Have you ever been a victim of road rage while driving?

[Smitters]

OP - you did the right thing. The problem with idiots is they have a life of practice and engaging them will inevitably drag you down to their own level, where they'll beat you with experience. That applies to roadrage and PH equally.

I had my own little RR experience a few years back. Guy screamed up behind and was right on the bumper, meaning I stuck religiously to the speed limit. I do this for two reasons. 1) to make sure I'm 100% within the law with what I'm doing and 2) to make sure there's a decent space between me and the next vehicle in case I do have to apply the brakes. Last thing I need is the moron on my bumper rear-ending me. It tends not to improve the situation though. When the road widened to dual carriageway, instead of burning past, he came alongside mouthing off, and waved a knife. At that point I rang 999, described the vehicle, driver and gave the reg, and amended my route to take me directly to the local police station. After tailgating and swerving for about a mile and a half I think he twigged where we were going and at the last roundabout took a different exit.

In retrospect, I'm pretty pleased with how I handled it. Afterwards the adrenaline kick was significant.

[WhiskyDisco]

A few years ago I was in my car with my wife and kids waiting to pull out of a cul-de-sac side street in Twickenham. The main road was really congested but there was a gap to pull out into, to turn right across the waiting traffic. A driver pulled his car across the gap. In frustration I gave him a toot on the horn, not a blare - a toot. I know it's wrong to use the horn as anything other than a warning but what happened next was very scary.

The passenger jumps out and strides toward my side. He's raging and shouting things like "I'm going to slice your f**king face off", "I'll bite your face off, you ****" - really threatening. I drop the car car into reverse and slowly back up. He keeps walking and shouting. The car that he got out of is still in front, door open. By now I'm reversing faster and he is running after me. I see a gap in front of his car and drive forward. He stands in front of my car but I drive faster and he punches the window but we get in front of his car and manage to drive away to the left.

No punchline - we came across a really 'orrible scary man and got away to live another day. He's probably dead by now!

Edited by WhiskyDisco on Monday 23 April 11:37

[MartinVert]

WhiskyDisco said:

A few years ago I was in my car with my wife and kids waiting to pull out of a cul-de-sac side street in Twickenham. The main road was really congested but there was a gap to pull out into, to turn right across the waiting traffic. A driver pulled his car across the gap. In frustration I gave him a toot on the horn, not a blare - a toot. I know it's wrong to use the horn as anything other than a warning but what happened next was very scary.

The passenger jumps out and strides toward my side. He's raging and shouting things like "I'm going to slice your f**king face off", "I'll bite your face off, you ****" - really threatening. I drop the car car into reverse and slowly back up. He keeps walking and shouting. The car that he got out of is still in front, door open. By now I'm reversing faster and he is running after me. I see a gap in front of his car and drive forward. He stands in front of my car but I drive faster and he punches the window but we get in front of his car and mange to drive away to the left.

No punchline - we came across a really 'orrible scary man and got away to live another day. He's probably dead by now!

This is a far more credible description of this sort of event than the many 'I wound the other guy up even more, we engaged in fisticuffs and I nearly killed him with my mad skillz' posts on here that people seem so proud of.

[Zetec-S]

J4CKO said:

if he had just gone past I would have just though he was out for a hoon and thought fair enough, but it was why he decided to try and intimidate me, it went on ages, strange that if I got in his way for a few seconds, he was prepared to spend maybe 10 to 15 minutes makign his point, time cant have been that important.

Never understood with road ragers, how they can go from being the busiest and most important person on the roads, with no time to spare and have to get in front of everyone, go faster than everyone and bully their way past, to someone who has all the time in the world to brake check, slow down, block or detour/follow someone for a minor transgression

[Smitters]

MartinVert said:

This is a far more credible description of this sort of event than the many 'I wound the other guy up even more, we engaged in fisticuffs and I nearly killed him with my mad skillz' posts on here that people seem so proud of.

