Road Rage to Deadly Shooting: The Aubrey Bowlin Interview

[Zundfolge]

Didn't think I'd seen this posted here, but an interesting interview with a woman who used a gun to defend herself in a road rage incident. (a little NSFWish for language)

[Squeeze]

What really angers me is people in traffic saw this happening and did nothing. This is a reality all of us need to expect. No one is coming to save you. You are the only one responsible for your safety and security. I pray none of us ever have to face a deadly force encounter, but if you're smart - you'll train as if you will.

[Zundfolge]

What really angers me is people in traffic saw this happening and did nothing.

That bugged me too, but the truth is that if most folks saw some "guy" in leathers on a sport bike getting beat by a middle aged man, they would assume the biker deserved it (not saying that's a good thing, but its a thing).

Of course seeing someone bashing someone's head (even with a helmet on) into a concrete barricade would probably get me to stop and draw on the basher and suggest he desist his shenanigans.

[Skip]

Great vid, thanks for posting. I remember when this happened.

Guy was clearly in the wrong (stepped out of vehicle and put his hands on her) and intended to seriously hurt her. I'm guessing he wanted to remove her helmet so he could start punching her.

On a bike you have to be super aware and it sounds like she was but then didn't change her behavior before the encounter and didn't use the advantage of the bike to get away from him. Once he got out, and she went kickstand down, her options were limited. She could have blasted the shoulder and been exits away from him the moment he opened the door. Of course she may not have known this would lead to a physical encounter either.

Getting away from a rager to deescalate as a first step is always a good idea and would help should something go to trial.

I have seen riders here in CO, in the passing/left lane, holding up traffic. Not 100% sure that was happening here but she said she was leaving a lot of room so she didn't have to work the gears. This isn't smart because it does lead to aggression and then it's you on two wheels vs car. I'm not saying that justifies his behavior, just that as a rider you are always going to lose a contest of mass, so I always try to avoid provoking one.

I do think lane splitting should be legal when traffic is stopped and can be safely done. She mentions that a lot of other riders in WA do this which gets them out of stop/go traffic.

[mattiooo]

I have seen riders here in CO, in the passing/left lane, holding up traffic. Not 100% sure that was happening here but she said she was leaving a lot of room so she didn't have to work the gears. This isn't smart because it does lead to aggression and then it's you on two wheels vs car. I'm not saying that justifies his behavior, just that as a rider you are always going to lose a contest of mass, so I always try to avoid provoking one.

People don't leave enough room as it is. I can't tell you the number of accidents I've seen on my commute in stop and go traffic because people are following too close. Calm down, people. You're all getting there at the same time.

[Skip]

People don't leave enough room as it is. I can't tell you the number of accidents I've seen on my commute in stop and go traffic because people are following too close. Calm down, people. You're all getting there at the same time.

As a rider you really shouldn't be leaving so much space that people think they're being held back. And if other cars are cutting in than the person behind you thinks he's been held back while you're not driving.

All while you have a smaller visual footprint making it appear that there is more room than there is.

The left lane is for passing, not for leaving enough space so you don't have to shift.

[mattiooo]

As a rider you really shouldn't be leaving so much space that people think they're being held back. And if other cars are cutting in than the person behind you thinks he's been held back while you're not driving.

Agree to disagree. You should be leaving exactly enough space as is required to stop safely. If people get lit about that, they have issues.

[Skip]

Agree to disagree. You should be leaving exactly enough space as is required to stop safely. If people get lit about that, they have issues.

Agree with the stopping distance.

She said she was leaving enough space so she didn't have to shift. Totally different. Assuming the rager isn't a rider, all he sees is smaller vehicle holding him back in the fast lane, with a lot of space, while engine braking in stop/go traffic.

Again, doesn't justify the assault and the rager is in clearly in the wrong. Just not a provocation I would start on a bike. There's nothing wrong with getting over if you want to ride that way.

[Squeeze]

Agree with the stopping distance.

...all he sees is smaller vehicle holding him back in the fast lane

From what? Getting there 10 seconds earlier than he would've? It was already mentioned they were in grid lock traffic or stop & go at the least. She wasn't holding him back from anything. She was riding in a way where she was maximizing energy efficiency. Have you rode a motorcycle in grid lock traffic on the highway? I do...4 days a week. It sucks. Fortunately I don't have to shift on my bike. When I did have an R6, I would try to leave enough room to minimize having to constantly shift & work the clutch. If people get heated about that, that is their problem. If they get stupid like the guy in this situation did, they are likely to end up with the same result.

[Zundfolge]

From what? Getting there 10 seconds earlier than he would've? It was already mentioned they were in grid lock traffic or stop & go at the least. She wasn't holding him back from anything.

Agreed. This wasn't a case where she was in the passing lane with nobody ahead of her going too slow (even then not justification for violence). I hate to say it, but based on the way he reacted to an imagined inconvenience (and the way his family reacted afterward) the world is actually a tiny brighter place with this guy in the ground.

I'm guessing he wanted to remove her helmet so he could start punching her.

Yeah, I bet he thought she was a he and was probably pretty surprised when he realized he died at the hands of a girl (gotta wonder how much of his violence the wife in the car had been on the receiving end of over the years). Again, its a brighter place now.


One thing she said that I find interesting (because I've read it so many times in these accounts of armed self defense) was "All of the sudden I remembered I had a gun."

On the one hand that's a good thing (our gun shouldn't be the first thing we think of in a conflict) but on the other hand I wonder how many CCWers have died and their last thought was "wait a minute, I've got a gun!".