I'm guessing this was in Tucson about three yrs. ago, yes? Pima is one of the bad counties for defending yourself, no matter how justified.

Just some random thoughts...

CCW carriers here are always stating the obvious fact that one needs to avoid conflict at all costs while packing heat in public. I think that includes not driving like a twat and inciting rage in other motorists.

Not defending road ragers, (or other violent behavior), but there is usually some fairly predictable action that leads up to these incidents. Not always, but usually. Some type of passive-aggressive ass hole driving, like intentionally holding up a line of cars behind you, turning into fast moving traffic and forcing others to swerve or brake, etc.. I can drive around Los Angeles all day, everyday, without getting pissed-off or inciting rage in others.

I've written here in the past about the bad quality of drivers in my neighborhood of Korean immigrants. I've had to let go of all bad feelings about other people's driving because; A) They are usually not doing it on purpose, they're just bad drivers, and B) I do not want to spend what's left of my short life being an angry person or worse, a bigot against one group of people just because they are not good at driving.

I've all but completely ceased using my horn. I just wait for my chance and go around people when they are dawdling. I can even see the (constant) illegal u-turns coming in advance...people simply slow down and whip u-turns in the middle of a block when you are driving behind them @ 30 mph. It's like a driver's ed simulator with bogeys jumping out at you, I swear. Instead of cursing people out, I do sometimes have words with them but I just tell them to be more careful. I even say "please". If you conduct yourself as you would if your grandmother was watching, (or a couple of cops),life gets really smooth. My BP is way down.

Now I'm prepared for someone to dig-up an old thread from 5 years ago where I told a story of boxing with some guy in the middle of the road. Yes, I used to do that. My new way is a lot better, and safer. :)

Many good points. I don't even know if the horn on my 996 works. Have not used a car horn for many years now - how non European of me ;)

If I mistakenly cut someone off I am very quick to acknowledge my error with a wave of apology. Most of the time that is good enough however - a couple years ago I got a middle aged woman so upset I thought we were being secretly filmed for a WWF reality show.

OP - here in Cali we are not allowed to to carry in vehicle (or anywhere). I'm pretty sure that if I showed a firearm (even holstered) it would be considered brandishing - if reported. Scary stuff for you - glad it all turned out for everyone.

I would think if the oncomming truck were piloted by any kind of reasonable driver he would have moved to the non merge lane, as common curtesy requires. If you drive along in the extreme right hand lane all your life without moving to accomodate people merging, you are going to spend a lot of time slowing down and feeling that people cut you off.
Seems the OP was all in the right (assuming that he did not pull right out in front of the truck with extreme ignorance) and was restrained in his reaction as well. More power to you!
Stuart, I am assuming from your posts that you have never made a mistake on the road (head up the ass comment) which makes you a real superstar dude!

I would have to watch this whole thing on video to make any statements about the specific incident....who could have done what better, etc.

I will say though the concept of staying in the right-hand lane unless you are passing or making a left turn is completely lost on the majority of drivers.

Law enforcement traffic division will not enforce it nor do they care - even though the concept of "traffic flow" is directly related to incidents of road rage as well as traffic accidents.

I mean.....I don't even see any PSA's on it.

Go figure.

Interesting.....I had to do the exact same thing recently. In my opinion....the threat begins when THEY leave their car and walk towards you. That's when I felt threatened....especially with my 9 month old daughter in the back of my car!!

I am happy that I carry. You never know why or how someone will lose it.....

Ofcourse I have, and I take my lumps, wave "sorry".

Only the OP knows what happened- I was pointing out that he clearly managed to piss off another motorist. I drive, these days, as Speeder describes above.

OK, so you're saying there is a double standard, or a higher level of prudence required for someone who has a CCW permit and is driving on public roads.

If we follow that logic, then wouldn't someone who has a tendency toward road rage also be held to a higher standard? They have a propensity, a known condition let's say, to act irrationally toward the safety of others and are easily provoked. And their car is no less a weapon. Just food for thought, as you say.

well, we now know who the perfect drivers are on this board. that was a fun social experiment. :)

Drivers make mistakes. People misjudge speed and distances of oncoming cars all the time. Making an honest mistake does not make you a serious threat to society.

On the other hand, being stupid enough to exit your vehicle to have words with someone who made a mistake, makes you a risk to others for not being able to control yourself to the degree that you can function in civil society.

