Hi, okay actual thing that happened to me today. What would you have done in this situation. So I had stepped out of my office to get some lunch. It was 1:10pm and I had an pretty important meeting at 1:30pm and I'm on my way back. Coming out of the parking lot, I had a stop sign so had stopped, saw that there was no oncoming vehicle & proceeded to turn right. Out of nowhere (I think he came out of a lane on the other side of the street), a college kid turns left into the lot and almost brushed my car. He yelled some profanity and eyeballed me. Now usually, I would have just ignored him and proceeded on my way, but for some reason I flipped him off. Now, I'm a pretty peace-loving person and I normally never do such a thing - perhaps I was under stress. Anyway, this guy then follows me and at the next intersection he pulled up behind me. He steps out, bangs on my window and tries to yank my door. I ignore him and the light changes so I speed off. I felt pretty angry & humiliated at the moment but I haven't had time to think about it until now, but:
A. I was unarmed and this guy was at least twice my size.
B. Technically speaking he possibly had the right of way in the previous situation but he was speeding otherwise I would have seen him coming.
C. I, contrary to my better judgement, did challenge him thru a hand gesture when he first showed aggression.
D. I had a meeting I could not miss coming up in about 15 min.
E. And most importantly, I felt that it was my duty to withdraw from a physical confrontation.
I probably would have stayed & waited till a LEO arrived under other circumstances. Did I do the right thing ? And yes, I feel like moving out of this state when I finish grad school with every passing day. I have never bothered applying for a CCW since the chances of getting one are pretty slim. I plan to keep a pepper spray or something non-lethal in my glove box from now on. Now I know some of you might say, your state sucks, you are a coward and I would have smoked the mother in my state, but rationally & logically speaking, under these circumstances, what would you have done ?
Also, hypothetically speaking, if I were carrying, CA law allows use of lethal force only when facing imminent serious bodily harm or lethal force.
Personally I would have avoided the confrontation as you did, Sometimes it isn't worth the effort to make a point to someone that wouldn't get it anyway. All you lost was a little bit of pride, and remember, Pride goeth befor the fall.
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"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." Benjamin Franklin
You did the right thing (well after you flipped him off). Could have probably lived without that, but it is hard to make a judgment on that without being there.
People are crazy now days (especially in your state). You never know-he could have been armed. I know some will disagree with me. But, here is my outlook - how could you have won the fight?
A. You step out of the car and totally kick his @ss - then you end up in jail and he sues you.
B. You step out and get you butt kicked - then you end up in jail anyway (well after you get out of the hospital)
C. You step out - he shoots you!
D. You step out and get run over by a passing car before he can kick your butt!
E. Even if you were armed, you couldn't shoot someone for banging on your window while threatening to kick your butt. Unless you were in fear for your life (i.e. believe he is armed). Shoot him - life in jail. While there you would meet much worse than him!
F. You drive on - and remember exactly what he and his car looks like! Good things come to those who wait! You may see him again one day under different circumstances. Not likely, but possible. (RIGHT Choice)
Good call. Don't feel bad about doing the right thing!
I have to add, I have a good friend that was on the other end of the deal. When he got out of the car to yell at the other guy and said Do you know how stupid you are? to which the guy said, Yes. My buddy just looked at him then started laughing. He apologized for being a jerk and walked back to his car. Mind you, my buddy is in his sixties, is about 5 feet 6 and might weigh 140 wet.
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"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." Benjamin Franklin
This guy was pretty aggressive to start with and definitely meant me harm - I would have loved to see LE slap his butt on the ground. Okay, alternative scenario, if I was not in a hurry & I had called the cops - would he be charged ? My hand gesture would have counted against me ?
Personally, I probably would've just considered the incident a bad one that didn't get out of hand and go on about life.
Yeah, in hind sight, it could have been handled slightly more diplomatic (like givng the idjet only half a finger...just kidding, of course) but seeing you were defenseless and in a potentially explosive situation 'walking off' was probably the wisest choice.
In Arizona the guy committed three felony acts (felony attempted assault, felony attempted car jacking (I realize that is stretching it but ya have to stack the charges) and felony road rage just for starters) and, considering your circumstances, at most I would have recommended getting the license plate and call it in. But that might not have been possible in this incident.
Sometimes 'picking your battles' means waiting until the odds are in your favor and in your case they were not.
Even if you had been armed and confronted the fool then likely you would have to answer for that even if you had been in the right.
Even the display of lethal force is often met with some pretty mind blowing legal questions, interrogations and other legal hurdles.
Don't get me wrong if you ever feel your life is in imminent danger or threat of severe injury or death you gotta do what you gotta do.
Knowing that people like this fool you saluted and told he was number uno are becoming more and more common place and I'd just let this be a lesson learned.
Also, unless there are employer or legal issues prohibiting it I would consider carrying while in your vehicle.
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"It confuses me how some people can vigorously go against the 2nd. Amendment and still call themselves patriotic"-me
Also, unless there are employer or legal issues prohibiting it I would consider carrying while in your vehicle.
