Road Rage - Would You help?
Discussion
For those that want to answer I hope you take a moment to think about and imagine you in the situation before responding - I am trying to gauge genuine opinion.
Imagine you arrive at a roundabout that the circumvention is controlled by traffic lights at each exit of the RO. It is a red hot summer day, windows open, and on approach to the RO you here a siren. A few seconds later as you pull up to the entry to the RO and the first set of traffic lights, you can here some proper effing and blinding.
As your lights go green and you move to the next lights, you can see where the argument is - the next lights are green, but there are two cars at the lights white line and you can see the drivers gesticulating to each other. There are three lanes to this roundabout, these two cars are in the left and centre lanes. Almost immediately the driver of the left hand car (Driver A) gets out and approaches the drivers window of the right hand car (Driver B) - you stop (you are in the centre lane) a fair distance back - maybe three car lengths - you can't go round as there is traffic in the right hand lane.
Further swearing and then Driver A swings punches into the open window of Driver B. Driver B gets out and they both move to the rear of the cars and a fight starts. From you stopping, to this at the rear of the car, this all takes just a few seconds. When I say fight, Driver B is not retaliating but Driver A is trying to land punch after punch.
You guess Driver A is about mid forties, normal height and build. Driver B is probably late 70s, tall and old age overweight, but a fairly big bloke - just significantly older. Incidentally, both cars are over ten years old, and are nothing special.
You look around you and you can see the RO is now extremely busy - and appears gridlocked - some people are hooting.
What would you do next?
Imagine you arrive at a roundabout that the circumvention is controlled by traffic lights at each exit of the RO. It is a red hot summer day, windows open, and on approach to the RO you here a siren. A few seconds later as you pull up to the entry to the RO and the first set of traffic lights, you can here some proper effing and blinding.
As your lights go green and you move to the next lights, you can see where the argument is - the next lights are green, but there are two cars at the lights white line and you can see the drivers gesticulating to each other. There are three lanes to this roundabout, these two cars are in the left and centre lanes. Almost immediately the driver of the left hand car (Driver A) gets out and approaches the drivers window of the right hand car (Driver B) - you stop (you are in the centre lane) a fair distance back - maybe three car lengths - you can't go round as there is traffic in the right hand lane.
Further swearing and then Driver A swings punches into the open window of Driver B. Driver B gets out and they both move to the rear of the cars and a fight starts. From you stopping, to this at the rear of the car, this all takes just a few seconds. When I say fight, Driver B is not retaliating but Driver A is trying to land punch after punch.
You guess Driver A is about mid forties, normal height and build. Driver B is probably late 70s, tall and old age overweight, but a fairly big bloke - just significantly older. Incidentally, both cars are over ten years old, and are nothing special.
You look around you and you can see the RO is now extremely busy - and appears gridlocked - some people are hooting.
What would you do next?
Edited by mattyn1 on Sunday 1st July 10:16
Tough crowd this morning - and I have no idea why I used RO is the abbreviation. Probably too much sun - I need an afternoon in front of the F1 and football!Mandat said:
What was the siren that was here?
One of these?
I suspect op had a bit too much dizzy water and fell asleep in the paddling pool and dreamt all this in a sun-baked stupor. In that case op should have got out the car, started jumping up and down, screaming and hurling rocks until a giant black monolith appears and a velociraptor appears and bites off the head of the aggressor.
For reasons unknown, immediately after the roundabout incident, op was sitting in a hall, naked, attempting an exam he hadn't revised for....
Wait.... is this actually real, am I really typing this on my tablet in the garden or is it all a weird dream?
Oh god, the matrix...
We're in the matrix......
k out of the wayTo be honest if I could see an older man get his head smacked in I like to think I'd probably help the guy out. I'd not wade in there and "dominate" the tarmac but at least try and calm things down.
Don't get me wrong there's plenty of older people about who are bad drivers or even overly aggressive themselves but a younger bloke smacking an older person about is not really on. In my opinion at least.
Don't get me wrong there's plenty of older people about who are bad drivers or even overly aggressive themselves but a younger bloke smacking an older person about is not really on. In my opinion at least.
