Turning Anger and Fear into Compassion

I had an interesting experience crossing the road a few months ago. My hip was acting up and I was limping as I crossed. This car was turning into the road I was crossing and rather than slow down or stop to let pathetic ole' me limp across, the car speeded up and I had to hurl myself the last ten feet just to avoid getting hit. My first reaction was one of fear and anger: did this person have it in for me and want to kill me? Then I remembered the various times I'd been distracted while driving and done careless things that could have endangered others, or... my fence, which I knocked down the day i backed into it after pressing the accelerator when I meant to press the brake. Remembering that folly of mine, I convinced myself the driver who'd nearly plowed me down had simply made that same sort of careless mistake as I did. I felt much better after that.