Road Rage Incident

[dino9832]

....proceeds to square himself and move toward my vehicle (about 1-2 car lengths away).....

My son asked me just last night about confronting a bully that keeps coming at him. It's a similar situation in that you do NOT want to appear to be an aggressor. I told him to make some noise before resorting to violence. Let everyone here you saying you don't want to fight, even if you do..lol. The best evidence is third parties.

While I like the laying on the horn idea, I think I'd have exited the vehicle as well. As it was pointed out, he may have had a firearm. Even if it's not in his hand, there's no way to know if he had one in his belt or pocket.

Then, make noise! Retreat with eyes on the guy hollering at the top of my lungs "Stay away from me! Someone call 911!" Blow a whistle if you have one. Maybe consider carrying one if you don't. Draw attention, and make it obvious you are not the aggressor. Police questioning after the fact would reveal you were yelling "Call 911!" and retreating.

I think most rage incidents cool off rather quickly. How long is this 260lb guy going to chase someone with a kid around while holding a crow bar or other weapon? Meanwhile, time permitted of course, I'd get in a position where the area behind him was clear of bystanders for a clean shot.

It's hard to way in which direction to run, but I think I'd move towards his vehicle..lol. For one, it puts him in position of concern about his vehicle. He'd be more inclined to follow instead of just smashing your glass out. For another, the scum bag is somewhat trapped until you move yours! Creating an even bigger scene and more traffic. Not to mention, making him clearly the aggressor if he's pursing even past his vehicle.

The story would be he moved towards your vehicle, then back towards his, then continued? What excuse would he have for that behavior?
Had you injured him while in your vehicle, he might claim some bull like he was only coming to help you change a flat as he thought you were broke down. Tire iron (if that's what he had) in hand.

[SewTexas]

this is one reason why I almost always have a bluetooth headset on me when I drive. 911 would have been called as soon as the guy got out of the car, if not before.
I do understand why the narrator got out of the car though, a parent would want to draw danger away from a child.

[Caliber]

After thinking about this scenario, here's what I think I would do:

If the BG's door opens, you must QUICKLY turn off your engine, pull the key, exit your car, close your door and lock it. Then, move to the opposite side of the car from the BG and keep the car between you and the BG. Call 911 with one hand, keep your other hand on your gun (ready to pull if necessary), and yell whatever you think is appropriate at the BG that's loud enough for any others around you to hear.

It's good to have a plan even though the scenario is unlikely.

[Pawpaw]

After thinking about this scenario, here's what I think I would do:

If the BG's door opens, you must QUICKLY turn off your engine, pull the key, exit your car, close your door and lock it. Then, move to the opposite side of the car from the BG and keep the car between you and the BG. Call 911 with one hand, keep your other hand on your gun (ready to pull if necessary), and yell whatever you think is appropriate at the BG that's loud enough for any others around you to hear.

It's good to have a plan even though the scenario is unlikely.

Do you really advise putting your child between you and the bad guy?

I believe your post needs a little more thought.

[Caliber]

The "child" part would not apply to me.

[dino9832]

I know I'm going to raise a few eyebrows with this comment, but hear me out.
This is just food for thought, so don't take me serious.

One thing I've learned while playing numerous video games is never back yourself into a corner! One combatant can become two. Ammo can be depleted. The enemy might have a stronger weapon than I anticipated, or be wearing armor. Most times I thought having my back against the wall would protect my 6 o'clock. Thought I had the enemy beat. Then they prove to be harder to kill than I anticipated! Assumptions are the demise of many a pixelated character.

Freedom of movement is key! Fight or flight. Options. Being trapped in a car could be very restrictive. Worse case, you couldn't even put yourself between the attacker and the child!

I'm sure this would have much more credibility coming from someone with real experience. By all means, correct me if I'm wrong.
After all, that's why we're discussing this. To learn.

[BBYC]

I wonder what set him off.

[Soccerdad1995]

My wife actually had a similar scenario, except that she wasn't armed, and she was not blocked in. She handled it poorly, IMHO, but here it is. Being unarmed was mistake number one, but she is very much anti-gun.

Wife was driving across an intersection and a guy turning left almost hit her. She honked at him after the near miss was over. I'm counting this as mistake number two because there was no reason to alert the driver to her presence at that point, which is the only valid reason to use your horn in that situation, IMHO. Instead, she honked to let the guy know that she disapproved of his driving technique.

Guy then does a U-turn and starts chasing after my wife at a high rate of speed. He catches up to her when she stops at the next light.

Guy gets out of his car with a gun in hand (wife was able to immediately see and identify the gun). Despite having no vehicles in front of her, wife does not drive through the intersection. Mistake number three, which could have very easily been fatal.

Just before the guy gets to my wife's window, a female bolted from the passenger seat and starts dragging him back toward his car while screaming at him. I'm presuming this is a girlfriend who doesn't want her man to go back to prison. My wife works with failing schools in Houston and is very familiar with gangs. She thought she saw at least one gang tattoo on his neck / face.

Light changes, and wife drives away. She immediately calls 911, but did not manage to get the license plate of the guy's car. Not getting the plate was mistake number four. But she was aware enough to immediately get new plates for her car just in case this guy decided to go searching for her at a later date.

Did I miss any mistakes here? And by the way, my wife does not scare easily. When she was a middle school principal she once contained an MS-13 gang member who had wandered in to the school in the front office area, so her staff could get through the main school entrance and lock it down, then she talked to the kid until LEO's arrived on scene. All the while standing face to face with this shirtless guy who was rambling incoherently while armed with a machete. She would be a prime candidate to be armed in a school. Except that she is very anti-gun.