I was not expecting the level of humour to this scenario if I am honest! Maybe this should have been posted in another group!
Anyway, you might have guessed this was not hypothetical. I did get out to try to calm things. The Mrs called the police and I tried to take the heat out of the situation calmly! It sort of worked, but what surprised me is the lack of people who did help, considering the amount of traffic. Two other blokes were out of their cars quickly one of which did decide to dominate the tarmac and have a bit of a go at driver A!
Driver A did seem a bit unhinged, ranting on about an ambulance. He wanted to fight everyone! But to be honest his punches on the old guy were a bit wet.
The police took about twenty minutes to turn up which seemed a lot...... also my main worry is my Mrs did not know where we were even though we were only 1/2 mile from home!!
Driver A had gone by the time the police arrived. But with plenty of witnesses he won’t be hard to track. Old bloke was pretty shaken understandably.
Anyway, you might have guessed this was not hypothetical. I did get out to try to calm things. The Mrs called the police and I tried to take the heat out of the situation calmly! It sort of worked, but what surprised me is the lack of people who did help, considering the amount of traffic. Two other blokes were out of their cars quickly one of which did decide to dominate the tarmac and have a bit of a go at driver A!
Driver A did seem a bit unhinged, ranting on about an ambulance. He wanted to fight everyone! But to be honest his punches on the old guy were a bit wet.
The police took about twenty minutes to turn up which seemed a lot...... also my main worry is my Mrs did not know where we were even though we were only 1/2 mile from home!!
Driver A had gone by the time the police arrived. But with plenty of witnesses he won’t be hard to track. Old bloke was pretty shaken understandably.
Wiccan of Darkness said:
I suspect op had a bit too much dizzy water and fell asleep in the paddling pool and dreamt all this in a sun-baked stupor. In that case op should have got out the car, started jumping up and down, screaming and hurling rocks until a giant black monolith appears and a velociraptor appears and bites off the head of the aggressor.
For reasons unknown, immediately after the roundabout incident, op was sitting in a hall, naked, attempting an exam he hadn't revised for....
Wait.... is this actually real, am I really typing this on my tablet in the garden or is it all a weird dream?
Oh god, the matrix...
We're in the matrix......
For reasons unknown, immediately after the roundabout incident, op was sitting in a hall, naked, attempting an exam he hadn't revised for....
Wait.... is this actually real, am I really typing this on my tablet in the garden or is it all a weird dream?
Oh god, the matrix...
We're in the matrix......
You imagination although dark is somewhat flattering that it means you think of me naked! To be honest though I wouldn’t! I was once waiting at some lights when two blokes appeared from my right having an almighty scrap which seemed to have been going on for a while and continued past me and off down the road. It was a bit like when Peter fights the chicken in Family Guy only rather than seeing the whole sequence I just caught one short moment before it disappeared out of sight.
They appeared well matched so I left them to it.
They appeared well matched so I left them to it.
I've waded in and split up a few fights in my time, not on the roads though.
Each time I've been hit, nothing bad, but I was lucky other people came in to help.
And when the Police arrived I got no thanks, no respect, they said "I shouldn't have got involved.
I got arrested on the occasion I was restraining someone on the ground. Soon got released though.
And one person from an incident stares at me round town now, a bit worrying as I have a family.
So I say don't get involved.
Each time I've been hit, nothing bad, but I was lucky other people came in to help.
And when the Police arrived I got no thanks, no respect, they said "I shouldn't have got involved.
I got arrested on the occasion I was restraining someone on the ground. Soon got released though.
And one person from an incident stares at me round town now, a bit worrying as I have a family.
So I say don't get involved.
My car has ice cold air conditioning. There's no way I'm getting out in the heat to try and separate two blokes who are old enough to know better. Let them get on with it - probably two idiots who are always swearing, beeping, flashing lights, gesticulating and mouthing off to other drivers for the minorist of minor discretions have finally met each other. Might make them think twice in future.
I'd be only disappointed that I had no popcorn.
I'd be only disappointed that I had no popcorn.
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