The wacko woman in the next car was cursing at my friend, "Lynn."

Lynn had exited the freeway and entered the turn lane without a single car in sight. But when the lunatic lady pulled up next to her a full minute later, she was waving her hands wildly and cursing at Lynn over some imagined wrong.

Lynn knows what she should have done.

She should have just ignored Crazy Susie and driven off. But the wacko woman had made two mistakes; she had chosen to swear at Lynn on a day that had not been one of Lynn's finest, and she was cursing at Lynn in front of her son who was sitting in the passenger seat next to her.

Lynn lost it.

She got behind the profanity queen and gave her an extensive taste of her horn.

Susie Nutcase and Lynn are lucky that no one was hurt. While California does not have a per se aggressive driving law, anyone who commits a criminal assault with a vehicle that results in an injury or death can, as an enhancement to the expected criminal consequences and a license suspension, face additional imprisonment of up to four years and fines up to $10,000.

Cliff Cummings, of San Bernardino, was driving on the 10 Freeway when he saw a young man in a pickup truck terrorizing an elderly gentlemen who was driving a bit too slowly with his grandchildren.

Cummings didn't call 911 after he witnessed the driver of the pickup truck scream at the older gentleman and give him lewd hand signals. He called 911 after the pickup truck driver threw his truck in front of the elderly gentleman's car and slammed on his brakes.

Bethany Newton, of San Jacinto, admits that sometimes she has a hard time controlling her anger when she feels another driver has endangered her.

"If somebody cuts me off, I'll get in front of them and then cut them back off."

When asked if she was aware that this was not a good thing, Newton smiled remorsefully and replied, "I know."

Ed Pena, of Ontario, and Vickie Wilson, of Riverside, have both been in the car when a family member cracked.

Pena was in the car when his brother-in-law became enraged with the actions of another driver and pulled his car within inches of his bumper while traveling full speed on a freeway overpass. Pena said he was so terrified that he could feel himself shaking.

Wilson says her husband will sometimes tailgate people that irritate him.

"I tell him that that is not very good," Wilson said, "because that encourages the other person to get mad, too."

Both Gabby Gutierrez, of Chino, and Lee Sulaeman, of San Bernardino, have been on the receiving end of another driver's fury.

Gutierrez could only say "Whoa1" and push her brakes to the floor when a driver in a black car cut her off and fishtailed in front of her.

And although Sulaeman was frightened when another driver stared him down, then got in front of him and hit the brakes, he did what driving experts have recommended all drivers do when they are confronted by an aggressive driver. He told himself not to worry and to be calm.

Then he convinced himself that the other driver was probably just having a bad day and reminded himself that that could happen to anyone.

The roads would be so much safer if we could all take a page from Lee Sulaeman's book.

Michelle Groh-Gordy is the owner of InterActive! Traffic School Online at www.trafficinteractive.com , and writes a syndicated weekly column on driving for the publications of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group.