Just thought I would remind everyone before the big weekend to take it easy in traffic. You could increase an irrational persons rage because you are driving a better car than they do. So, just avoid it altogether.

I had an episode last night. I was heading home from the grocery store and wanted to pass an RV. There were two lanes on this road, and the traffic in front of me did not appear to want to get in front of the RV in the right lane, so I put my turn signal on and changed lanes. I speed up a bit to give more room behind me to the RV. Just before I completed the lane change the pickup in front of me put on his turn signal. But I felt it was too late, I was already occupying the lane. Additionally, there was not room in front of me for another car and I would have had to be rude to the RV driver and the cars now behind him to let this guy in. So I kept up a good pace, until traffic cleared in front of me to allow the guy to pass. He started yelling names at me, so I flipped him off and returned the taunt. I know, not a good idea but I don’t like how people think they can just intimidate people. I figured it was over at this point, but he just kept it up. I went to turn in to my neighborhood and he must have seen my turn signal, he cut off the guy in front of me really bad and got into the turn lane. I was thinking great, a jerk lives in my neighborhood. Actually he was trying to get into a fight with me , and there is no way I’m going to punch someone over a couple of miles an hour. I just went around him, and he started following me. I made a couple of truns towards my home and he kept following yelling and screaming at me. I decided it was not a good idea to let him know I actually lived there and just went around a traffic circle and called 911. Obviously he had done this before, he knew that I was calling 911. I went back to the main road and was trying to talk to the 911 operator to get a sheriff out to get this guy to calm down. The 911 operator tried to argue with me saying I was not in the county I had indicated. So this gave the guy a chance to get in front of me and try and block the road, he jumped out and started to approach my vett. I told the operator that I was not arguing what county I was in, but I do know where I pay my property taxes, and that I just wanted a LEO to talk to this guy. Anyway, I went around the guy and speed up a little, it took him a few seconds to get back in his car and follow me again. He did the same thing at the next two stop lights, tried to block me and got out of his vehicle. I was trying to talk to someone at 911 to get a LEO on the scene to get this guy, he obviously has done this before and it is a matter of time before he hurts someone or causes a crash. But, after it was apparent that no LEO was going to become available , that is after almost 20 minutes of this guy weaving in and out of traffic and screeching tires. I decided to find a stretch of road where there was no traffic where I could show the guy what a vett could do and loose him. Up to this point I had been trying to not go more than 10 over the speed limit and tried to stay away from other traffic. That is I wanted this guy to explain himself to a LEO and for the LEO to find out if this guy was drunk, impaired or wanted. Anyway, I dropped it into first and floored and then hit second, topped a hill, took a couple of turns (with active handling complaining) and then went to a shopping center to wait for a LEO. The dispatcher ended the phone call before a LEO showed up and kind of indicated I needed to file a report with the LEO when the arrived. The LEO took my name and the guys plate number, but said no paper work was needed. They joked with me why I didn't just leave the guy in the dust and that he was just over the top because I was driving a Vett.

Anyway, just because you are right(and I may not have been) doesn’t make the other guy less drunk, high, or just a jerk that needs to spend some time behind bars. Traffic altercations, even where there is property damage or injury, is absolutely no reason for feeding someone’s rage.

I'm not trying to bash LEOs here, just a little amazed that I couldn't get help when I needed it.

End rant

Everyone have a safe and fun 4th

 

I think your thread is mislabled. Should read: Road Rage Targets Guy Who Flipped Somebody Off.

As calm a person as I am, (really) it makes my blood boil when somebody flips me off. Doing that is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Looks like you expected the "bull" to just stand there and not react.

Do you really think he'd have done all that had you not flipped him off?

 

Most likely...

 

flipping the guy off was just adding fuel to the fire.

Don't blast LEO's for what the dispatcher was doing, which was her job. The officer can't respond until they get the call and they won't get it until the dispatcher receiving the call enters it in the computer and another dispatcher broadcasts to the officer.

Unfortunately calling 911 on a cellphone is not as good as from a fixed phone site, you may have gotten to the wrong jurisdiction based on where the cell site was located and to which department the call was forwarded.

 

The guy was looking for a fight and he found you , he still would have challenged you...

I had a similar situation happen to me about 5 years ago , a guy was trying to make a right turn onto a highway entrance ramp from the middle lane of a three lane local road. I was already in the right turning lane, he had stopped traffic in the middle lane to squeeze over. I didn't even see him and ignored him ( without letting him over). He came up on my right of the single lane ramp and ran me off the road into a guard rail, stopped about 200 feet in front of me , yelled something and took off. He was driving a White Caravan , I was in a Geo Storm. The impact disabled my car so I couldn't follow to get his plate.
NY state trooper on the scene implied I had lost control of my car,,,, until I showed him the white paint on my right front fender.

