Should i call the police re: road rage

[bruinsfan]

A road rage incident which culminated in the other driver threatening me with his vehicle happened to me today (Happy Thanksgiving). I guess he thought I cut him off (I don't think I did, he had plenty of room).

He seemed crazy and I think he might have followed me home. I don't know this for certain but I think I saw his vehicle drive past after I pulled into my driveway. Sigh.

Without getting into too many more details, this person clearly did not want the altercation to end when it did. He raced towards my vehicle, had a verbal altercation with me (I didn't roll my window down, say/gestur anything in response). Then he almost ran me over. He was circled me with his vehicle like a shark. Speeding towards me then darting away at the last minute, toying with me basically).

I have (pretty reasonable, I think) fear for this guy.

Question: would you call this police in this situation after the fact?

 

[chezuki]

Helluva first post.

 

[bruinsfan]

Helluva first post.

Just trying to figure out the right move here. It was a pretty intense situation.

Thanks.

 

[atvdave]

A road rage incident which culminated in the other driver threatening me with his vehicle happened to me today (Happy Thanksgiving). I guess he thought I cut him off (I don't think I did, he had plenty of room).

He seemed crazy and I think he might have followed me home. I don't know this for certain but I think I saw his vehicle drive past after I pulled into my driveway. Sigh.

Without getting into too many more details, this person clearly did not want the altercation to end when it did. He raced towards my vehicle, had a verbal altercation with me (I didn't roll my window down, say/gestur anything in response). Then he almost ran me over. He was circled me with his vehicle like a shark. Speeding towards me then darting away at the last minute, toying with me basically).

I have (pretty reasonable, I think) fear for this guy.

Question: would you call this police in this situation after the fact?

Was this on a road, or a parking lot?

 

[bruinsfan]

Was this on a road, or a parking lot?

Parking lot.

 

[atvdave]

I'd say report it. Maybe the store (or one near by) will have video of it. With your description of the person & vehicle they may just track him down.

 

[bruinsfan]

Thank you.

 

[halfmileharry]

It never hurts to be courteous and polite when driving. "An armed society is a polite society"
You apparently didn't give the guy as much room as you thought or he wouldn't have been so upset.

 

[bruinsfan]

You apparently didn't give the guy as much room as you thought or he wouldn't have been so upset.

No chance he was just plain crazy, looking for a confrontation? Those people don't exist?

Regardless, I shouldn't have put this in the self defense section. My apologies. I just wanted some back-up from reasonable people to solidify my opinion that getting the police involved at this point is ...reasonable.

I haven't reported the incident yet and might not. Still thinking about it but I'm not going to let this guy ruin my night.

Thank you everyone. Thread might as well be closed if mods see fit.

 

[ModernGunner]

Never hurts to report it and get it 'in the system'. If he did it to you, there's more than a 'slight' chance that this is typical conduct for the guy. Better to get him stopped and taking a different path than waiting for some worse situation to present itself.

JMO.

 

[OkieGirl]

Report it. Call the non emergency number if you're still not sure and explain what happened. Give clear detail, time, location, be as precise as possible. Most cameras are on some type of video loop where recordings are only kept for a relatively short period of time - the sooner you call the more likely it can be retrieved if need be.

And yes, people like that do exist. They have personality disorders and this type of behavior is their "normal". You were wise to not inflame the situation, they live for that.



BTW - Welcome to the forum.

 

[bwframe]

If you are considering reporting it then you should. Likelihood of the cops even showing up for something like this after-the-fact is IMHO slim. However, if you wake up and your vehicle has been vandalized, run into the goon tomorrow or (heaven forbid,) have to defend yourself from him, much better to have a record of a call.

 

[Cygnus]

OP. I would definitely call that in. What you described sounds pretty serious if he aimed a car at you....

And welcome!


For the rest of you, I swear this is not my schill account....

 

[LEaSH]

Circled you like a shark, you say?

How can you be sure that he wasn't an actual shark? That's what I want to know...

 

[scoutsniper]

How about man up next time?? And if he was messing with you why wouldn't you pay attention for his vehicle when you drove home? Now he knows where you live! Smooth move..

 

[88E30M50]

There are lunatics on the road around us and sometimes they go off for no reason at all. I don't know if it would help much to call now, but I think I would have called when it was happening. Years ago, I had a guy go off on me one night out in CA when I was driving in to my night shift job. I don't know what set him off, but he was cruising the slow lane at about 5 under and as I closed, he started shining a spot light in my eyes. He ended up following me and when we were stopped by traffic, he ran up and was trying to open the door to my truck. I have no idea what set him off, but to this day understand that sometimes they just get set off and if you're the person they focus on, it's best to be prepared. Back then, I did not own a handgun and had no way to protect myself had he started swinging with a bat or something. I hate to think what would happen today in that same situation.

 

[rhino]

A road rage incident which culminated in the other driver threatening me with his vehicle happened to me today (Happy Thanksgiving). I guess he thought I cut him off (I don't think I did, he had plenty of room).

He seemed crazy and I think he might have followed me home. I don't know this for certain but I think I saw his vehicle drive past after I pulled into my driveway. Sigh.

Without getting into too many more details, this person clearly did not want the altercation to end when it did. He raced towards my vehicle, had a verbal altercation with me (I didn't roll my window down, say/gestur anything in response). Then he almost ran me over. He was circled me with his vehicle like a shark. Speeding towards me then darting away at the last minute, toying with me basically).

I have (pretty reasonable, I think) fear for this guy.

Question: would you call this police in this situation after the fact?

After the fact? Like days later? Probably not, unless I had video and a license number.

I probably would call 911 while that was ongoing, though.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

It probably depends on where you live, but if you're in a city of any size at all you're wasting everyone's time, including yours.

No suspects, no injury, no property loss, and after the fact = even if a report is made its going to hit a booking sergeant's desk and go straight to the oblivion of "NOAD" (NO Assigned Detective). The crime is so petty and the odds of a successful prosecution so slim, it'll die on the vine because its a poor use of resources.

 

[bruinsfan]

How about man up next time??.

laughed audibly.

It probably depends on where you live, but if you're in a city of any size at all you're wasting everyone's time, including yours.

No suspects, no injury, no property loss, and after the fact = even if a report is made its going to hit a booking sergeant's desk and go straight to the oblivion of "NOAD" (NO Assigned Detective). The crime is so petty and the odds of a successful prosecution so slim, it'll die on the vine because its a poor use of resources.

Thank you sir, and everyone else.

I won't bother reporting it.

after thinking about it some more I was probably wrong in suspecting he followed me home. I was looking for him, after all. A car w/ the same make/model/color rolled by a few minutes after but it's not that uncommon of a vehicle.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[KittySlayer]

Remember too that we are only hearing your side of the story. Also, passive aggressive driving is still aggressive driving. In addition it is easy to make mistakes driving, cut someone off, fail to yield, etc. and often raising your hands and indicating "sorry I am an idiot" gesture will deescalate a situation. That said, I will not tolerate people in steel cages using their cars to threaten my life. If it is bad call the police, prepare to defend yourself and don't let them follow you home or someplace where you are isolated.