Expressions for the Road!
Most Americans love going on road trips. So it should come as no surprise that they also use expressions with words from the world of automobiles.
Take the word bumper, for example. The bumper is the part that protects the front and back of a car.
American reporters often use the term bumper-to-bumper when describing heavy traffic. This means that vehicles are moving very slowly, and almost touching one another. If you are late to work, you can tell your boss, "Sorry, I'm late. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper."
Another very common term is rubbernecking. Rubbernecking is when drivers slow down to look at something as they are passing, such as a traffic accident. Drivers who rubberneck can create their own accidents though. Not only do they slow down causing problems for other drivers, but they aren't looking at the road in front of them!
However, the most dangerous kind of driving behavior is road rage. This is anger or violence towards other drivers.
According to a study by the American Automobile Association, 80 percent of drivers occasionally experience anger or aggression behind the wheel.
Road rage is such a big problem in some areas in the U.S. that local governments have laws that make some types of road rage illegal.
If the first rule of driving is to always look where you are going, the second should be to stay calm!