Regardless of if your windows were up or down, or even if you were in a convertible with top down, being approached by someone that you know is angry at you is a vulnerable position, as your option to avoid an attack are limited as long as you remain belted in the driver's seat. I would be out of the seat belt immediately, so that I could move within the car, if necessary.

As I sit here calmly thinking about this, my preference would be to authoritatively yell, "STOP! Do not approach the car. Turn around and go back to your car. We have nothing to discuss. It's over!"

If they refused to stop and retreat, I would reinforce my command with my option to present a weapon. To be effective, you cannot wait to present your weapon until someone has approached to a distance at which a conversation can be conducted. At such a distance, you could be subdued or incapacitated before being able to draw a firearm, especially if concealed.

^^^This. 99.9% of the time I drove the '93 Caprice, its horn didn't work. It had a horribly designed steering wheel that had this thick vinyl across the center that covered the air bag and the horn buttons. There was some idiotic foam pad underneath that over the horn buttons, and I replaced them/fixed it twice, but it stopped working within a month each time by shorting out or something... I never could figure it out.

So I no longer had the ability to wake people up when they "went to sleep" at a traffic light and didn't move out when it turned green or jammed on brakes at the last minute to make a turn or pulled out in front of me only to go slow. Etc., etc., etc.

Now that I do have a functioning horn in the 528, it's become a very rare thing that I use it, and that's probably a good thing. I did use it on a guy in a big dually once when he got in the right turn lane for 100 feet, then changed his mind about turning and came back over into the right lane where I was... I was about at his rear bumper, passing him. Had to brake pretty hard to keep him from hitting me. In that case, hitting the horn is a combination of "Hey, watch it, dude," and "Yer an idiot."

thanks, thats all i ask.
i did not post this for anyone's approval i was just sharing a story and perhap some education for others that carry not to do anything back to someone because then the legality of pulling your weapon gets questioned.

just remember, i used the accel lane, used my turn signal, gave him plenty of time to move over to any of the other 3 lanes and i did not wait til he was on top of me before i pull out. also, when he passed me he was at the most going 5mph faster than me. thats how far down the road he was.

funny thing is, i had at least 3 people pull put in front of me that were WAY worse than what he did and it did not bother me at all.

this has quite popular. trying to go back and catch up. been cutting down limbs and trees after the ice storm. man i am out of shape. got about 4 or 5 limbs hi up that are broken.

that IS a good point and i did think about the fact he could have had a gun and meant to do me harm. (i also had my wife and son in the car). i have read where motorist have been shot, and to be THAT mad that he had to get out of his (pickup) truck is not good.

i dont know if any of you remember the post i did not long ago about putting yourself in the car of the guy that had the biker gang beating on his car then eventually pulling him from the car.
think how that could have been different if the guy beating on his window saw him with a 45.

I had to look up accel lane in SC. Here, we only have them on the entrance to the freeways, and they are all on the right.

Regardless, this was the first link google brought up.

Good Question: Proper use of acceleration lanes - WBTW-TV: News, Weather, and Sports for Florence, SC

He isn't required to change lanes for you. Yes, it would've been nice if he did.

required by courtesy. which seems to be lacking, a lot. here, behind the mormon curtain, courtesy is non-existent.

if YOU pulled one first, you deserve to be shot. she was not intending to bodily harm to you.

you had not done anything before hand that indicated you were agitated at her.
i also dont think you approached her window yelling and screaming. after all, you could have been telling her she had a low tire or maybe a door was open.
if it was my wife i would hope she would have a gun in her hand by her side(out of site) until she determined what the issue was. as long as you were polite and non threatening, you never would have known she had a gun.
my wife does not have a CWP yet and does not carry a gun.

there was no time when it happened to think about anything other than what is going on and that this guy is getting out of his truck. i was also quite scared at the fact that i was pulling out my gun and am i doing it for the right reasons.

i posted in part just because it is something that happened to me. i dont face book or twitter. i also posted it as education for others, as i have said.
if you find yourself in a situation where someone is pissed at you, dotn do anything to antagonize them. if you do, then it turns into a mutual "fight" that did not involve a gun.
i think this falls under the rule that we were taught that if you are in a fight with someone and just because you start to lose, does not give you the right to pull your gun.