a little too close to home eh? his outraged response proves he really DOES have a small weeny.
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Cole 9:52PM (11/04/2007)
What's Good For the Geese is Good for the Gander...
It is a form of sexual harassment and he has the right to say so.
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