Road rage, another case for a dash cam
 

It was a nice day here in so cal and had the afternoon off. Decided to take the 86 and go for a nice drive in the mountains.
On my way up the 2 fwy a fellow in what looks to be an Acura SUV decides to cut me off out of the blue. Like too close for comfort, within a couple feet. Ok, maybe he just didn't see me. So I switch lanes and go about my way. Well, as I'm exiting the off ramp the same car cuts me off deliberately and almost hits me! At this point I recognize it's the same Acura SUV that had cut me off. I'm thinking WTF and what is wrong with this guy. He proceeds to get out of his car and is charging toward me and the entire time I'm like this guy is crazy what did I do? He gestures to me to get out of his car and it's fight or flight. I am not gonna fall for his bait so I look in my rear view mirror and see there is no one behind me or any traffic headed my way. So I just reverse and go around this crazy fool! And he runs to my car and slaps my fender like a little girl. At that point i almost pulled over but said to myself that this guy is clearly crazy and maybe he just got out of jail. Anyway I went about my mountain drive and went over what the hell happened to provoke that fellow. Maybe he just didn't like being passed. Maybe he just doesn't like Porsches. Maybe he is just plain crazy.
Well I'm going to get a dash cam and put one in the 911. That way if anything like this happens again I can just submit it to the chp or police.
Do any of you run a dash cam in your cars? If you can recommend a good one I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks

I had one a couple of days ago in the 911 too. The first nutter in years. I was stuck behind a truck and a 4x4 raised up with bull bars got stuck behind me. Then the truck took a side road and the 4x4 drove along about a meter behind me for some time. I indicated then slowed right down but lent out the window and yelled "F*** You" as loud as I could as he went past. He turned off down a side road to an old quarry where I happened to be going dog walking anyway so I followed him. He took off then pulled a U-turn and rocked back the other way because he thought I had him cornered LOL. I wouldn't normally try to escalate things but it was the anniversary of my mom's death so I was looking to take it out on someone.

BP, there has been a lot of dash cam discussion here. With a quick search, I found this one:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/915022-who-here-runs-dash-cam.html

In cases/incidents like these one never knows what may trigger one's response/reaction.
I'd hate to be in a bad mood when someone does this around and/or to me.
Never know...could end up in a heap 'o trouble with the law/court system.
Life is so weird at times.

I think that the P car gets some folks jealous. The only thing you have done wrong is own and drive a P car. Some others may think they can never afford a P car so they take it out on you so my thinking is don't fall for their bad behavior and just get out of there asap as if you a motorcycle.

I bought a dashcam for my Miata because many just don't see low cars. Especially half ton trucks. I bought one for $100 canadian or about $75 us. :)

Check your state laws, in many it is a felony as soon as you get out of your car for road rage situations. Good reason for a dash cam. I have no idea why I don't have one yet. Silly not to in today's would. South Florida is a **** show with traffic and angry people. Lots of rage.

The dash cam that I purchased as indicated in the dash cam thread (in John's post #3 above) has been working flawlessly....I would highly recommend it. Just remember to remove the blue-tinted protective film on the lens and you'll be fine... ;)

you'll need one with pretty big capacity in a 911- it will be triggered constantly due to the ride. Turn the sound off to save memory. Get used to resetting them, they lock up now and then, especially if you leave them parked and drive off. It won't wake up sometimes.

Don't bother with the parked motion sensor, worthless. They activate not by proximity, but any changes in display- so if a leaf moves in the pic, it records. Use the impact sensor instead.

Be very careful leaving the car parked for long periods, they also suck juice almost as bad as leaving headlights on.

They are janky, at best. I HAD a blackvue 550 2CH that was a PITA to live with and eventually died when it stopped reading SD cards.. They are popular but after that experience I threw it out. Nevermind.

I wouldn't buy another Blackvue....

rjp

Good points Randy. Mine went quiet for a while. It is a Thinkware F50 but it is back to normal now. You got me thinking that I should be reading the manual more and not be complacent!

thanks.

I spent many days trying to get it to the point of "set and forget." When it wasn't locking up, it was constantly talking to me saying "no SD card present" over and over again.

Pic quality wasn't anything to write home about, didn't read plates too well especially at night, useless out rear with window tint too.

rjp

One question for those of us in California; why does the LA Caltrans designs have restricted entry into the HOV w/non-toll lanes and in the Northern region not have restricted entry on the HOV/non-toll lanes?

I have the same dash cam as Baz. Works great!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFAK888/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Thanks for all the great advice.

I think I also forgot that all my memorable drives happen way early before anyone even gets up.

I bought one for the RV, stupid people want to cut off an RV because its slow, especially on an on-ramp. They also think an 18,000 lbs RV can stop on a dime.

I've noticed an increase of people who are "triggered" by passing them. More so in the P-car and when I'm on the motorcycle. Didn't use to happen too often when I drive my truck, but I've noticed more and more people going ape.

One cheap way to get a dash cam is to use an old cell phone. Apple and Android both have free dash cam apps. You can set them to delete the oldest file once they fill up. Good way to use an old phone you have kicking around.

Wha? I've never heard of this. How does a law like this pass any kind of Const. scrutiny? I'd love to see some road ragers get their comeuppance, but you'd probably need to get their plate # and bad behavior on video. And even then they're probably not a top priority for the local DA short of a wreck or violence with personal injury.

I'd have backed up a ways, then let him come at me.

I was trying to get away, must have somehow run him over.

The way the law would hold up is the same as any other "intent" law, like attempted murder, attempted agg assault, etc. That in an already verbally confrontational situation or one where someone was using their vehicle in an aggressive or hostile manner, they took it to the next level by exiting their vehicle to engage in assault on you. Or that you would reasonably assume such based on surrounding circumstances.

But that's just a guess.

Aren't you the guy who thinks you can shoot someone in the head for taking a swing at you? :confused:

And you had better hope that runnng him over isn't captured on someone else's dash cam or a traffic cam if you actually could have kept reversing or drove around him. Or that there isn't simply a witness rubber-necking and stopping to see the road rage incident. They tend to bring out the phone cameras and witnesses.

I was trying to get around him. The witness can show that I was, as he was chasing me, he didn't let me go by. Oh, the horror, as everyone can see. I'm scarred for life. I should sue his family.