Road Rage Question (very worried) (Manassas: insurance, home, dangerous)

[beatlecrazy]

Hey everyone,
I just had a bit of road rage that I regret I am never mad like that on the roads and never had any problems until something got the best of me today.

I was driving home from work on some back roads, and ended up behind a slow-moving van. There were about 6 cars behind me (not tailgating yet), and the van was going about 30 mph to start (speed limit was 25), but as the van driver noticed I was behind him, he slowed down to 15 mph...so I slowed down too...and the driver behind me almost slammed into my bumper.

So we come to a stop sign, and Van Driver slams on his brakes about 20 feet before the stop, so it causes a chain reaction and now I am tailing him since he abruptly stopped. He stays stopped like that for 1 minute exactly (no traffic was coming at all, and it was a two way stop). I didn't honk either.

We start moving again, and he starts playing games with me since he knows i'm tailing him now (yes I admit I was tailing him, please don't yell) and slams on his brakes about 20 feet before each stop sign, and just is now going about 5 mph on a 25 mph road. There is a line of cars behind us now.

At one point he slammed on his brakes in front of another stop so hard, and then when he accelerated, I saw him smiling/laughing in his mirror. Argh that burned me up more . There was a small intersection coming up (no stop sign) and i went to turn in there (almost passing him as i turned since he was going so dangerously slow) and the street was blocked with cars pulling out of driveways or something, so I basically reverted back to the road and ended up passing him on a double yellow I was shaking, I'd never done that before!!!

I saw him writing down my license plate with a pen and paper, and then i saw him pick up his phone and call the police on me. (I was driving in Manassas). I am so terribly afraid that I will: get a ticket, get points on my license, have the police show up after me, that I will get cited for reckless driving. As I made a right hand turn after that, I saw him point at my car. OMG i am so worried! My husband doesn't really help calm me down, he just yells at me for being annoying and anxious.

What happens if someone calls in a license plate like that? I have two magnets on the back of my car too so it's even more identifiable! I'm panicking.

I feel horrible, I'll never drive again Am I making a big deal out of this?

[Teebyrd86]

Relax the police cant do anything to you if they didnt see it. He is not the police, and you didnt hit anyone so your good. Theres not much they can do about it to be honest.

He was probably trying to scare you more than anything else.

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by beatlecrazy

Hey everyone,
I just had a bit of road rage that I regret I am never mad like that on the roads and never had any problems until something got the best of me today.

I was driving home from work on some back roads, and ended up behind a slow-moving van. There were about 6 cars behind me (not tailgating yet), and the van was going about 30 mph to start (speed limit was 25), but as the van driver noticed I was behind him, he slowed down to 15 mph...so I slowed down too...and the driver behind me almost slammed into my bumper.

So we come to a stop sign, and Van Driver slams on his brakes about 20 feet before the stop, so it causes a chain reaction and now I am tailing him since he abruptly stopped. He stays stopped like that for 1 minute exactly (no traffic was coming at all, and it was a two way stop). I didn't honk either.

We start moving again, and he starts playing games with me since he knows i'm tailing him now (yes I admit I was tailing him, please don't yell) and slams on his brakes about 20 feet before each stop sign, and just is now going about 5 mph on a 25 mph road. There is a line of cars behind us now.

At one point he slammed on his brakes in front of another stop so hard, and then when he accelerated, I saw him smiling/laughing in his mirror. Argh that burned me up more . There was a small intersection coming up (no stop sign) and i went to turn in there (almost passing him as i turned since he was going so dangerously slow) and the street was blocked with cars pulling out of driveways or something, so I basically reverted back to the road and ended up passing him on a double yellow I was shaking, I'd never done that before!!!

I saw him writing down my license plate with a pen and paper, and then i saw him pick up his phone and call the police on me. (I was driving in Manassas). I am so terribly afraid that I will: get a ticket, get points on my license, have the police show up after me, that I will get cited for reckless driving. As I made a right hand turn after that, I saw him point at my car. OMG i am so worried! My husband doesn't really help calm me down, he just yells at me for being annoying and anxious.

What happens if someone calls in a license plate like that? I have two magnets on the back of my car too so it's even more identifiable! I'm panicking.

I feel horrible, I'll never drive again Am I making a big deal out of this?

Well you already know that you let him get to you. IMO but I am not a police officer, you are making a big deal out of this. I know we have one person on here who was a police officer, maybe he will chime in on this.

I would think a police officer would have had to witness this for you to be ticketed.

Is your husband mad at you for doing this, or upset because you are so worried?

[beatlecrazy]

Thank you for replying. I have been passed before on a double yellow, and while I was angry, I kind of knew in the back of my mind that there was nothing I could do, unless a police officer saw it too. But I really am just calming down from all of it. I keep looking out my window still though, ugh.

[beatlecrazy]

Originally Posted by ajzjmsmom

Is your husband mad at you for doing this, or upset because you are so worried?

He is mad about both. He said I should never ever pass on a double yellow, but I tried to explain to him that this is the first time I ever had, and I will never do it again of course. He gets irritated when I am worried or panicky, and doesn't offer much help but a "cut it out already, just stop it."

I've only been pulled over once too, for a light bulb that burnt out on my license plate holder thingy. Not sure why I passed the van like that, it was like an out-of-body experience almost! ::ashamed:: Thank you for replying ajzjmsmom.

[FastRider6]

I wouldn't worry about getting a ticket. I've gotten a few letter from the ffx county police when other drivers called them with my license plate. Funny since I was on someone else's insurance at the time, the owner of the vehicle/insurance policy's name kept getting included in the letter.

[bmwguydc]

The guy was precipitating your action through his passive-aggression. There was no need for him to go five-miles-an-hour, impeding traffic, etc. If it had been me, and there was a number on the van for the company, I would call it -- as I have in the past to speak with the manager/owner about the operation of their vehicle and how it reflects upon the company.

There are also people who look to cause accidents, especially for insurance claims, so removing yourself from a situation in which someone was deliberately harassing you, while not the safest course of action for you or other motorists, is understandable. You had a fight or flight response, precisely because this guy started to play games with you, putting your safety and that of other motorists in jeopardy with his antics; and your reaction can happen when emotion trumps reason.

Next time someone gets to you like this, though, turn on a different street, make a legal U-turn, or just pull off the road to the shoulder (if available) for a couple of minutes, and let the deliberately provocative driver leave. I tend to remove myself from the equation, rather than worrying about changing the behavior of another driver, though I will delay response long enough to call the "How do you rate my driving?" number, or call the company's number to discuss the issue with someone at HQ if it's a commercial vehicle.

[DC Oldtimer]

then i saw him pick up his phone and call the police on me.
How do you know this? Wouldnt surprise me if the creep was talking to the dial tone.

[Gottasay]

Well, you learned your lesson (I hope): don't tailgate and don't pass on double yellow lines. He probably saved you from future trouble.

[Bigfoot424]

Originally Posted by DC Oldtimer

then i saw him pick up his phone and call the police on me.
How do you know this? Wouldnt surprise me if the creep was talking to the dial tone.

Ok oldtimer. No dial tones on cell phones.


To the OP. The others are correct, sort of. The officers can get a summons for you by going to the magistrates and swearing to an affidavit but after 30 plus years in police work I can say with certainty this is not going to happen. The officer would be obtaining this summons based on the evidence from the other driver. But again, won't happen. For the driver of the other vehicle to obtain the summons for you he would have to have positive ID. He may have the tag number but that's not enough. So unless an officer comes over to talk to you I wouldn't worry about it. And even then I'm sure it would be to get your side then tell you both to knock it off.