I wish so too. CCW is practically impossible here in many counties and self defense is not a valid reason. An attempt has to be made on your life among other things. Also includes an exam from the police shrink and $500. The Feinkenstein and such people are exempt from that of course. Anyone volunteer to shoot me in the foot with a 22 short ? Oops, shouldn't have said that
Anyway, should teach me to not lose my cool no matter what anyone does
I forgot about the PRK gun laws and where the thugs can carry but not a law abiding subject, err.....citizen........no....I had it right the first time....subject. :nod:
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"It confuses me how some people can vigorously go against the 2nd. Amendment and still call themselves patriotic"-me
you handled the situation very well. frankly, the guy was a douche, and you were right to flip him off, don't feel wounded, because the fact that he actually followed you to challenge you meant his pride was hurt far worse. by denying him the satisfaction of confrontation you hurt his pride that much more.
in short, he's a jackhole, and you shouldn't beat yourself up about it.
something happened like this to me down in florida. i was on my way home with a chicken sandwich from Wendy's on my Slovenian Moped, and stopped at the intersection close to my house. it was a four-way intersection, and i was turning left. there was a large truck on the ooncoming side who was also going to make a left. the light was green, so i carefully moved into the center of the intersection, although i really couldn't see anything behind the truck, i saw no oncoming traffic down the road. so i proceded.
out of nowhere this giant Urban tank filled with gaggling colledge girls comes barreling down. they slowed down, and thankfully my crappy brakes did their job, but just as they passed me, the driver shouted at me "what are you, blind?"
yeah, she almost runs me over, and has the audacity to insult me.
i'm kinda glad i don't live there anymore, the drivers are f---ing crazy.
Yeah, I agree with the rest of the fellas, you did the right thing. Sounds like things coulda gone south real quick if you hadn't got outa Dodge like you did.
gunssb - Mostly you did the right things. The middle finger salute can, in many cities in our beautiful state, bring a charge of Assault, as could any type of verbal challenge.
The simple blinking of your headlights at a car that has its high beams on, or no lights on, can bring a charge of Assault, because many LEO's consider it an aggressive challenge (that is also how it is viewed in their policy). This came about because some gangbangers here in California had made threats to drive at night with their lights off, or on high beam, and they were going to shoot anyone who blinked their lights at them. THIS IS A LIBERAL ATTACK ON THE MAJORITY! The inmates are making the rules!
kids today think they can get away with anything. Although I'm not that old myself, my dad was hard on us & I'd get my !!! handed out to me if I did anything stupid. When I went off to college he told me you get arrested for anything or any such crap, don't call me, you're on your own.
One split second of bad judgement can change your life forever. You did the right thing....avoid any kind of altercation. Call the plate number in and let them be advised. Lady Di
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IF IT DOESN'T GET HOT..IT DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH FIREPOWER....DBL TAPP IS NOT DANCING..
Prevent Escalation
If you are looking for protection from the road rage of others, your best protection is to:
Stay in the car
Do not respond with an angry gesture or action
Keep a "SORRY" sign in the car and use it when needed
Make a "SORRY" Sign
According to a regional survey conducted by Drs. Arnold P. Nerenberg and R. Jerry Adams, over half of drivers in the USA suffer from road rage. The average number of incidents per road rager is 27. That means that most of us will encounter road ragers many times in our lives. Road rage can lead to injuries or even death. The U.S. Highway Safety Office has testified to Congress that tens of thousands of accidents each year can be linked directly to aggressive driving, including road rage, and is now a leading cause of death for young children.
A road rager can become upset because you accidentally cut in front of him or her, or other reasons that were not intentional. A key factor in reversing the process is an apology. Over 85 percent of road ragers said that they would drop the matter if the other "careless" driver simply apologized. Instead, road ragers claim, the "careless" driver seems to be unconcerned about what they just did and, therefore, needs to be taught a lesson.
In a car, only one method is effective in conveying an apology: A sign. We have found that it is very effective in warding off anger. In fact, many drivers actually smile when we raise a "SORRY" sign to them after we have accidentally done something wrong. We keep a "SORRY" sign in the map holder on the driver's door and the passenger's door. It could also be kept under the sun visor if it is fastened with a clip or rubber band so that it doesn't hit you in the face when the visor comes down.
How to Make a "SORRY" Sign
The lettering should be thick, such as "arial rounded bold," and about two inches high. The lettering should be black and the background should be white. If you print it on regular paper, then you can have it laminated at a small business service center, such as Kinko's. Before laminating, cut the paper so that the sign has a border of 3/8 inch around the word "SORRY." Have the sign laminated with a 1/4 inch border of plastic extending beyond the paper; be sure to round the edges of the four corners of plastic so that the corners will not be pointed. Use the heaviest lamination available, a "10" weight, if possible. The completed sign should be approximately 9" wide by 3 1/2" high, including the 1/4" lamination around the edge. A sample graphic is available by clicking Here. (Print it in landscape size and then cut and place four on a page for copying in portrait size.)
what would you have done ? 
