Road rage is nothing new

[benb]

Something made me remember this, which I think I read in a newspaper several years ago.
From the letters of Lord Byron, 1817.

Last week I had a row on the road (I came up to Venice from my
casino, a few miles on the Paduan road, this blessed day, to bathe)
with a fellow in a carriage, who was impudent to my horse. I gave
him a swingeing box on the ear, which sent him to the police, who
dismissed his complaint. Witnesses had seen the transaction. He
first shouted, in an unseemly way, to frighten my palfry. I wheeled
round, rode up to the window, and asked him what he meant. He
grinned, and said some foolery, which produced him an immediate
slap in the face, to his utter discomfiture. Much blasphemy ensued,
and some menace, which I stopped by dismounting and opening the
carriage door, and intimating an intention of mending the road with
his immediate remains, if he did not hold his tongue. He held it.

Made me laugh, he had a way with words that's for sure.

 

[XmisterIS]

People haven't changed! I remember reading that the chariot races in Ancient Rome were banned, twice, due to hooliganism.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Just love this bit

Something made me remember this, which I think I read in a newspaper several years ago.
From the letters of Lord Byron, 1817.

I stopped by dismounting and opening the
carriage door, and intimating an intention of mending the road with
his immediate remains, if he did not hold his tongue. He held it.


Made me laugh, he had a way with words that's for sure.

 

[Globalti]

I once had an article published in Singletrack magazine about cycling on ancient packhorse trails in northern England. During the course of my reading up on the subject, which interests me greatly, I discovered that packhorse drivers often fought over the right of way. A packhorse trail is only wide enough for one horse especially if it was loaded with big bags of cloth or salt or lime. If the heavily loaded horse strayed off the solid stone trail its hooves could sink into the surrounding bog and the whole train of up to 40 horses would end up in disarray and take hours to reassemble and get moving. Before canals and turnpike roads everything went by packhorse so there was a considerable tonnage of freight charging around the countryside at any time and the drivers and their assistants would carry cudgels and blunderbuses for protection and to assert their right of way.

If you got in the way of a fast moving packhorse train you would be brushed aside, which is why medieval bridges have pedestrian refuges built on the cutwaters. ColinJ will tell you about the original packhorse bridge in Hebden Bridge, which pre-dates the town.

Nowadays we have stressed-up blokes driving white vans.

 

[Arch]

Just love this bit

Yes, I liked that bit too!

 

[palinurus]

Jove! might have killed us! I must have a wire screen fixed up