What to do in this situation?

[das]

I would like to ask what if someone gets out of their car (road rage) and approaches you. What options are acceptable? I should add not an argument just some Pissed off jerk. This happened to me a couple months ago. A guy driving a big truck pulled out literally right in front of me causing me to swerve into the next lane. I kept going until I was about 5 car lengths ahead used my turn signal and proceeded to the next traffic light where he caught up to me and screaming I was giving him "dirty" looks in the rear view mirror. He got out of his truck and was headed over to me when my dog put her head up and stopped him. What can you do if someone attempts to open youre car door to get at you over something this ridiculous? das
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[duane1]

More than likely show him my guns muzzle. Seriously I would have ignored him if possible if he pushed it and I couldn't get away and feared for my well being. Then he would be educated about who might be packing.

[Ruger1022]

Call the police and get his lic plate number.

[falcn]

Drive away if possible - he is on foot - he won't be able to keep up.

[Evan]

I would just take off. Get away from him. You really only want to use force if absolutely necessary. If you show him your gun then he can call the police and use it against you.

[LittleRedToyota]

as others have said, drive away if possible.

sometimes you cannot help but getting into a situation where there is no avenue of escape (like being in the middle of three lanes of cars, for example), but you should always leave yourself room to drive away if possible. for example, always stop far enough behind the car in front of you so you can see its rear tires contact the ground. this will give you enough room to drive forward around him on either side without having to back up first.

if you cannot drive away, the next question is stay in the car vs. get out.

that is a tough question, imho. there are serious advantages and disadvantages to both.

an advantage of staying in the car is that it offers some protection if the guy doesn't have a weapon. (keep the windows rolled up and door locked.)

a disadvantage is that you are fish in a barrel if he has a weapon.

an advantage of getting out of the car is that you have room...room to run, room to defend yourself, etc.

a disadvantage is that the person, witnesses, and the police could take it as a sign of aggression and of your being a willing party in the confrontation.

if you do get out of the car, immediately move around it to put it between you and the bad guy. (you should have a spare key in your wallet, and you should lock the door on your way out of the car.)

if you do not get out of the car, imho, at least take off your seatbelt. i would also probably draw my pistol, but keep it hidden beside my leg until and unless the guy actually started physically assaulting the vehicle.

but, really, if at all possible, i would drive away...including driving over an empty sidewalk, over a median, etc. if necessary. (having a truck with good clearance is good for that.)

also, if i feared for my life (the guy has a gun, or is breaking my windows with a tire iron, etc.) i would run the guy over if i can. a vehicle is often a better weapon than a gun.

[rwilson452]

If you see someone coming at you in a road rage incident the first thing you should do is lock your doors. If your in a car that doesn't have electric door lock get in the habit of keeping all the other doors you can't reach locked.

Keep the windows up too.

Get away asap. If they go for breaking your window it's a whole different ball game

[Evan]

I think that if I had no way of escape and somebody started smashing the windows out, I would see that as intent to cause bodily harm. In that case I believe that use of force would be warranted. You may have trouble convincing LE of that, though.

[TXDMERC73]

i would keep driving till i see a store or gas station then park and get out of the car pretend i dont notice and be prepared to draw if necessary. It happened to me a couple of times cuz i couldnt hear their horns when they are honking thier asses off behind me, they follow me till i pull over and give me an earfull but i always keep my cool till they become a threat. Funny thing is let them mouth off most of them are all talk and no action..

[MischaBurns]

i agree with the above posts, if at all possible, put your car/truck back in gear and just drive away as fast as possible.

assuming you can't do this (which, i assume, was the whole point of the question), i suppose it depends on how much of a threat you percieve them to be! i would personally start by locking my doors, and if he made an attempt to break in, i would THEN (if an escape route is still unavailable) be willing to run the bastard over or shoot him (situational: CAN i run him over?)

also, IANAL, use a salt shaker.