Yeah, but they've only been on PH for a couple of months. They're still a normal person. Then come the secret seminars about goatee growth, meal plans for powerful builds, courses for instant-hardness and Red Bull throwing accuracy. It's all downhill from there.

[Byker28i]

A scottish friend of mine was coming back from their fathers funeral with his brothers in the car when a small white van cut them up.

The story is told that words were exchanged and the white van passenger threw something out the window at them. At the next lights words from the passenger continued whereby the car behind which contained more brothers (7 in all) pulled in front of the van and stopped them moving off, at which point the white van was so scared it fell on it's side, all on it's own...

[Berkshire bred]

OpulentBob said:

I'm getting an erection from some of the hard-man replies on here.

"I told him very quietly to fk off back to his car or I would hurt him"... Of course you did. Do you have a particular set of skillz?

Difficult I know but if you read all of my post I say that a am not a hard man and that it was a tactic to make him think 'what am I getting into here' . Stop being a tt.

A lot more effective than puffing up my chest and shouting back. These people expect you to st yourself and start apologising for doing nothing wrong.

Edited by Berkshire bred on Monday 23 April 13:36

[thatjagbloke]

My one and only ( so far ) incidence of road rage happened several years ago when I was delivering signs to a customer. This was in the summer, in Cornwall so the roads were busy. I pulled off a roundabout into a 30mph speed limit road so drove at that speed only to then have a van suddenly fill up my rear view mirror. Despite oncoming traffic he then attempted an overtake but couldn't get past so had to pull in behind me again. This carried on for the next 5 miles with him continually pulling out then dropping back until I indicated and pulled into the yard of my customer. White van man then pulled in behind me, leaped out of his ( signwritten ) van and threatened to " fking kill me " he was literally frothing at the mouth.
I just calmly stood there while he delivered his tirade, then said I'm sure your employers would like to hear about this shall I phone them ? He then realised he was in danger of loosing his job, so turned around and stomped off back to his van and drove off.
I didn't phone his employer, perhaps I should have done ?

[J4CKO]

Zetec-S said:

J4CKO said:

if he had just gone past I would have just though he was out for a hoon and thought fair enough, but it was why he decided to try and intimidate me, it went on ages, strange that if I got in his way for a few seconds, he was prepared to spend maybe 10 to 15 minutes makign his point, time cant have been that important.

Never understood with road ragers, how they can go from being the busiest and most important person on the roads, with no time to spare and have to get in front of everyone, go faster than everyone and bully their way past, to someone who has all the time in the world to brake check, slow down, block or detour/follow someone for a minor transgression

I think some people are looking for something to be offended/angry/bothered about, an opportunity to exact their revenge on all that annoys and bothers them.

[Bennet]

Quite a few stories here where people could easily have defused the situation by just letting the psycho pass, when they clearly wanted to pass.

[budgie smuggler]

I was minding my own business driving through Billericay high street and committed the heinous crime of not seeing an unsighted car pulling blindly out of a parking space early enough to be able to stop, instead I did a small swerve to avoid them and carried on (no beep, no gesticulating - on my part at least).

This perceived slight was enough to have the driver decide to follow me, and repeatedly get very very close behind me, then drop back, then boot it right up my arse again. This carried on for a good few minutes, at some points they really were idiotically close.

I just ignored it and continued driving normally, but it was so tempting to pull the handbrake and give him the old 'no-brake-light' surprise just as he booted it.

[WJNB]

Bumbling about in my wifes Jazz & NEVER doing more than 40mph seems to distract some drivers even though I ensure I do all I can to allow them to overtake.

