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Got chased by an idiot around a mall...

#22
dullsilver_mike said:
I want to get a semi style airhorn to supplement my regular horn. I could use the regular horn for "move it" and blast the air horn whenever there's impending destruction or when someone really needs to know what a jerk they are.
Click to expand...

Look for "The Grand General." It's widely available at truckstops or nearby chrome shops, and is not only a truck horn, but qualifies as a train horn.
 
#23
Razman said:
Yesterday my wife and I reached the 15-year mark in our marriage - but we celebrated today by going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, etc. Kids were redirected to other activities, so seeing how we were running about an hour early we decided to window shop at a local shopping mall.

We entered the circular loop that surrounds the mall only to be hindered by two unsophisticated individuals who apparently couldn't decide which way to turn. One brief toot of my horn was not enough to move them (there was no stop sign - we had right of way and traffic was not supposed to stop) so I gave them one more short honk to help them find a direction and take it (which they did).

They went right, but not without making some impolite sign language gestures in my general direction (WTH, you're wrong buddy, why are you giving me the finger??) Needless to say we went the opposite way. About 1/4 of the way around the loop I see in my rear view mirror the aforementioned unscrupulous individuals behind me. I turned and headed back towards the front as I could tell they weren't going to leave me alone - members of law enforcement are permanently parked there for stuff like this - and they proceeded to follow.

At one point the two pulled along side me (right in front of a department store and blocking the oncoming lane of traffic) to ask me if I had a problem. Not stopping, we continued to the front and my wife called the police. After spotting us on the phone, they turned down one aisle to observe our actions so we turned down the next - in an attempt to get their plate info.

The gentleman passenger and his female companion (who was driving) paused to holler some more obscenities towards me as they were leaving but we were able to get their tags and pass that information along to law enforcement.

We never saw them or heard back from the law again all evening. At the time it was upsetting for my wife; now it's a memorable moment from our 15th wedding anniversary we'll never forget.

Thanks for reading (if you got this far)...

Raz
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Were you in Milwaukee? I swear it was "Drive Like An Ass Day" here. I was on hte freeway and had to stop. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw someone flying toward me and I was sure he was going to slam into me. About a minute later, some biatch in an SUV cut in front of me, leaving me almost no time to stop. She was stone-faced the whole time, so it's clear that she does this frequently.

I can't wait to get the he!! out of here!
 
#25
Good on you avoiding conflict and calling the police.

If it were me, I'd be going the other direction and keeping some firepower closer. Even a little OC pepper spray can go a long way.

Sometimes people just want to honk, sometimes they want to pull you out of your vehicle and beat you or shoot you in front of your family. An anaesthesiologist here ran a single mom off the road and killed her and continued going to his work for a week before he was caught.

Anyways, just sounds like a couple idiots involved in road rage. In those situations, it's usually better to let it go than honk, but none of us are perfect people in a perfect world. But these are good things to keep in mind. Maybe they were lost, frustrated, tired out of town, whatever.

All's well that ends well. Hope you enjoyed your anniversary dinner!
 
#28
oniman7 said:
...An anaesthesiologist here ran a single mom off the road and killed her and continued going to his work for a week before he was caught...
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We had a couple women get in to it on the local freeway. One cut the other off so they decided to play a little grabastic brinksmanship for a few miles before they got to an exit. When they started down the exit, first car pulls over about halfway down and car two pulls in behind. Driver of car two gets out and walks up to car one where driver of car one shoots her dead and drives away.

Fortunately their attempts to kill each other (and a few innocents) with their cars before they got to the off ramp attracted enough attention someone followed them and witnessed the shooting so the killer didn't get too far before she was nabbed.
 
#29
1958Bassman said:
Were you in Milwaukee? I swear it was "Drive Like An Ass Day" here. I was on hte freeway and had to stop. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw someone flying toward me and I was sure he was going to slam into me. About a minute later, some biatch in an SUV cut in front of me, leaving me almost no time to stop. She was stone-faced the whole time, so it's clear that she does this frequently.

I can't wait to get the he!! out of here!
Click to expand...

Well whatever you do don't move down to Jacksonville. On Friday and Saturday nights the west beltway (I295, part of a loop that circles the entire city) becomes the Daytona 500. I won't begin to discuss the igits that comprise our normal rush our traffic.

Move to Grandlin, FL - it's a flashing yellow light with a post office the size of an outhouse - and it's 45 minutes from any type of civilization whatsoever.
 
