Posted this in zcar.com...

[naviathan]

And of course got reemed because somehow this is my fault, but what do you think? Now something I didn't mention immediately over there was yes I passed this guy half a mile before he started riding me. He was tailgating someone else in the left lane at that time and I easily went around in the right lane. Somehow passing this guy while he's tailgating others is his trigger because that's where it all started.

Last night heading home from evening services at church a black Dodge Dakota comes flying up behind me on the highway. This guy had to be about 2 feet from my bumper. This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I hate tailgaters. Trying to warn the guy I tap the brakes. He stays on top of me so hit them a little harder. The guy slams on his brakes then stops on the gas gets even closer. There's no one around so he could have passed me. Of course now I'm pissed. This guy is close enough I can't see his headlights in my review. I start down shifting, he slams on the brakes and STAYS behind me. Finally after slowing down to almost 35 he pulls into the other lane to pass me. I hit it in 3rd and pulled well ahead and caught up with the rest of the traffic in front. Hoping I finally got rid of this guy I pull in the right lane and just cruise with everyone else. Out of nowhere he comes flying up behind me again, pulls onto the shoulder in the grass pulls up beside me and pulls into the lane forcing his way between me and the car in front of me then slams on his brakes in the middle of the highway. This guys insane. I pulled back and stayed about 8 car lengths off as the guy pulls out in front of everyone after almost running two other cars off the road. He's still playing games at this point. He's lane dancing with no cars around him, splitting lanes then slams on the brakes and heads off on a side road.

Of course during all this I have the wife call the cops and report it. They said they would dispatch a State Trooper. Never saw him. So out of curiosity I pull off at the next exit. I figured I knew where the guy was going so I back tracked to the two trailer parks off the exit he took. Sure enough I found his crappy little trailer with the truck parked and him and his buddies on the front porch. We call the cops back and they say there's nothing they can do because it's my word against his. This guy could have seriously killed someone and they don't care. We had plates numbers and an address and it didn't matter. Just for grins I slowly pulled by the guys place making sure he could see me. As soon as he spotted the ZX he said something to the guy beside him who ran back in the house while he backed up on the porch and watched us leave the trailer park. Some people need to be shot.

Now something I didn't mention was yes I passed this guy half a mile before he started riding me. He was tailgating someone else in the left lane at that time and I easily went around in the right lane. Somehow passing this guy while he's tailgating others is his trigger because that's where it all started.

[whew41]

Sorry to hear about your road rage. I thought that stuff only happened up north or maybe he was a transplant. I am glad you and your family are ok.

Jim

Fayetteville, NC

[naviathan]

Thanks for the responce. I was begining to think it was just me, but somehow on zcar.com I'm the bad guy in this scenario and I caused the whole thing.

[Alex 240Z]

My advice is at all costs stay away from drivers like that !!!! Do not fall into to their games they can become deadly !!! I know it is hard to do that but it could definitly save your life !!! I not saying you are at fault but hitting your brakes was not the smartest thing to do, walking away from confrontations like this is the best and safest. It is best to check your ego and arrive home alive and your Z in one piece !!!!!!!!!!!

[Fun_in_my_z]

Its not that the cops dont care, nothing is admissable in court withou evadence. He didnt hit you so what can you prove?

[hls30.com]

The biggest mistake you made was not pulling off the road immediately-by allowing this morons challenge to keep you on the road you only lengthened the time you and your wife were at the mercy of his insanity. His actions made responsability to get you and yours out of that situation yours. What he did was insane, but how did your actions difuse the situation and limit your risk? As soon as he didn't take your hint of tapping the brakes, you should have taken a course of action to get you and yours out of harms way by turning on the blinker and pulling off the road. It is kind of hard to have a wreck between parked cars. A fist fight can't normally become four tons of sheet metal with several severly hurt people trapped inside. No violation of a petpeeve, pride, game or anger is worth the loss of anyone.

I am in no way saying that the other driver was not the instigator, but you did step up to his challenge, not step out of it, or, move it to a venue where you, your wife, and the moron were not ALL at risk.

None of this is to beat you up, it is simply to ask if giving control of the situation and having so much faith in a just proven irrational morons judgement and driving ability as to put you and your wife at risk sound like a rational decisions to you.

Will

[Pir0San]

On one hand it could be your fault, since it seems like you provoked the situation a little bit, but we all do when faced with what happened. The guys on Zcar.com seem to be just a little high and mighty for their own good; I've gone on the forum to ask people their opinion on an accident I was in with the Z, and every single one of the people who posted said that it was 100% my fault. When the insurance agency reviewed the case, and the other driver admitted fault to the accident, they immediately replied that I was a cheating bastard and should admit fault to an accident that I had not caused. Needless to say, I stay away from Zcar.com.

