Road rage driver accident- drives off - what to expect?

[M1AGM]

I was on the receiving end of a full on road rage incident this morning. It started when I was stuck behind a car that was behind a bus. The bus was making frequent stops and the car in front of me was making no effort to see if there was any opportunity to pass. As its my local area I know the road well and knew that there was a very long straight coming up in a 40mph zone, with a bus stop, so I dropped back a bit to get a good view of the road being clear, and the moment the bus flicked its indicator on I indicated, pulled out and was off and easily passed the car and bus in a matter of seconds. The car sounded it’s horn as I passed it, and then it overtook the bus and followed me, very very closely. I could see a child in the passenger seat (who seemed to be enjoying the ride) and more children in the rear. The car was very close to my rear and the driver was clearly not happy (presumably about being overtaken). The car continued to follow me around a few roads I was taking until we came on to a dual carriageway at which point the car pulled up alongside me and then steered/rammed into mine, hitting me side on 3 or 4 times, wtf. I slowed down, the other car continued ahead. I then followed the car for about a mile with my horn blasting but it refused to stop (with the kids in the back waving hand gestures at me). I then stopped and phoned the police and gave them the details including the registration of the vehicle.

The side of my car has been damaged but I expect the other car is far worse (EQC v Citroen 71 plate crap thing). I have told my insurer and started that process.

I’ve never been in this situation before, isnt it a serious offence to drive off from an accident without giving details? What about dangerous driving? Kids in the car?

I had a message from the police to say they will call me tomorrow about my case so was hoping for some sage advice on what to expect, will it be ‘whatever, here’s your crime number’ or will they get the wker and bang him to rights? They have the reg, I have photos of the vehicle, I’ve given a good description of the driver (50s male) and it was clearly intentional to cause an accident.

Should I expect him to be prosecuted for any offences? Anything else I should do that I have missed? I really want this person dealt with to the full extent of the law, having kids in a car and behaving like this is not good.

[jondude]

That sounds scary, is good you escaped unharmed.

I am sure the police will do all they can, a lot will depend on how easy it is to track and find the driver and if there are no witnesses, the explanation he gives. The worry is he blames you, says he drove off in fear etc etc. Or he may even say it never happened, his car was always damaged. My feeling is the way he acted means he either is a genuine nutter (so may well incriminate himself) or quite a smart, scheming nutter who has done this before and knows he will get away with it.

If the police feel there is not enough clear evidence to prosecute, it is unlikely they will. There might be CCTV cameras along your route, the bus driver may have seen something too?

[Hungry Pigeon]

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

[Canon_Fodder]

OP it seems it's all hearsay so zero chance of the angry Citroen driver getting his just desserts

[surveyor]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Nice baiting. Idiot.

OP - scary tail. I suspect it's going nowhere with the Police, but hopefully, the insurance company may deliver.

[VSKeith]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Utter twaddle.

Good luck in finding this lunatic OP - hopefully they'll be dealt with under the law before they cause a serious incident.

[SlimJim16v]

Hungry Pigeon said:

A load of rubbish.

[M1AGM]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Well that didnt take long. I understand your point and I would usually agree with you and act accordingly. As I posted, we had been following the bus for a while and the driver in front of me was making zero effort on any occasion to look to pass when the bus stopped (there were plenty), hence why I did so when I knew I would be able to make the overtake before the driver in front of me had even reacted to the bus indicating to make a stop.

[G-996]

Sounds very unfortunate. We’re all entitled to our opinions, i feel your driving sounds reasonable all the way through that incident.

[Dingu]

Regardless of what people think of your manoeuvre OP what followed was ridiculous.
Hopefully there is some footage that can be found or the evidence is strong enough to get them off the road.

[Gareth79]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

OP said they had previously waited for the driver to overtake, and it was clear that they had no intention of overtaking the bus. It's not outright dangerous to overtake multiple vehicles, they hung back, which is the correct procedure (Roadcraft) to both get a good view ahead, and leave a gap to react if the driver in front does decide to overtake.

Edited by Gareth79 on Wednesday 17th August 20:14

[_Hoppers]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Bullst

[CoreyDog]

Bloody hell, these loons live among us.

Good luck OP and hope it’s gets sorted in your favour.

[james6546]

From someone who got attacked in the middle of Reading after not letting someone aggressively push in after they undertook a load of people, I totally feel for you.

It stays with you for months afterwards, I got the train in for ages rather than driving in.

I broke his raybans though and he would have had a black eye.

Fortunately I had a hero guardian who waded in and helped get this angry guy off me who would have given a witness statement if I needed it.

He kicked and cracked the bumper on my 3 series on the way back to his car.

I got the police involved, gave a witness statement and left it with them to talk to him. The guy was a total prick and claimed it was self defence etc.. The policeman (who was great) said I could actually prosecute him if I wanted, seeing as I had a witness statement but said to give him another chance.

The policeman essentially went round to the guys house and had a massive go at him and outlined how badly it would go for him if I prosecuted. I got the money for a new bumper for my car. I hope he learned his lesson, but I doubt it.

In the meantime I'd been sleuthy and found out where he worked so was one more step away from emailing his work so it could have been worse for him.

But yeah, it's crap and makes you not trust anyone. You do get over it eventually though.

[M1AGM]

james6546 said:

From someone who got attacked in the middle of Reading after not letting someone aggressively push in after they undertook a load of people, I totally feel for you.

It stays with you for months afterwards, I got the train in for ages rather than driving in.

I broke his raybans though and he would have had a black eye.

Fortunately I had a hero guardian who waded in and helped get this angry guy off me who would have given a witness statement if I needed it.

He kicked and cracked the bumper on my 3 series on the way back to his car.

I got the police involved, gave a witness statement and left it with them to talk to him. The guy was a total prick and claimed it was self defence etc.. The policeman (who was great) said I could actually prosecute him if I wanted, seeing as I had a witness statement but said to give him another chance.

The policeman essentially went round to the guys house and had a massive go at him and outlined how badly it would go for him if I prosecuted. I got the money for a new bumper for my car. I hope he learned his lesson, but I doubt it.

In the meantime I'd been sleuthy and found out where he worked so was one more step away from emailing his work so it could have been worse for him.

But yeah, it's crap and makes you not trust anyone. You do get over it eventually though.

That sounds terrible. Thanks for sharing that experience. I’ve considered the sleuthing, will wait to see how the police respond first.

[CoolHands]

Most likely unregistered and uninsured I would imagine. Otherwise why would they barge into your vehicle.

[0ddball]

CoolHands said:

Most likely unregistered and uninsured I would imagine. Otherwise why would they barge into your vehicle.

I'm betting mobility car.

[Wills2]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Christ all mighty.

[Muppet007]

Hungry Pigeon said:

Edited top down.....you were stuck behind someone who was stuck behind a bus, and rather than waiting for them to overtake the bus and then going past them if it was appropriate to do so, you decided (by your own admission) to hang back and then overtake them and the bus.

I'm not surprised they got the hump. It is very dangerous to overtake from the back of a queue. Any half decent driver knows this. If there's an obstruction, wait your turn and let everyone in front of you clear that obstruction before making your move. Overtaking from the back of the queue is a tt move that is almost always dangerous imho.

I'm not condoning their actions subsequent to this event, but if you hadn't been a tt in the first place they probably wouldn't have behaved in the way they did.

Haha I'm buggered then
I quite often over take 2-7 cars in a row. Tourist....

[Leptons]

0ddball said:

I'm betting mobility car.

Motability. 50’s with a newish Citroen that you don’t give a st about? I’ve seen the state some of these get handed back in, I’d say you’re bang on there.