Minnesota road rage? Kinda long...

[n8marx]

So, I'm driving home last night around 8:30pm. For those of you in MN i was heading south on 101 between hwy 5 and 212. I come up behind a red S10 Blazer emblazoned with Artic Cat stickers and the like. He is travelling about 35 mph in the 50 mph zone. As I was on about the only straight section of the road and there was no oncoming traffic I passed him. I was in a passing zone. End of story right? Wrong.

At the next stop sign he comes up behind me, very close, and turns on his high beams. My turn at the stop sign so off I go. Through the twisties and down the hill to the 212 stoplight. I'm behind two other cars. He comes up behind me again, this time even closer, nearly touching my bumper pads, again with his high beams on. The light turned green and we all turned left. Then the dumb*** passed me on the gravel shoulder and swerved at me forcing me over into the next lane. Not wanting to encourage the situation I just slowed and got in behind him. The whole way into Shakopee the guy was doing 25 mph and slamming on his brakes repeatedly. Through Shakopee he wouldn't let me pass and continued doing 20-25 mph. Not once did I honk, flash brights or anything. Finally on the outskirts of Shakopee I had an opportunity to pass and blew by him in the left lane and kept going hard. Never saw him again.

My questions are: Did I do something wrong to piss this guy off? I don't think so but maybe I don't understand. Has anything similar happened to anyone else or was this just my lucky night?

I think I need to perform a James Bond type mod to my car to allow the dropping of tacks at will.

[Cornpanzer]

While many people think they own the road, this guy probably leases it with an option to buy at the end of term =) Sounds like you just won the jackass lottery for that evening. There is definatly pleanty of them on the road. Nezt time just wave as ou go by

[PeterK]

Loved the reference to the Arctic Cat stickers on the back.

Only thing missing is his favorite good ole boy NASCAR number in the window or one of those little silhouettes pissing on something or other.

Actually in terms of road rage, a good friend of mine has you beat by a country mile.

Once he had a car follow him into his apartment complex and he just barely made it into the underground parking garage and had the door close before the guy could make it into the garage after him. That was when he lived on old Highway 12.

Another time a cabby cut him off on 55 heading into town and he flipped him off.. at the next set of lights, he looks up and sees the cabby walking down row of cars towards him with a tire iron in hand. Lucky for him, the light changed and he swerved around and got out of dodge.

Stay cool and remember there is always another idiot just around the bend. We just gotta live with 'em

[speeder]

1) His wife/boyfriend/whatever has been getting banged by someone with a 911.

2) He forgot to take meds.

3) Just got beat up by a tough 12 year old at Circle K.

4) This list could be endless..... avoid these people. Sounds like you handled it pretty well.

[Early_S_Man]

That was a VERY serious incident!

I think you should have reported the incident to the police with a complete description of vehicle, driver, and license plate.

The guy sounds dangerous, and the extended nature of your contact proves it wasn't just an instantaneous outburst! Passing you on the shoulder and subsequent antics could be interpreted as vehicular assault, maybe more! If he happens to have a record, or is on probation, it might be indicative of a current drug/alcohol problem worth pursuing by the police!

Under just slightly different road/traffic conditions ... his behavior could have resulted in injuries to yourself and others!

It isn't too late to report the incident, and if you have the license plate number, I would encourage you to file a report! You might be saving someone's life in the future!

[BlkBird]

My suggestion would be to forget the defensive "I think I need to perform a James Bond type mod to my car to allow the dropping of tacks at will" tactics. Move straight to offensive weaponry! tell me honestly you have never played fighter pilot in your 911... swooping through the curve... open up with the 50 calibre machine guns or the 20mm cannon...

But to be serious, you can just never tell what is going to set someone like that off. Use the motorcycle school of defense. Pull off in "Shakopee" (where ever the heck that is) and have a coffee. Let doofus get well ahead. He may even change roads and you won't see him again. Because that is the problem with owning a distinctive car - the deniability factor goes way down! You stand out in a crowd and the doofus in the truck is going to spot you for sure.

And in the war between your car and his crappy truck, you will lose every time. Unless, of course, you have those 20mm cannons installed.

[speeder]

Agree w/ Warren, next time dial 9-1-1 on cell phone. The cops are only too happy to remove these types of hazard from the road. They have seen the end result of this behavior too many times.

[n8marx]

Does Pelican sell the 50-cal cannon kit?

I didn't think about the cell phone until I was gone and unfortunately didn't catch the tag number. I was more concerned with keeping his trailer hitch from slamming into my hood at the time.

