Road Rage

[HoneyBadger]

As sawin said: nowadays most phones have a camera. I wouldn't ever recommend trying to take pictures while driving (unless you feared for your life too much to stop) but if you are forced to stop, get the video camera up and recording. That sort of evidence is much better than some witness who "thinks" they saw what happened. 911 recordings can be awfully helpful too.

Phone in one hand, gun in the other. If you cannot escape the situation and you fear for your life, aim well.

[davsel]

I no longer brake-check tailgaters. I figure they are mad enough already, no need for me to escalate the situation.

As far as drawing on someone who gets out of their car - Absolutely.
If I was standing on the sidewalk, and someone was coming at me in a rage, I would most certainly draw on them; no different if I'm in my car.

They can yell and scream all they want from inside their vehicle, but as soon as they approach, all bets are off, and I am prepared to defend myself and end the confrontation as quickly as possible.

[HoneyBadger]

As far as drawing on someone who gets out of their car - Absolutely.
If I was standing on the sidewalk, and someone was coming at me in a rage, I would most certainly draw on them; no different if I'm in my car.

They can yell and scream all they want from inside their vehicle, but as soon as they approach, all bets are off, and I am prepared to defend myself and end the confrontation as quickly as possible.

I mostly agree with this, but with one caveat: It is ALWAYS situational. Only you know where your boundaries are and how aggressive the person appears to be acting. They are already yelling at you... For what reason would they approach you? You can obviously hear them from where they are. Them coming closer only increases your risk of physical harm. As cstone always says: Be safe.

[buckeye4rnr]

I no longer brake-check tailgaters. I figure they are mad enough already, no need for me to escalate the situation.

As far as drawing on someone who gets out of their car - Absolutely.
If I was standing on the sidewalk, and someone was coming at me in a rage, I would most certainly draw on them; no different if I'm in my car.

They can yell and scream all they want from inside their vehicle, but as soon as they approach, all bets are off, and I am prepared to defend myself and end the confrontation as quickly as possible.

As sawin said: nowadays most phones have a camera. I wouldn't ever recommend trying to take pictures while driving (unless you feared for your life too much to stop) but if you are forced to stop, get the video camera up and recording. That sort of evidence is much better than some witness who "thinks" they saw what happened. 911 recordings can be awfully helpful too.

Phone in one hand, gun in the other. If you cannot escape the situation and you fear for your life, aim well.

No, I would not draw on him if he simply got out of his car, threw stuff at my car, or came to fight me. Not unless he was successful in bashing in the windows and was actually able to gain entry, would I shoot. I would instead honk my horn at him as he walked toward the car, drawing attention to myself and him so other drivers will be better witnesses. If stopped, I'd unbuckle if needed and reach in to the floorboard to get my phone and call 911, on speaker phone. What happens after that is entire situational.

In your case with only a knife, just wait until he puts his arms/fist through the broken window trying to open or unlock the door and slash his hand or arm a few times...

Snapping pictures or recording video of the perp and his car is always wise too...

All the while, you should be on the phone with 911...

I don't and never have brake checked people, I like my car too much. I said tested my brakes when I had to use them to avoid hitting the guy.

I would've been on the phone and possibly recording but I had set it on the passenger seat and it slid onto the floor and out of reach when I hit the brakes. I usually keep it in a cup holder but had a cup that day.


So far, thanks for all the stories and tips. I obviously didn't and couldn't draw but I'm not sure that I would have unless he tried to come in the car. Either way, it's always good to hear what others have done in similar situations so if anyone has more stories I think learning from others experiences is always a good thing.

[Sawin]

I no longer brake-check tailgaters. I figure they are mad enough already, no need for me to escalate the situation.

As far as drawing on someone who gets out of their car - Absolutely.
If I was standing on the sidewalk, and someone was coming at me in a rage, I would most certainly draw on them; no different if I'm in my car.

They can yell and scream all they want from inside their vehicle, but as soon as they approach, all bets are off, and I am prepared to defend myself and end the confrontation as quickly as possible.

If you go to that level right away, I would recommend including a call to 911 as soon as possible to report having to draw your firearm in defense of yourself, even if you don't shoot it....you want to file a report and press charges (they can be dropped later if you so choose). This puts you in the proactive position and the perp on the defense. Imagine instead that you don't, and someone calls the cops and describes you and your plate number after seeing you point the gun at someone? Big difference in perspective IMO.

[davsel]

I no longer brake-check tailgaters. I figure they are mad enough already, no need for me to escalate the situation.

As far as drawing on someone who gets out of their car - Absolutely.
If I was standing on the sidewalk, and someone was coming at me in a rage, I would most certainly draw on them; no different if I'm in my car.

They can yell and scream all they want from inside their vehicle, but as soon as they approach, all bets are off, and I am prepared to defend myself and end the confrontation as quickly as possible.

If you go to that level right away, I would recommend including a call to 911 as soon as possible to report having to draw your firearm in defense of yourself, even if you don't shoot it....you want to file a report and press charges (they can be dropped later if you so choose). This puts you in the proactive position and the perp on the defense. Imagine instead that you don't, and someone calls the cops and describes you and your plate number after seeing you point the gun at someone? Big difference in perspective IMO.

Just to clarify:
I try not to do anything to escalate the situation (brake-check, cut off, flip off...).
I try to remove myself safely from the situation (turn off same route, go around the block...)
Only when cornered - unable to leave the situation, would I draw on someone.

