Jill

I was in Raleigh NC for the first time about a month ago. I was coming back to Raleigh from a day of touring around Duke over in Durham. On I40 (I think that is the highway) there was a merge and the left lane disappeared. Well since I had never driven that stretch before I got caught in left lane and nobody in right would let me in. I sat with right blinker on for about 3 minutes. Finally I determined that I was not going to get out of there. The shoulder was free up ahead and I saw a gap in traffic that was about 4 car lengths long (so it was rather big). I decided to just jump in their as I figured that would be an option to get out of my predicament. Well as soon as I did that a pick up truck pulled onto the shoulder and tried to block me from passing. He almost hit me when he swerved in front of me and I barely passed him. Well once in the lane this guy gets on my bumper. Well I figured that he was angry so I decided to remove myself from a potentially bad situation and moved over to the next lane. Well he did the same and got even closer. For about the next 5 minutes he stayed on my bumper. I decided that I had enough and would let this person just pass and go on their way. I decided that I would take the next exit. At the next exit I exited and he followed.
Well I was getting scared so I tried to maneuver my car and make a quick turn.
I then got on the highway and he followed me. He then decided to get in front of me and slammed on his brakes. Well thank God the next lane was open. I swerved and he then tried to get back behind me. I then decided to take a big chance so I pulled over to the shoulder and he pulled in front of me and got out of his truck. When he got out of his truck I then got back on the freeway with "the pedal to the medal". I finally lost him. It seemed no matter what I did I could not lose him. Has anyone had an experience like that? If so what did you do that was helpful?

Donald

I have not experienced road rage personally but I see it a lot. It is a good thing you were allright. You never know who might have a gun. Kind of also makes you wonder if owning a Porsche would not be such a bad idea
Interesting story. I always carry my cell phone so I would have called 911 but I do not know if that would have helped.

Scary

Sounds like one of Spielberg's first movies, Duel.

Freaky.....

Nick

Metal. Pedal to the metal. (unless you had a Congressional Medal of Honor or a Purple Heart rolling around on the floor.)

Jill

sorry typo...

Gigi

I would do the same things as you. But I think if it continued I would call 911. I would also honk my horn constantly to try and get other drivers attention.

badkittym

Sounds like what you went through was possibly less road rage, than a potentially WORSE situation - woman, driving alone; gets vehicularly stalked then pulled over...you did the right thing by boning out.

Sometimes the way we drive gives predators ideas - if it were even slightly obvious that you didn't know your way around, it would mark you as a potential target, to be further checked out.
(sigh)

There are no perfect answers - sometimes it simply doesn't matter what we do, or do not do when confronted with someone who decides to turn a minor occurance into a potentially deadly situation. Sounds like you trusted your instincts and acted upon it, which was the best possible thing to do.

Glad you're okay.
-M

Candace

I live in Dallas and see it at least once a week. Coming home the other day I saw on LBJ Freeway an Excursion cut off one of those new Minis. The Mini almost had a major wreck. Later I caught up to the Excursion and it was a lady on her cell phone. I do not think that she was paying attention.

susan

Some times the opposite works, slow down. Really slow. That attracts more attention to you and the person has to pass or go really slow. And always call 911, whether it looks that serious or not.

kam

In California shrugg your shoulders and get into a slower lane. If that doesn't work, get on the cell phone. Even if you don't have one, fake it. Do not make eye contact or do anything that seems aggressive. Never engage, especially if you're a woman! OH--if you get off the freeway, drive directly to the nearest gas station and lay on your horn. Don't get out of the car and get the other license plate.

sally

Absolutely never pull over to the side of the highway even if it's a "police car" that is signally you. Slow down, put your emergency flashers on and exit at the next exit to a gas station. Do not get out of the car, honk the horn continuously and call 911 to verify that it is an actual policeman behind you. There is a current scam in LA where junker cars drive in the fast lane and then slam on their brakes hoping you will hit them and be responsible for the damages. The police are aware. If you have such an accident, do not leave your car and call 911 or make a hell of a lot of noise with your horm and blinkers so someone else notices your distress. There are still more nice people out there than devils.

