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Yep just recently had someone tailgate me on the freeway off ramp and follow me into my 'hood. I have no clue why I did nothing to him and I do not drive aggressively. It happens. There are far too many lunatics out there who think their car is a weapon and they own the road. Keep calm, dont retaliate, dont yell, dont flip them off, dont brake check, just ignore them. If they follow you, do not go home or to your workplace, go to a police station, fire station, or some well lit public place with lots of people around.
In 1996, I was newly a father and driving alone on a local highway. Admittedly I was driving a bit too fast and being typically aggressive (I learned how to drive on the streets of NYC, it's either be aggressive or take public transportation) when I changed lanes in front of the wrong sort of dude. He likely felt that I cut him off, which I didn't, but in hindsight realized that was the trigger event. Well he felt compelled to return the favor and upon doing so, almost clipped the front bumper of my car (while we were driving 70 MPH, a scary combination). I started yelling at him from the safety of my own car and gesticulating a bit (remember, I'm a New York driver - it can't be helped). Remember, he couldn't hear anything, though he could certainly see my hands waving about. Well, that's when the proverbial dam burst. Over the next five minutes he tried to get me to stop or force me off the road and than proceeded to chase me, first on the highway and then off it when I exited trying to find either a police car or station. He eventually gave up the chase, but not before he had me thinking I may never see my wife or newborn son ever again.
That was the end of my being a highway mercenary.
To this day, eighteen years later, whenever someone does something on the road that even remotely hints of personalized aggression, I remember my panic that day and find a special sort of calm that allows me to simply let it go. I'm only willing to risk my life if it's necessary to protect someone that I love, not to prove a point or avenge some stupid perceived slight or insult of the road.
I was passing through Nashville and I missed my exit. I hurried over to the far lane so I could get the next exit, and inadvertently cut-off another motorist. It wasn't a near accident, but he was obviously outraged. I gave him a sheepish "I'm sorry" look, but that wasn't enough for him.
He got in front of me on the freeway and came to a complete stop. I was able to go around him. He then repeated this action, even getting out of his car. Again, I went around him. He got in front of me one more time. I picked up my cell phone as if I was making a call and pretended to read-off his license plate number. He quickly sped off at the next exit.
I take responsibility for making a dumb move on the freeway, but his attempt to goad me into an altercation was way over the top, and extremely dangerous for both of us, and for the other motorists in the area.
One involved me directly; a guy in a lifted pickup decided that I (and the guy in front of me going the same speed) should have been driving faster than 75 in a 65 zone, so repeatedly tailgated and flashed his lights. I put on my right turn signal waiting for a spot to get out (this was on the freeway near an off ramp in the Bay Area, both of the other two lanes were bumper-to-bumper, and we were in the carpool lane), and he passed us on the left shoulder blaring his horn. Cut off the guy in front of me and slammed his brakes on. At this point I just merged with the slower traffic and waited for him to get farther ahead. About 20 minutes later, I passed a CHP Motorcycle Cop on the left side, with Mr. lifted pickup pulled over.
The second was on highway 99 northbound at around Turlock in CA, two tractor trailers (18 wheelers) trying to run each other off the road. Cutting in front of each other and forcing the other guy onto the shoulder, only to try again in a mile or so, back and forth. Terrifying. I pulled off the freeway to "get gas", even though I still had 2/3rds of a tank.
I was passing through Nashville and I missed my exit. I hurried over to the far lane so I could get the next exit, and inadvertently cut-off another motorist. It wasn't a near accident, but he was obviously outraged. I gave him a sheepish "I'm sorry" look, but that wasn't enough for him.
He got in front of me on the freeway and came to a complete stop. I was able to go around him. He then repeated this action, even getting out of his car. Again, I went around him. He got in front of me one more time. I picked up my cell phone as if I was making a call and pretended to read-off his license plate number. He quickly sped off at the next exit.
I take responsibility for making a dumb move on the freeway, but his attempt to goad me into an altercation was way over the top, and extremely dangerous for both of us, and for the other motorists in the area.
When I have made an inadvertent mistake, I raise my hand and wave. 99% of the time it works and most are forgiving. It's that 1% that all it takes is for something to push them over the edge.
The worst road rage thing I ever heard of happened to a man who worked at my workplace (large one), I didn't know him personally. He was driving with his teen or young adult son in a pickup. He and another guy in a pickup got into a game of cat and mouse, both raging, after one cut the other off by accident. It went on until the guy who worked at my company tried to exit the freeway and get away from this crazy dude. At the end of the off-ramp was a stoplight. While waiting for the red light to change the crazy guy pulled up behind, jumped out of the truck, and ran up to the truck in front of him and shot the driver, right in front of his son. Then he took off. The guy was almost immediately arrested and then bailed out by family members. The next day after he was bailed out the killer drove to the off-ramp where the murder occurred, pulled over, and shot himself to death.
Two families lives destroyed by totally pointless violence.
I was passing through Nashville and I missed my exit. I hurried over to the far lane so I could get the next exit, and inadvertently cut-off another motorist. It wasn't a near accident, but he was obviously outraged. I gave him a sheepish "I'm sorry" look, but that wasn't enough for him.
He got in front of me on the freeway and came to a complete stop. I was able to go around him. He then repeated this action, even getting out of his car. Again, I went around him. He got in front of me one more time. I picked up my cell phone as if I was making a call and pretended to read-off his license plate number. He quickly sped off at the next exit.
I take responsibility for making a dumb move on the freeway, but his attempt to goad me into an altercation was way over the top, and extremely dangerous for both of us, and for the other motorists in the area.
I usually try to tap out "I'M SORRY" in morse code using my brake lights. It usually doesn't work but .....
The worst road rage I ever heard of was from a co-worker of mine when I used to live in San Diego. She was driving home from work and cut a guy off. The guy proceeded to chase her down and trailed her for about a mile. He then pulled up beside her vehicle and, while keeping pace, looked at her, drew a gun from his jacket and slowly slid it into view. Then he drove off.
Whenever I get "baited" into playing road rage wars, I think about that incident, it helps me to let it go.
Once I was waiting at a red light where you could turn right, but didn't have to. I didn't see a good space to turn yet, but the guy behind me leaned on his horn. I was in a pissy mood at that, so I just continued sitting through the rest of the red light and refuaed to turn, even when I could. Driver behind me was blasting his horn and gesturing. It wasn't a very long light, but after it turned green, guy followed me, tailgating for about a mile, gesturing at me, turning where I turned, etc. kinda freaked me out so I faked him out by getting into a lAne to turn and then going straight at the last moment when he got stuck behind the light. I got away fibe, but that guy was creepy and clearly had rage issues. And me, definitely did not pose a threat. Female, was in my early 20s - and to make it worse, my toddler was in the car. In hindsight I shoujdnt have "instigated" the man by not turning at the light, but it wasn't a very long time (15 seconds?) and I had no idea he was psycho like that...
I've never been a part of one. I've had my share of honks, though.
The worst I've seen happened a couple of years ago. One guy got mad at another for stopping at a yellow light. He honked repeatedly through the red light. When the light turned green, car #2 immediately drove into oncoming traffic (two-lane mixed residential/commercial street) to pass car #1. The car #1 did the same thing to car #2. Back and forth they went, somehow not hitting anyone, until car #1 pulled into a CVS parking lot.
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