[Vipergrün]

Simple! Big truck and little pee pee. I have more problems with doods in 4x4's being arseholes than anyone else. One dood even had a bumper sticker that said "Yes, as a matter of fact, I DO own the whole da*m road"

-Brad
80SC

[arcsine]

Now, just imagine the EXACT same scenario but put yourself on a motorcycle.
I am riding with a friend on a rural highway behind a slow line of four cars. A couple of opportunities to pass come and no one takes advantage of them. So at the next opportunity (on a straight road, no blind corners, nothing offensive) we give the throttle a twist and go by. We go ahead a hundred yards or so and slow back down to the posted speed and think all is good until I notice a big Ford truck (complete with loaded gun rack) is about five feet off my friends rear tire at 60. (This truck had been the one last in line before we went by). So, we do the twist again to gap him off and he speeds up to about 100 along with us. So we drop the speed back to posted and pull to the right side of the road and ride on the white line to give him the entire lane to pass us. He straddles the white line still five feet off my friends tire. By now I am thinking we are dead. We finished this episode by doing a high speed dive down a side road in hopes that he would not be able to slow down intime to turn. As he drove by, he was honking and flipping us off.
Still scares me years later to think about it.

[barlowdo]

I went thru the same thing outside of Richmond. I was forced off the side of the road. My girlfriend called 911 and they were very polite, unfortunately we didn't get the complete license plate number.

I could see the vehicle for a few more miles as we proceeded on up the highway before it was out of site. I never did see a trooper even looking for the vehicle.

This person got away scot free and I have empathy for the next person that this person goes crazy on.

My scenario was much the same. The vehicle was driving about 45 mph in the 65 mph passing lane and weaving. I passed on the right to get around as driving behind was getting us no wheres.

About two minutes later when I was in the process of passing some 60 mph traffic along comes this vehicle at a very high rate of speed and goes right between me and the traffic I was passing. I had no choice but to go off on the left side of the road.

I was glad there was a shoulder to driver on. Or is that "Shoulder to cry on ?"

Anyway it was not a happy experience. I know you are not suppose to pass on the right so maybe that is what provoked this person. But who knows.

DON

[masraum]

You did nothing

Big truck and little pee pee.

That's all it takes most times.

[Jdub]

We drive cars that really bother folks, especially with the work of corporate thieves nowadays who, by the way, drive Porsches and are hated by all! Sometimes it is just a class distinction thing. I have been trying to come up with a license surround that will amuse and unlatch these type of folks from their mindsets.

I keep my head low and my powder dry. Deep breaths and I remind myself how little I want to spend that evening in jail. It just ain't worth confronting idiots of this sort.

John

[old_skul]

A little gun rack will go a long way. Too bad it would look a little off in a 911.

[Moses]

Testosterone unregulated by a cerebral cortex is a recipe for disaster.

Best to avoid confrontation with idiots like that.

[Sarah]

Hi n8marx,

That guy was a COMPLETE A** and he obviously has "control issues." You handled it very well!!!!

I am chalking up more and more "tailgating / let's cut-off the porsche" storys everytime I drive the porsche. I take Hiawatha to 62 home from work to avoid 35W and even at those speeds I still have people riding my bu** all the time. Most recent one...last week this lady is riding my bumper every chance she got. I could literally see her in the rear view mirror chomping her gum & smoking her cig. It was like...damn...she is going to hit my car. So, at the next light I turned around, made eye contact with the lady and said "WOULD YOU GET OFF MY BU**." I let her pass me and then she cut-off a semi and almost caused an accident. Yikes!!

Again...you did the right thing!!

[rhaas]

I have noticed that people seem to get real close to my rearend when driving the 911, but when I drive the little nissan pickup they seem to give me alot more room. I think they think that because the car can go fast that it should allways be going fast. Annoys me to no end, trying to cruise along the beach on a nice day and some ahole tries to push you to go faster.

[RarlyL8]

That scenario has happened to me a couple of times. My car seems to be a harassment magnet for rednecks. Both times I called the police, both times I was told there is nothing they could do about it unless witnessed by an officer.

My brother deals with this in a different way. A 44 strategically placed on the dash in front of him goes a long way in getting the message across.

[jhugh]

Once when I was riding my motorcycle with a passenger on the back, an elderly guy we tried to pass (legally!) in slow moving traffic deliberately turned and rammed us with his Lexus GS 400. Ram is probably an overstatement, but he did turn into us, tap the gas and hit the back of my bike. Not hard enough to knock us down, but the message and his intent were clear... he hated motorcycles, and how dare we pass him.

My mistake was that, instead of dropping the bike immediately, feigning injury and taking him to the cleaners, I got pissed. I took the low road. My passenger and I kicked his mirrors off. That was one scared fella in the Lexus... two young guys in leather yelling at him and kicking his car. For a moment I know he thought he was going to die. Visions of Reginald Denny! It was definitely a cathartic moment for us, and I still feel in the karmic right about doing it. But of course he got my license plate, and, despite the fact that he "started it" with an out & out vehicular assault, I got raked over the coals and had to pay for his repairs because I was the vandal on a motorcycle. I learned my lesson the hard way!

Always, always do your best to stay chill in those situations.

[Adam]

You did the right thing in my book and you need intimidating bumper stickers...

(I saw this one here on this BBS)
"Driver insured by Smith & Wesson"

or maybe...

"FREE HOUSEBRICKS - Honk/Flash/Tailgate for delivery!"

Seriously, it's no joke, there are some lunatics out there. It amazes me when I see this sort of thing on the road. Be thankful you were in a car that could lose the moron and you didn't have the added factor of protecting family members/friends in the car.