I got an email yesterday from a reader we will call Jane. Jane said she tries to drive nice but some of the people who have driven with her said she is very aggressive. With that said Jane also has been the victim in a road rage incident. She didn’t cut him off /wink just kidding, she said she didn’t cut this guy off but in his mind she did so he got real crazy tailgating, honking, flashing his lights, flipping the bird and keep driving next to her pretending he was going to sideswipe her car. He then followed Jane to a red light and got out and came to the car kicking and punching it trying to get to her.

Jane said she was stuck in the middle of about a dozen cars at the light some in front, behind and on the side in other lanes. Not ONE person got out and helped her at all. Some were beeping their horns but no one got out to help. Jane said she was petrified and if the light hadn’t changed he might have done a lot more damage to her car and maybe even her.

Now as I said Monday if you drive nice generally you shouldn’t need to worry about having someone misunderstand your intentions, as what happened to Jane. Avoid engaging other drivers, even if they have done something to make you angry, just let it go it isn’t worth it I promise you. Safely try to put as much distance between you and the other driver as possible if you can do it safely. Also, avoid eye contact and never pull off the road to confront another driver; remember the videos Monday? Call the police and report the car’s license plate number, color and type. If you get a good look at the driver (hopefully only through the mirror, remember avoid eye contact if you can), then be sure to give a description to the police as well.

If you are being chased, let the 911 operator know you need help right away and give them your location. If an officer is nearby he can intervene or they can instruct you on how to proceed. Just be sure to lock your doors, stay in the car and get the police as much info as possible in order to get this idiot taken care of.

Listen I would love to say jump out and kick some behind but that would be reckless, avoidance is ALWAYS the best weapon. Keep your doors locked, get the police on the phone and stay in the vehicle and follow the instructions from the police.

Make it your new policy. No tailgating, for pete’s sake use turn signals I swear it isn’t too much work, don’t wait til the last minute to cut over in front of a turn lane or one ending. You know all the things that annoy you when done to you! Drive nice and you should never have to worry about some nut thinking you cut him off. Another benefit about driving nice, your odds of getting in an at fault accident drops as well, think about it. The life you save may be my own

The Judge
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 5th, 2008 at 3:28 pm and is filed under Crime, Self Defense, Women's Safety | . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.