Someone tried to kill me........."What If".

[CZ40P]

Tuesday I dropped my wife off at work, and got on the Casey Highway to proceed with my commute. As I was getting on the highway I noticed the vehicle in front of me on the ramp jam on his brakes and swerve violently to avoid a truck in front of him that had slammed on his brakes halfway onto the highway. I thought maybe the guy in the Dodge pickup had somehow realized he was getting on the wrong road or something. Anyway after the car swerved around him he picked up speed and continued to merge onto the highway. I depressed the accelerator and just as I approached this guy he slams on the brakes again, coming to a complete stop on the highway. I quickly mashed my brake pedal , and just barely stopping,just before ramming his tailgate. I was angry, I threw up my arms in the air, palms upward, as if to say " What are you doing". BIG MISTAKE.

I went around this loon and headed up the highway. I look in the rear view mirror only to see this guy fast approaching the rear of my car. He comes within inches and backs off a few times. I say to myself " There is something really wrong with this guy". Just then he pulls along side in the passing lane and tries to RAM me! Not once but repeatedly. I could have reached out the window and touched his truck it was so close. Now I drove a cab for quite a few years, and I consider myself a pretty good defensive driver.I was able to react instinctively, to avoid his attempts to ram me. Everytime I avoided his maneuver he seemed to get more enraged. I could see his face clearly, he was nuts!.

This all took place in the matter of seconds, and I was contemplating what to do next. I thought of my cell phone, but I would be dead before the State Police even answered. Then I contemplated shooting out his right front tire. I have read all of these what if scenarios on this and other forums that I participate in. I ran all of the "What If's" through my mind and realized that even though this moron was clearly trying to kill me, the moment I opened the console, I would be the BAD guy. Mr Moron would call the cops and say some crazy guy pointed a gun at him, or shot out his tire for no reason.
In this situation the gun was useless. Never bring a gun to a car fight!

As he swerved into my lane again I knew what I had to do. I looked him square in the face and gave him an evil smile, flipped him the bird and mashed the throttle all the way to the floor. My old DeVille roared to life and in a few seconds he way a small dot in my rear view mirror. Thank God for that good old Detroit muscle! I did about 95 mph for a few miles, and never saw him again.
I am sure he just picked a new victim after I left him in my dust.

When I got to work I was really upset. My hands were shaking and then I really wished I had shot the S.O.B.

You know I always thought the all of those "what if" scenarios that new members seem to cook up where a waste of bandwidth, however now I think that having all of those stories to think about in that split second my hand was on the butt of my .380, saved me from having a very long day. Not to mention the lawyer's bill.

So a big Thank You to all the junior members who have asked those What If questions over the years.

[unloved]

Shooting at a moving vehicle, from a moving vehicle, while driving on a public highway, sounds like about the worst idea ever.

[1861]

+ REP for good story and good result .

[smithwessn]

Wow, what a bad way to start the day. Glad you didn't get hurt. Good on you for using your head to get you out of a bad situation instead of your firearm. It's always best to do that when possible.

+rep incoming

[Rauswaffen]

I'm glad you're ok. It is a warzone on some of those highway's. Always keep your eye open.

Good job.

P.S. Did he have Jersey plates?

[headcase]

The what if is, what if you had gotten a good description of his car and maintained a good distance while calling the PSP and reporting the psycho. Maybe the next victim isn't so lucky....

[vette97]

I probably wouldn't have thought to do this if I was in your situation, but my phone captures video. I would have done that, got his plate number on video, also, and called 911.

[GunLawyer001]

He "tried" to ram you?

How does that work? If someone traveling at the same speed in the same direction wants to ram you, it will happen, you don't have the maneuvering room to avoid it. Cars travel maybe 3-4 feet apart, he can cover that in a fraction of a second, and hit you before you can react.

So, how does he "try" to ram you, without the side of your vehicle looking like a Shar-Pei puppy?

[TonyF]

This all took place in the matter of seconds, and I was contemplating what to do next.

That's the one fatal flaw with "what if" gaming. If you happen to be fortunate enough to have "what if'ed" the scenario you find yourself in that's one thing but OTOH, there is no time to start "what if'ing" while the situation unfolds.

Hick's law applies. IOW you can't start flipping through a "mental rolodex" of "what if" responses because there just isn't enough time.

In this situation the gun was useless.

This is also the case in most personal confrontations that occur at contact distance.

My old DeVille roared to life and in a few seconds he way a small dot in my rear view mirror. Thank God for that good old Detroit muscle! I did about 95 mph for a few miles, and never saw him again.

There is your answer, which also happens to be the best tactic ..... evade and escape.

When I got to work I was really upset. My hands were shaking

This is from the realization that you didn't respond as well as you would have liked while the situation was unfolding. You should look at it from the perspective that you didn't get hurt and you didn't have to employ lethal force.

If you would have considered outrunning him as your first option, instead of feeling shaken when you arrived at work you would have felt rather confident. The funny thing is, the result would have been the same. The difference being a matter of initiating the escape as your first option vs. just stumbling on to it as a last resort. Either way you won the encounter so don't be too tough on yourself.

and then I really wished I had shot the S.O.B.

Trust me ..... no you don't.

[TinGLOCK]

So, how did your police report go? Are they following through?