I-77 — The guy in the lifted F-150 riding your bumper, blinding you with his plasma-grade high beams as you go 10 MPH over the speed limit, is simply desperate for validation, The Charlotten has learned.
“Everybody always asks what I’m doing when I’m tailgating, but never how I’m doing,” said Alex Chance, the truck’s driver, blinking back tears behind Oakleys that haven’t left his face since 2015. “You think I like this? All I’ve ever wanted is acknowledgment. Lots and lots of acknowledgment. And maybe a hug.”
Charlotteans have long despised pickup truck drivers for a variety of reasons—chief among them their behavior in the leftmost lane, which often includes aggressive tailgating, passing without blinkers, and high beams bright enough to sterilize lab equipment. But as it turns out, these drivers are simply misunderstood.
Dr. Peter Sullivan, a psychologist in Ballantyne, explains the psychology behind drivers like Alex.
“What we’re seeing here is a textbook case of Compensatory Road Dominance Syndrome (CRDS),” Dr. Sullivan explained. “These individuals tailgate because, deep down, they believe the world does not recognize their existence unless they impose it on others.”
Sullivan continued. “Their urge to ride your ass is an instinctual survival response—classic mother-offspring behavior, like a lost calf desperately clinging to a speeding mother cow,” Dr. Sullivan said. “The blinding headlights? A cry for help. They are searching—ever searching—for the validation that eluded them as children. But no matter how close they get, it’s never enough.”
According to Sullivan, this constant rejection often manifests as blind rage and an unshakable belief that everyone else is the problem.
“When they feel ignored, they repress their sadness and convert it into self-righteous road rage,” Sullivan continued. “But deep down, we know—it’s not about the left lane. It’s about never hearing ‘I’m proud of you, son.’”
Alex Chance agrees.
“I don’t even need a pickup truck,” he admitted. “I work remotely. I’ve never done a day of manual labor in my life. But if I pull up behind a Corolla doing 80, and they don’t immediately swerve onto the shoulder to let me pass? I spiral.”
Chance says the truck was expensive, but ultimately, “an investment in my emotional health.”
