Why do we, as a species, behave like toddlers?

The folks over at Path Less Pedaled experienced a road rage incident in New Zealand.

I have to say that I have never experienced someone getting out of their car and threatening me, much less punching me. I have, however, been the passive cause of reckless driving.

There is a one block section of my commute where I have to take the lane. I turn left onto a very narrow road. A few years ago, we -- meaning the advocacy group I happened to be a part of -- were able to get sharrows put on that section of road. It is clear, both from the width of the road and the sharrows on it, that the only place for a bicycle to be is in the middle of the road.

Most mornings, someone tries to make a dangerous passing maneuver, requiring them to accelerate and swerve in an irresponsible way to avoid both me and the oncoming traffic.

I can pontificate with the best of them. "Why they should know that they're supposed to slow down behind a slow moving vehicle and wait until it is safe to pass!"

And the fact is, it takes me less than a minute from the point where I enter that stretch of narrow road to the point where I turn right.

But in that minute, whoever is behind me has to try to pass, or at the very least ride up real close to the back of my bicycle. It is almost as if it is a point of honor for them to try to get around me, and I can imagine the surge of adrenaline they must feel as soon as they turn in behind me, see me in the road, the oncoming traffic, and try to gauge how to get around me.

Generally, I feel safe. No one really wants to crash their car into either a bicycle or an oncoming vehicle, though yesterday, the person passing me avoided the oncoming traffic only by putting on a terrific burst of speed.

Here's the thing: in spite of my ability to pontificate, I understand this desire to pass me. I think our brains just can't process a bicycle as a moving vehicle when we're at the wheel of a car, (which isn't very often for me, but often enough that I remember). There's something about us when we're at the wheel of a car that makes it impossible for most people to think, "Ah hell, he'll get to his turn in less than a minute, I'll just slow down a bit and wait."

I just wonder, psychologically speaking, what that is.