[lunaunderscores]

I've had more people angry at me in my current car than others, mainly because it's quite loud - people seem to associate noise with speed. One lady I overtook after she pulled out on me at a roundabout took great offence to this and ranted and raved at me - not once did I go over the speed limit (the overtake was avoidance)

[Douglas Quaid]

thatjagbloke said:

My one and only ( so far ) incidence of road rage happened several years ago when I was delivering signs to a customer. This was in the summer, in Cornwall so the roads were busy. I pulled off a roundabout into a 30mph speed limit road so drove at that speed only to then have a van suddenly fill up my rear view mirror. Despite oncoming traffic he then attempted an overtake but couldn't get past so had to pull in behind me again. This carried on for the next 5 miles with him continually pulling out then dropping back until I indicated and pulled into the yard of my customer. White van man then pulled in behind me, leaped out of his ( signwritten ) van and threatened to " fking kill me " he was literally frothing at the mouth.
I just calmly stood there while he delivered his tirade, then said I'm sure your employers would like to hear about this shall I phone them ? He then realised he was in danger of loosing his job, so turned around and stomped off back to his van and drove off.
I didn't phone his employer, perhaps I should have done ?

How do you ‘loose’ a job?

[bigdom]

Russian Troll Bot said:

KAgantua said:

bhstewie said:

ST Ford said:

so as a man would you guys have made the same decision or would you have gotten out of the car and dealt with him?

No.

Google Kenneth Noye.

That wasn't road rage ...

Yes it was, the victim was unknown to him and his girlfriend had to assume a new identity. He's also now in an open prison on day release, so might want to be careful who we beep at next time.

It wasn’t, although that’s the story portrayed to the general public.

[TooMany2cvs]

bigdom said:

It wasn’t, although that’s the story portrayed to the general public.

Can you tell us what really happened? Or would you have to kill us afterwards?

[Mandalore]

Bennet said:

Quite a few stories here where people could easily have defused the situation by just letting the psycho pass, when they clearly wanted to pass.

Sadly.
One reason these people are allowed to thrive is because the public deliberately ignore them. This unconscious collusion almost legalises the practice.

Vigilantism is an answe to far, but thinking its someone else’s problem will only make them bolder over time.

[robemcdonald]

Mandalore said:

Bennet said:

Quite a few stories here where people could easily have defused the situation by just letting the psycho pass, when they clearly wanted to pass.

Sadly.
One reason these people are allowed to thrive is because the public deliberately ignore them. This unconscious collusion almost legalises the practice.

Vigilantism is an answe to far, but thinking its someone else’s problem will only make them bolder over time.

Pfftt.

You should have said “The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing”

They could quote it at your funeral after you’ve been stabbed to death by a nutter for confronting them after a road rage incident.

[CS Garth]

A lot of people on here seem to be inbibing the media crap by the gallon. Think how many thousands of "road rage" incidents there must be per day. Then think about how many "road rage stabbings" you hear about.

You are more like to die falling down the stairs then you are being assaulted by a stranger, and that includes all assaults not just road rage

I'm not advocating getting out swinging at every beep but I don't think you have to allow yourself to be cowed by every aggressive little man to avoid being killed......

Edited by CS Garth on Tuesday 24th April 08:19

[robemcdonald]

in life there isn’t simply a choice between being cowed and coming out swinging.
Road rage incidents are caused by an idiot. Road rage incidents where things escalate are when the idiot meets a kindred spirit.
Maybe the statistics say that it’s very unlikely that you would get injured in road rage. What if it went the other way and you used your PH director martial arts skills to seriously injure you would be assailant? That’s almost as bad and would basically drastically change your life as you know it. What for? To prove the other guy was wrong? To save face?
I was on the train into London last week. As usual standing room only. A guy got on who was clearly in a bad mood. Another guy got out of his seat to allow a lady to sit down a bumped into the in a mood. Mr Bad mood turned around and launched into a verbal tirade at mr courtesy. A third party then chips in and explains to Mr bad mood what had happened. Rather than apologise Mr Bad Mood then starts on Mr Third Party. Neither of them want to back down an send up having to be separated.
Mr Bad Mood is a . Everyone knew this. Mr Third party was trying to do the right thing but in the end was also a .
At the time standing up for what’s right might seem like a good idea, but chances are you’re being a idiot and don’t realise it.