Ann

Something similar happened to me a few years ago, although it wasn't road rage, just a disconcerting experience.

Some guy in a construction van, the kind with no windows, pulled up to me and started pacing me on the freeway. I looked over and noticed he was looking in my direction. He was a little creepy so I sped up, then slowed down, thinking we were just coincidentally driving at the same speed. But, he changed his speed to keep up with me, eventually following me off the freeway. Not wanting him to know where I was going, I decided to keep driving until I lost him. Fortunately for me, the exit I chose had a California Highway Patrol station nearby and when I noticed it, I immediately swerved to pull in. I pulled into a handicapped spot and kept the car running. The guy circled the lot once, then drove off. I don't know if he got his kicks scaring people or what, but the experience definitely shook me up.

Now I notice that a lot of the freeway signs indicate CHP offices at the next exit. In a road rage situation, I would try to get to one of those. Barring that, I would say, don't get out of the car, don't manuever your car into any location where you have no way to exit. There are some crazy people out there, and you can't always trust that a good samaritan is going to come by to help you.

Patrick

In Florida we have a law that says you can turn right on red after a stop. This is usually interpreted as "just keep going to the right and don't bother to slow down." So I am always annoyed when people honk at me because I actually come to a stop before turning right on a red light. And sometimes the intersection will have a large sign that says "no turns on red". One day as I pulled up to one of those latter ones and clearly had my right turn signal on, a guy pulls up behind me and proceeds to lay on the horn. I turned around and he was gesturing madly for me to go ahead and turn right. He wouldn't stop honking. So I put the car into park, waited for the light to turn green, then got out and walked back to him. "I'm sorry." I said. "I guess I'm misinterpreting that sign up there. You must be a much more experienced driver than I am. Could you possibly read it and explain it to me?" He turned beet red as he read the sign. I returned to the car just in time to go through the green light before it turned red again, leaving him for another long cycle. All day long I kept thinking how stupid I was. This guy could have had a gun, or run me down in a minute.

sally

Yes,Patrick, that was indeed foolish as I'm sure you know. That guy could have been anywhere in his head and to challenge him is not wise. It scares me to think you would get out of your car, because as a woman, I lock all doors and would never get out of the car unless I knew I was safe. Too many crazies out on the roads. I'm glad it all turned out OK, but don't do it again, OK?

Chris

I read about an interesting little trick I've used only once.
If someone is following you too closely on the highway, start squirting your washer fluid.
The excess flies back over your car and sprays their windshield.

Kind of like saying "gotcha", or you can think of it as your car spitting on his/her car.
Gotta choose carefully though.
Gun toting thugs may simply open fire.

Woman

Jill is the one who should have a gun - and the training to use it. Think about it Jill - and you too Donald. They can be used for protection too - not just evil.

Jason

My favorite thing to do when people tailgate me is to let them get close and slam on my breaks. It helps that I have a big SUV. I love it. The best is when minivan moms drive with a cell phone while knitting a sweater for one of her 7 kids, she's swerving left and right trying to feed the little one some chicken nuggets with sweet-and-sour sauce, that's when I call 911.

Lynn

Jason, there's a better way, though this one only works during daylight hours. When someone tailgates you, just turn on your headlights. The tailgater THINKS you've hit your brakes because your tail lights came on, and hits his or her brakes to avoid rear-ending you. Meanwhile, you haven't reduced your speed at all and there's no real danger of a collision. Of course the idiot will realize in a few seconds that it was a trick, but in the meantime you've put some distance between him and you and PERHAPS taught him a lesson.

As Chris said, there are gun-toting thugs everywhere, and I guess this (or any other action you take) could have some serious consequences. But I still think it beats the advice given by others to carry a gun and engage in a shoot-out on a highway. Just my two cents' worth.

jackass

too bad you didn't run him over.

Jason

Virginia Police in several counties are having an aggressive driver crack down.