I am not about to wait to see if the enraged individual attempts to, or is able to, enter my vehicle. They are going to have to quickly make the decision of whether or not attacking me is worth being shot. I feel I owe them the courtesy of letting them know what they are getting into up front.

Just as we have most likely all seen, heard, and possibly witnessed, the ability of a knife-wielding attacker to close the distance on an individual, I am not going to wait for my windows to break before drawing a weapon and pointing it in the face of an attacker who is within arm's reach of me.

As for calling the cops and filing a report: Possibly
I figure the fact the individual got out of his vehicle and approached mine would determine who the aggressor was. I'm pretty sure I am within my legal right to point a gun in the face of an aggressor. My first duty is to defend myself and my family. 911 will not be my first response.

[Sawin]

Just to clarify:
I try not to do anything to escalate the situation (brake-check, cut off, flip off...).
I try to remove myself safely from the situation (turn off same route, go around the block...)
Only when cornered - unable to leave the situation, would I draw on someone.

I am not about to wait to see if the enraged individual attempts to, or is able to, enter my vehicle. They are going to have to quickly make the decision of whether or not attacking me is worth being shot. I feel I owe them the courtesy of letting them know what they are getting into up front.

Just as we have most likely all seen, heard, and possibly witnessed, the ability of a knife-wielding attacker to close the distance on an individual, I am not going to wait for my windows to break before drawing a weapon and pointing it in the face of an attacker who is within arm's reach of me.

As for calling the cops and filing a report: Possibly
I figure the fact the individual got out of his vehicle and approached mine would determine who the aggressor was. I'm pretty sure I am within my legal right to point a gun in the face of an aggressor. My first duty is to defend myself and my family. 911 will not be my first response.

Terrific clarification davsel, I understand where your prior comments were coming from now. I cannot refute an ounce of your logic here.

[generalmeow]

I had a wiener jump off his crotch rocket at a stop sign, leave his girlfriend sitting on the bike, and come back and yell at me to "calm the fuck down mutha fucka!" and put his hands up in the air like those wannabe gangsters do when they want to fight. I had no idea who he was or what in the world he was talking about. I think he thought I thought it was taking him to long to leave the stop sign, but I didn't do anything to give him that impression. I was just minding my own business, pulled up behind him and waited for 5 seconds, and then he jumped off the bike wanting to fight. It was a busy street, and he hadn't even had an opportunity to pull out yet.

That guy deserved to get his ass beat just for being him, and I'm sure he has gotten what was coming to him by now, but it was so comical I just laughed and he walked away.

Calm down? I'm sitting here with a blank look on my face, and you're jumping off your motorcycle wanting to fight a stranger who's twice your size for no apparent reason. I think it's clear who's calm and who's not.

[Bailey Guns]

If someone at a dead stop cut you off while traveling 40mph and nearly caused a pile up, most of you would honk correct?

If after that honk the guy get out of your way and proceeds to follow you while throwing stuff at your car, would you draw on him if he was in the process of getting out of his car to come fight you at a red light?

Just asking to see what an appropriate response would be since I didn't have a gun in my car(only a knife) and my cell phone slid onto the floor when I had to test my brakes(they work really well btw)


Since I couldn't get to the phone I eventually just ran the red light to get away from the nutbag once there was an opening in traffic or I'm sure I would've had to deal with him until I made it to the police station to pick up my ccw permit.

I think you need to work on your story. How does someone:

• That's at a "dead stop" cut you off? Did he pull in front of you from a stop?
• "nearly cause a pile up"? Not saying what he did was right but...a "pile up".
• He's throwing stuff at your car while following you? Guy must have a good arm.
• How do you know he was coming to fight you? He could've been trying to get your attention to apologize.
• "test" their brakes during a potential road-rage incident?

I'm just sayin'. You really need to consider how to handle situations like this before they happen. I'm thinking it's a good thing you didn't have a gun, personally. And keep in mind had this incident escalated these are all questions you'd be having to answer. They're all questions I'd be asking you if I was the investigating officer. Apparently nothing came of this incident...but posting on an internet forum usually isn't the best course of action when you're talking about road rage and guns and such.

[buckeye4rnr]

I think you need to work on your story. How does someone:

• That's at a "dead stop" cut you off? Did he pull in front of you from a stop?
• "nearly cause a pile up"? Not saying what he did was right but...a "pile up".
• He's throwing stuff at your car while following you? Guy must have a good arm.
• How do you know he was coming to fight you? He could've been trying to get your attention to apologize.
• "test" their brakes during a potential road-rage incident?

I'm just sayin'. You really need to consider how to handle situations like this before they happen. I'm thinking it's a good thing you didn't have a gun, personally. And keep in mind had this incident escalated these are all questions you'd be having to answer. They're all questions I'd be asking you if I was the investigating officer. Apparently nothing came of this incident...but posting on an internet forum usually isn't the best course of action when you're talking about road rage and guns and such.

His lane was at a complete stop, my lane was just starting to speed up and he took the short distance between my bumper and the bumper in front of me as his room to get in and cut me off. There was a bunch of traffic and I nearly got rearended.
He was following me and every chance he got he pulled up and threw crap at the doors of my car.
Why would he try to apologize after following me for 3-4 miles yelling his head off and throwing shit at my car?
I "tested" my brakes when I had to use them to avoid hitting him.

Any other questions?

Edit: Spelling