#30
Great responses, didn't think my post would get this much air time - seems we've all had our share of idiot-driver stories (and speaking for myself, have played the part my fair share of times too! :D )

My wife and I speculated that the disgruntled feller was intoxicated (hence his passenger status) and also that his female companion was equally crass in her willingness to tail us around the mall. If I had to guess, they were late-20's, early 30's.

Oh well, I'll be keeping an eye out for their Hyundai around the area for certain...
 
#34
The other day I was parallel parking. Had lots of space between the pick up behind, spotted the spot about six cars ahead, put on my signal, slowed down so they would know my intention and they followed me right to my bumper. Stopped. All I could see was the Ford 4x4 grille in my mirror.

I rolled down my window and indicated that I was parking. They just sat there. There was even rim for them to go around being a one way two lane street. Now usually when I'm stick behind someone that is not moving I go around ASAP. Nope sitting there. Honks at me. Give the wave around. Honks longer. Start yelling out the window that I'm trying to park here and I'm not moving. Meanwhile, the entire time there is a red light behind us and zero traffic. Zero. This goes on for two minutes and I'm about to get out and kindly ask them to go around as I am parking and they finally go around windows up, fingers out and gums flapping. Stupid, just stupid.

You might be a redneck if you drive your 4x4 downtown and don't get it when someone is parallel parking.
 
#37
two fingers said:
This is why I drive a big vehicle that is only worth about a grand. I can certainly afford better. But it is more fun to drive around in something that allows me the put people like that on my rear bumper. "Sorry officer. A cat ran out in front of me. Maybe if they hadn't been following so close they wouldn't have hit me. Have a nice day." It has happened twice already. My bumper looks fine and my truck has a curb weight of a metric crapload. So I have never had any damage in these cases. (Can't say the same for the idiots following me.) Follow me pissed all you want. But get ready......

The hardest part is NOT doing it if/when my wife and/or kids are in the car. I keep it pretty low key then.

But it really is strange. People are riding around LOOKING for ways to be offended. Put down your phone. Pay attention. Get out of the way if you don't know where you are going. And if I remind you of your fowl up with a horn tap, just wake up and move. Simple as that.

Sorry you had to deal with a dipstick OP. They are everywhere and I haven't found a legal way to exterminate them yet. Back to the lab!
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Except if you're getting into a car accident with them, instead of having a passing verbal altercation with no legal (or common sense) reason to stop, you've just raised the stakes to being forced to confront them to exchange information and having angered them further by causing them financial damage.

Not to mention the idea of using an intentional car accident to solve a difference of opinion is one of the more juvenile ideas I've heard lately.
 
#38
Razman said:
Yesterday my wife and I reached the 15-year mark in our marriage - but we celebrated today by going out to dinner at a nice restaurant, etc. Kids were redirected to other activities, so seeing how we were running about an hour early we decided to window shop at a local shopping mall.

We entered the circular loop that surrounds the mall only to be hindered by two unsophisticated individuals who apparently couldn't decide which way to turn. One brief toot of my horn was not enough to move them (there was no stop sign - we had right of way and traffic was not supposed to stop) so I gave them one more short honk to help them find a direction and take it (which they did).

They went right, but not without making some impolite sign language gestures in my general direction (WTH, you're wrong buddy, why are you giving me the finger??) Needless to say we went the opposite way. About 1/4 of the way around the loop I see in my rear view mirror the aforementioned unscrupulous individuals behind me. I turned and headed back towards the front as I could tell they weren't going to leave me alone - members of law enforcement are permanently parked there for stuff like this - and they proceeded to follow.

At one point the two pulled along side me (right in front of a department store and blocking the oncoming lane of traffic) to ask me if I had a problem. Not stopping, we continued to the front and my wife called the police. After spotting us on the phone, they turned down one aisle to observe our actions so we turned down the next - in an attempt to get their plate info.

The gentleman passenger and his female companion (who was driving) paused to holler some more obscenities towards me as they were leaving but we were able to get their tags and pass that information along to law enforcement.

We never saw them or heard back from the law again all evening. At the time it was upsetting for my wife; now it's a memorable moment from our 15th wedding anniversary we'll never forget.

Thanks for reading (if you got this far)...

Raz
Click to expand...
Well, you did the right thing by calling 911 and avoiding direct confrontation. You don't know if the people are armed or not or were willing to assault you.
The other thing is to be aware of your surroundings in case the "road rage" incident escalated.
 

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