Got Shot at today

[SilverSaloon]

i would only chase a car if it hit me and then drove off - and yes i have seen the iron bar incident post..... i would probably try and determine the size/look of the driver behind wheel before i followed them until they stopped.... but i would deffo chase them enough to get their reg plate and other details that may be important when making a claim/reporting it to the cops.

i wouldnt set chase if some guy had just peeved me off tho... not worth it, imo

 

[glojo]

agreed - but we are not yet in a society where our first thought is they may have a gun (though who knows how far off it is!!!)!

I do hope I am not giving the impression of hindsight? Hopefully I never mentioned the gun part of the story?

The bit I hope I referred to was:

I just ignored the little **** until the carriagway opened up into 2 lanes again and as I am going past the slower traffic he is actually trying to make a 3rd lane and get round me. We came up to the roundabout and as we came off the roundabout he makes 1 lane into 2 and scrapes his car along the crash barrier.

This driver clearly has some sort of problem and Marcos was quite right to record his registration number and contact the Police.

If I were to offer my two cents worth I would have no doubt played the Clint Eastwood, Dirty Harry mach-o thing. Once the Police stated the vehicle was involved in a robbery I would have dropped right back and followed the car at a very discrete distance, namely leaving at the very least one or two cars between us depending on conditions. (The further the better ) But that is with hindsight, however even before telephoning in the details I would definitely not put myself or my vehicle in harms way of this lunatic. He had just exchanged paint with a crash barrier!!!! What would he do to my beautiful car?

John

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

i imagine i would of done the same....or at least flipped him the 'bird'

 

[graeme73s]

The best thing I ever did to calm myself down on the road was to do a bit of motor racing. I am completely useless at any sort of sport from football to tiddly winks but I have one god given talent and that is that I can race a car with the best of them.
The plus side of this is that I always try and drive chilled out and not get wound up. However stupidity and arrogance can cause the red mist to descend and I fully understand what Marcos did. I probably would have done the same. If someone apologosies for an error in their judgement then thats cool, accept and back off, no ones perfect.
That being said depending on the severity of the offence I would have a problem. What I always try and keep in mind that peoples ability to drive and control a car are vastly different. I would not want to be responsible for forcing a driver into making a mistake that may wipe him out and his passengers or innocent bystanders.
Thankfully in motorsport fire proof clothing, crash helmet etc is mandatory but there is no mention of a gun.

 

[sasha]

this is the funniest post i have ever read, middle aged, middle class "have a go heroes"

yeah i bet you came down to earth when the gun came out

just what exactly were you planning to do pullling up to them? give them an earful? oh well done, that would have modified their behaviour

how would you have felt if you found the driver had an injured child spewing blood out of it's ears and mouth and was being rushed to hospital?

 

[nickg]

this is the funniest post i have ever read, middle aged, middle class "have a go heroes"

yeah i bet you came down to earth when the gun came out

just what exactly were you planning to do pullling up to them? give them an earful? oh well done, that would have modified their behaviour

how would you have felt if you found the driver had an injured child spewing blood out of it's ears and mouth and was being rushed to hospital?

I think you need to reconsider whether "funniest" is the most appropriate word to use.
You seem to be suggesting that the armed gunmen deserve some sort of respect from us "middle aged, middle class".........

 

[chriswt]

I suffer from red mist and am known among friends for having a short temper on the road. It is NOT because I wish to drive faster than everyone else or because I think I rule the road.

It is becuase I'm sick of people speeding around built up areas and driving without regard for other road uses. and getting away with it!

My road is used as a handy cut through for other drivers and some think that driving at 40mph + down the road is acceptable. My girlfriends parked car was written off becuase of excessive speed and a child was hit a few years ago. Most recently I witnessed a young girl walking down the road who decided to wonder into the road without looking but luckily the van driver was driving at the correct speed and missed her by inches. He was shaken up and the girl ran off home in shock. I really thought the van was going to hit her.

When I decide to let someone know that their driving is dangerous I'm normally told by friends etc to "ignore it and don't get so wound up, you're not some knight of the road" etc etc etc.

