This past Sunday my wife and I went out for brunch and were headed for an afternoon movie. I am on Hwy 27 by Winter Haven Fl. It is a 6 lane divided road with a 60mph speed limit. I usually do 65 but there was traffic and I was in the far right lane...the slow lane..doing 58 because of cars in front of me. I glance in my rear view and see a jacked up silver Tahoe about a half car length off my tail flashing his lights. I say WTF is this guy's problem and my wife looks back and says his arm is out the window waving me out of his way. After about 15-20 seconds of this I give him a quick brake check. He immediately flies around me and cuts in about a car length in front of me. I did flip him and his female passenger off as they passed. I was ready for him to return the favor but he actually stopped in front of me angled about 15-20 degrees right. Corvettes have great brakes so I easily stopped about 10 feet away. My wife is saying "don't do anything...please just go". I actually could not proceed unless I wanted to go onto the shoulder on the right. There was traffic coming in all lanes. I am waiting for this guy to do something....like move or get out and come back to me but he just sat there. I will be 64 this month and am a big guy but have some disabilities due to surviving a head on 65mph crash on 11/11/11. I own a gun shop, always carry a gun and am good with it. I don't take s%&t from nobody and try not to give any but neither do I want to ruin my life over having to cap some douche bag with road rage. After a good 20-30 seconds he pulled across onto the shoulder....apparently wanting me to do the same. I really did want to know what the heck his problem was but at my wife's insistence I nailed it and left him in the dust. About two miles down the road I caught a red light in the left lane. He pulled up a car length back in the center lane. I was keeping an eye on him but when the light changed his lane moved faster and he passed me without further incident. Took awhile for my blood pressure to come down but I still don't understand why he was tail gating and flashing me when I was in the slow lane doing close to the speed limit. Seems pretty foolish to start something like that as you don't know who you are f#@%*^g with and how far they will take it. Had I been alone it might have went down differently...don't know for sure. The stupidity of people on the road never ceases to amaze me as did the second term election of BHO. Just curious as to what some of you think and what you would have done. Was the brake check wrong?

 

Maybe he was wanting to flag you down to say "Nice car" and to look at it!

 

You did nothing wrong,as a matter of fact, your cool head saved his life.

Last weekend while down in NC. my buddy got cut off by some asshat, he almost pulled his .45 out, he told me "that guy has no idea I just saved his life, in my younger days it would have been a different story"

 

I have had 2 instances when people that were not same color as me try to wave me over. I just wave and look away. Have no clue what they wanted or cared.

 

Were I a Judge or Mediator, which I am neither, I would assign 80%/20% blame. 80% to the Tahoe driver for instigating a pointless and stupid traffic incident and 20% to you for the brake check and flipping them off. Why he was flashing & tailgating you, in the right lane, was just a d***head being a d***head. There is no explanation for actions like that. However, when you "brake checked" him, you escalated the situation, making an already unstable driver more enraged.

I know everything I just wrote is purely speculation, but as I get older I find I want less to do with (the Tahoe's) type of driver. I just want to get away from this type of driver as quickly and quietly as possible.

I am glad this situation ended as it did with no harm done to you or your wife.

 

IMHO! Your buddy is a perfect example of someone that should NOT be carrying a gun. Hence; it's the reason the OBAMANATION wants more gun control. If you let some other driver prompt you like that then you have no self discipline.

 

Anything is possible but I doubt that. I have had people pull up alongside and roll down a window to give a thumbs up or mouth 'nice car'

 

Yes, but I might have been tempted, myself.

And paragraphs are your friend.

 

I guess that I am a coward. I would have pulled onto the shoulder and let him go by. He apparently was not in an emergency situation.......he pulled over and tried to confront you........but, in any event, I always expect the crazies out there.

Here in Tucson (Oro Valley actually) we have some crazies passing through on Oracle Road (AZ 77) but most of us are just slow or unaware OLD

 

Just want to clarify something. As a strong supporter of the second amendment I advocate the right to carry a firearm for self defense and I fully understand and accept the responsibility that entails. I also have a clear grasp of the consequences that can be unleashed by the use of a firearm...even if it is justified. Most incidents of road rage involving guns are not justified if the person is in a functioning vehicle and can get away from the problem. You can call 911 and or drive to a police station. If your vehicle is immobilized and someone comes at you then that is a different story but you had better be able to convince a Judge or jury that you had no other choice and you feared for your life. When I made the statement about carrying a gun it was not macho swagger. I hope to never use it to take a life but if mine or my wife's life was threatened then I would not hesitate. Police officers are great people but they usually show up after the fact to gather evidence and write reports. Sometimes they even catch a bad guy. They cannot guarantee your personal safety. Only you can do that.

 

Mike, 40 years ago, you could have flipped him the bird, and screamed,...."and that goes for the skank sitting next to ya", and in the worst case scenario, one, or both of you, would end up with a black eye.
Today, it is very foolish to even respond, because today, the worst case scenario becomes a bullet in your head, the next time he passes you.
I've learned to put all that macho chit aside as soon as I get in my car.
Some jackass wants to pass, even though I'm doing 10 mph over the speed limit, let him, give him the whole road.
Like you said, these days you never know what kind of a psycho you're dealing with.
You should live by your own analysis. What goes through the mind of a person that would vote for BHO twice???
There's a 54% chance that's the mentality you're dealing with on the road.

I couldn't have said it better Jim!

 

I agree and disagree...........it's more than a simple convincing in a court of law. Your issue developed because you instigated it. Hypothetically; how would you explain that to a judge or jury?

I'm a former military (combatant) and post LEO tenure. There is always a better decision to make and each choice (no matter how small) has it's own consequences. I support the 2nd also.

 

An instigative driver is pretty low on the give a crap level these days, good lord.

You alienate yourself with the political comments. Did you happen to see who BHO's main competitor was 2nd term?

Mentioning your guns and tough stuff on a public car forum while going political and doubting your own self control etc etc. Ya, please turn in your CHL. Thanks.

 

You did the right thing. Remember he knew what he was going to do, and you didn't. For your own, and your wife's safety it's best to leave those type situations alone.

 

if your in the slow lane then he gets the total blame for being an a$$hole. the law states, "keep right pass left." keep in mind you can not pull any weapon unless he gets physical and you feel your life is threatened. sad, but that is the law. i would have stayed my course without the braking and the finger gesture. sooner or later the lame brain would have figured it out.

 

I did what I did to get him off my ***. I posted this assuming I'd get flamed by a few like you. I had no intention of stopping or pulling over to confront him. He forced me to stop in the middle of the road. I did not exit my car but waited to see what his intentions were and left when given the opportunity. I have excellent self control as I have NOT shot a boat load of a**holes who deserved it in my sixty four years. So I will keep my cwp thank you very much.

As to who ran against BHO for second term, we would have been better off with almost anybody on the gop ticket in the white house instead of what we got

 

easier said than done because that type of driver is everywhere and anywhere you go. i used to think they all came from NYC. only 80 % of them do.

 

Is this true with the OP's location in Florida?

As a former LEO, I don't recall that law on our state statutes. We have highway markings that require BIG trucks to use right lanes and we have passing zones on some roadways (steep inclines for example). No such laws though, just general courtesy.

However...........we do have laws for following too close and impeding the flow of traffic.

 

"There is always a better decision to make and each choice (no matter how small) has it's own consequences." You are 100% correct about that Sir.
For those who say I instigated this you are wrong. He did that by driving in a dangerous, aggressive and illegal manor. You might be right to say that I caused it to escalate but I did not instigate. I was in the 'slow' lane minding my own business.

 

sorry, I'm talking about states in this country.