Mind & EverydayFact
The tailgater is a jerk, you were just stressed.
You explain other people's behaviour by their character and your own by the situation. In 1967 Jones and Harris had people read essays whose authors had been assigned their position by coin toss. Readers still believed the authors meant it personally. This fundamental attribution error makes you harsh on strangers and lenient on yourself.
Useful: When someone annoys you, first ask: what situation could explain this?
Source: en.wikipedia.org