I was in a pretty bad situation with road rage, a little less than a year ago. I was on the main road right down the street from my house, driving my truck, and I came up to a four way stop. I got to the stop sign just a second before this red mercury did (he was coming off of a side street and was at my right). And he seemed to be a little impatient, so I did a quick pause at the stop sign and kept going (I did a quick stop, but I did stop). As I'm going through the intersection, the mercury pulls up on the right side of my truck like he is going to hit me. I'm in the car with my girlfriend, so I'm in no hurry to start a confrontation, so I just keep driving, ignoring the guy. He slams on his brakes, falls behind me, and then passes me on the right going about 40 (speed limit is 30). He pulls right in front of me at the light, locks up his brakes, and slides to a halt. I stop about six car lengths behind him, and just keep my head down, but enough to be able to see the guy and what he was going to do. He leans out of his car and turns around, and starts yelling at me about how I'm an idiot, and that I shouldn't have ran the stop sign, and that he's going to show me a lesson. I don't do anything, but I keep my head down, and keep my eyes on him. He gets back in the car in a hurry, and I think that he's going to give up, but in a split second, he slams the mercury into reverse and proceeds to squeal backwards and ram my truck. I'm not going to have any part of this, so I slam the truck into reverse, drop the clutch, and start burning the tires in reverse. I was hauling arse back down the street while this guy is trying to hit me, trying to protect my girlfriend and myself. The guy kind of swerved a little bit into the circle k right next to the light, so I locked the brakes up on the truck, spun it around, slammed it into first, and hauled arse back down the street. I waited down a side street for a few seconds, both of us frightened, and decided the guy was probably gone by then. I then went back down the street, and made a right hand turn at the light, and started going on down the street when the mercury comes out of the circle k parking lot, and proceeds to chase me and try to ram me. I accelerated as fast as the little 4 cylinder in the truck would allow me to go, but it was to no avail. The mercury was still faster than me. He proceeded to try to sideswipe me, but every time he would, I'd slam on the brakes and avoid him. I then remembered that I had my cell phone with me, and I had my girlfriend call 911. They placed her on HOLD, and when they came back, I had already lost the guy by making a u-turn in the street and ducking down a side road. We gave the police the guys license plate number, and told them what street he lived on, and they did nothing. They said they'd send a unit out in the area to see if the guy was still harassing other drivers, but I didn't see a single cop in the area that day.

Kind of makes you angry, especially when they put you on hold.

[Pir0San]

double post, deleted

[rdefabri]

I don't advocate this, and it was in my younger (stupid) years. I had a similar situation (hey, in NJ it's like a daily occurrence) - except instead of letting the person slam their car in reverse, I jumped out of my car with a baseball bat!

Needless to say the driver took their car out of reverse and sped away (through a red light)!

I was young, single and stupid, but there seems to be a game of chicken with people. Having been an ex-bouncer, I can assure you there is always someone tougher or crazier than you! Tell yourself that you don't want any part of that and move away quickly. Don't follow the person home or incite anything, because here in NJ, there have been a few people shot.

Short story - don't do what I did.

[Carl Beck]

You and your girlfriend are walking down a trail in the Rocky Mountains.... it's a beautiful day, you are in love and you are happy that she is there looking up to you.

The two of you step over a fallen log and as you glance up ahead in the trail - you see a Rattle Snake sunning himself ahead. What do "YOU" do?

= = = = =

a) You are an intelligent individual. A man experienced and knowledgeable in the ways of the wild outdoors. You know that a Rattle Snake presents great danger to you and your girl, so you step back in reverse slowly, put the log between yourself, your partner and the Rattle Snake... You then find a safe path around the danger ahead. You want to assure that your pleasant day in the woods end in the Resort Hotel Bed, not the Hospital Bed.

You an intelligent individual. You have years of experience hunting and killing Rattle Snakes. You know from that experience that a Rattle Snake will kill you, without any regret, without any guilt and most of all without any hesitation given the chance. With your left arm, you push your girl friend behind as you step ahead and draw your sidearm.... BANG! You blow that crawling demon to hell. You walk forward, assure the viper is really dead; and it is of course because you are a dead shot, and you blew its head off. You pick it up and as your coiling it up to put in your back-pack, you say to your girl friend;

"Great, we now have a Rocky Mountain Treat for dinner." The two of you now proceed forward on the tail and your happy. You happy because like the Rattle Snake, you are not only wiling and able to kill, but you enjoy it and never have a regret taking the life of a Rattle Snake.

c) You believe yourself to be an intelligent individual. You see the Snake ahead, but your are not really sure what it is. So you and your Girlfriend approach for a closer look. As you get closer you hear the Snake shaking it's Rattle. NOW you realize your dealing with a Rattle Snake, but hey - this could be fun and besides you don't want to show any fear in front of your Girlfriend. So against her protests, you grab a stick and start to poke the Rattle Snake, from what you consider a safe distance. You think it will back down and crawl away.. leaving your path clear.

Instead, the snake coils and strikes, hitting you in the right leg. Your girlfriend steps forward in a panic to assist you - and she gets hit as well. Now to the two of you are in a life threatening situation..but the Rattle Snake having used up all it's venom, but unharmed, goes blissfully along his way.

As you lay there dying with the one you love... you are thinking - with your new found experience, practical education and now wisdom - "what a Fool I Am!" "How stupid can one person be?"

= = = = = = = = =

So the question Jeremy is: Which person "a)", "b)" or "c)" above were you, in the situation you described? Even more importantly - which person are you now?

With the right answers, you might live to be an old man like me... I hope you do.

FWIW,

Carl B.

Clearwater, FL USA

http://ZHome.com

[SteveJ]

Thanks for the responce. I was begining to think it was just me, but somehow on zcar.com I'm the bad guy in this scenario and I caused the whole thing.

Not everybody is going to agree with you. Random affirmation doesn't mean you're correct. However, you seem to have issues with people who have opinions that differ from yours, such as with the Pinks engine lottery. Do you hold yourself completely blameless for what happened?

[Pir0San]

Carl, thanks for the awesome post. The story and the way you described it definitely made me think in a different perspective. I think I provoked the situation by going through the stop sign as I did. I feel like that it was his fault, because of the way he reacted to the whole situation. I think that if I were faced with that again (which I have been), I sit there and wave the other person on, instead of potentially starting another car chase as before.