Be careful out there, lots of nuts...

 

I don't flip off anyone I don't know . You never can tell who you're dealing with...as you founds out. You got lucky, you didn't get shot at.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

 

Your in a nice Vette and you flip the guy off! .... Bad Idea!

I did that once a couple years ago. I was in a bad mood after work, and
the guy was a jerk driver. But I felt so bad for doing it, I will NEVER do
that again reguardless the situation!!!

 

I agree I should have just not responded, but not sure if that would have mattered.

I just wanted to remind everyone of that with the big weekend coming up.

 

I flipped a guy off in LA in 1976 on a freeway on ramp (before road rage was all the rage!) and about a mile down the road he roared by me and took a shot at me! Luckily it didn't hit me but I don't do that anymore. Be patient and live to drive again!

 

I flipped a guy off once that was tailgating me. He proceded to damn near run me into the weeds. This is while traveling 65 MPH on I-94. It was a long time ago. I learned from that experience. Let them pass, or, if in the Vette, lose em. Besides, I assume that anyone crazy enough to want to fight you probably has a gun somewhere in their vehicle.

 

 

you should have run better, and sooner. i'm a little embarassed, as a vette owner, that you couln't shake a pick up truck any faster than that.


do us all a favor and never mention that story again...

 

I wasn't blasting LEOs, sorry if anyone felt that was true. There could have been any number of reasons, such as more important emergencies, that could have slowed or prevented the response. I understand, and understand that help is not instantly available. We all live in an imperfect world, and this area is a just a mess in regards to boundaries. Two different cities did land grabs in a different county for taxes and now its very confusing even for the people who live around there. But, this was someone who appeared to me to be irrational and a danger to other people, not so much myself. I would have taken this 'event' in any direction to find any available LEO in any of the districts. I specifically asked for a LEO for the district I was in, and that I intended to continue to be in. And, I tried to avoid the districts that are understaffed. It was just too bad that I could not find a LEO before I judged that there was just too much risk to others to continue trying to find a LEO. The LEOs could have been dealing with much more dangerous person, and thats great. They have a thankless job. I just hope that this guy gets to have a talk with a LEO before harming anyone or causing property damage.

LEO bashing this was not intended to be.

I was only intending to remind people to not do stupid things , they could be magnified because they are in a Vett. This probably would not have happened if I was in my pickup truck, he probably would not have started the exchange and I would not have responded. And, yes I stated it a coulpe of time that it was not a good idea and I shouldn't have responed in the first place.

 

I don't know, there must be a full moon or something because I have seen more pathetic driving in the last couple of days. I wouldn't flip anyone off, been there done that and with not very pleasing results as you found out. I would agree though, that this guy probably would have done what he did regardless of flipping the bird or not.

Be carefull out there, plenty of crazy $**t going on without adding to it.

 

This old lady about 90 years old was creaping at about 30 mph and I went around her and flipped her off. She pulled up beside me and told me to pull that blankie blank vett over so I did. She got out I got out and she broke my nose in three places and knocked two teeth out. Moral of story dont flipp off old ladies over 90.

 

I don't think that story had anything to do with being in a vette. Wrong place, wrong time, bad move. I ignore everyone as much as possible these days. I'm just outside of Washington, D.C. People die because they want the tennis shoes you have on.

 

My thoughts, exactly.

 

You need a gym membership!

 

There are nuts everywhere. Something similar happened to me during my wedding of all places!

It was about a 30 minute drive between where our wedding took place and where the reception was beign held. We had rented a 1956 Bently for my wife and myself and a couple of limos for the rest of the wedding party (12 people). While a beautiful machine, the Bently was a tad long in the tooth and the driver wouldn't do much over 50 MPH.

We're on this two lane road with not a lot of places to pass. After about 20 minutes the road opens up and these two yahoos in a pickup truck passes all 3 cars all the time waving, honking the horn and flipping us off. We think nothing of it and continue on.

About a mile down the road, the pickup is parked in the middle of our lane and thes two yahoos are out the vehicle waving and yelling at us. the wife and I are rather concerned as oncoming traffic won't let us pass and we have to come to a stop. Thankfully, two members of my wedding party were LEOs who quickly got the situation under control.

It seems that too much Budweiser and cocaine made these fellas both impatient and beligerent. After only a minor delay the rest of hte day turned out wonderfully, but you just never know who or what you're going to run into out there.

Stay safe this weekend folks.