I'm not justifying chasing armed robbers but for gods sake its good to hear that there are people out there ready to stick up for their right as a road user.

 

[RJIF]

QUOTE>this is the funniest post i have ever read

QUOTE>yeah i bet you came down to earth when the gun came out

QUOTE>(*)how would you have felt if you found the driver had an injured child spewing blood out of it's ears and mouth and was being rushed to hospital?

sasha - i dont think in the above example (*) that they would be pulling a gun, do you!

i dont like to be agressive or seem offensive in what is essentialy a friendly forum and believe everyone has their right to comment but i cant believe what ive just seen

Sasha, with all due respect, dont know what your be on but... GET OFF IT!

 

[glojo]

I can understand what Sasha is trying to say and again I think the written word does not travel very well. No doubt Sasha wanted this to come across to an audience that would take it in the way it was wrote, and not to have each separate word dissected. We all respect Marcos and I'm sure no one intends to insult him.

chriswt has made a statement that should get his driving licence revoked, but I'm sure he does not mean what he has wrote and we just accept the context of his post.

John the pacifist

 

[lotusmark2]

Marcos, only just picked this one up. Thank goodness you are ok mate!
I'm not going to get into the rest of this apart from to say, I do think "what goes around comes around", people like those mentioned in the initial post will get there just rewards in the end. Lets hope its sooner rather than later. In the interim we can go back to our partners and children and enjoy what is in MOST cases a very nice and peaceful life.

 

[sparkyspost]

I can understand what Sasha is trying to say and again I think the written word does not travel very well. No doubt Sasha wanted this to come across to an audience that would take it in the way it was wrote, and not to have each separate word dissected. We all respect Marcos and I'm sure no one intends to insult him.

I'm sorry John but I have to disagree there, I read the first two sentences not just picking on a word or two. Not only has he painted us all with the same brush 'middle aged, middle class "have a go heroes"' but with the tone of that still fresh in the mind the 'yeah i bet you came down to earth when the gun came out' just comes across as derisory and unfriendly.

My understanding of the rest of his post is along the lines of 'You're wasting your time, and you didn't really think it through' which are reasonably fair - its difficult to remain calm in these situations. Some people can, some can't.

chriswt has made a statement that should get his driving licence revoked, but I'm sure he does not mean what he has wrote and we just accept the context of his post.

John the pacifist

I'm not sure what post or sentence you are referring to here John, I didn't see any statement that Chris was driving so not sure what your post refers to.

Cheers
Sparky (also a pacifist , though sometimes feels like passing a fist )
PS The producers of these statements wish to state that these charactes are fictional and any reseemblence to a real person or state is entirely coincidental. No offence meant!

 

[996jimbo]

I think the general point of Sasha's post is that there seems to be the general acceptance that if someone acts inconsiderately to you, you should behave similarly back to them. So if someone cuts you up you should chase them down the road and have a go back.

just what exactly were you planning to do pullling up to them? give them an earful? oh well done, that would have modified their behaviour

Sasha appears to be asking, not unreasonably, 'what was the point in chasing this guy?'

OK in this case it was an armed robber in a getaway car, but if it was 'just' some oik in a car driving stupidly then catching them up and shouting might not modify their behavior, but in trying to catch them up one risks injuring others and having caught him up one might then find oneself getting hurt.

There is a difference between standing up for oneself and (if you like) standing up for the standards of society, and just having a go 'cause your pride has been dented.

I am not judging this case (who am I to judge) and I am very pleased that Marcos is OK. But I do think there is a fair and reasonable point behind Sasha's post.

Incidentally, unlike seemingly everyone else on this forum, this week I haven't had one brown trouser event, any damage to my car or suffered from anyone else's driving. I did nearly set my cap on fire whilst lighting my pipe this morning (lack of feeling through the gloves) but fortunately as I had my fog lights on everyone was able to avoid me as I paused briefly on the roundabout.

 

[miro]

Back in the day you would have given way and let him in front. But these days everyone stand their ground.

I saw an extremely dangerous incident. The right lane of the freeway was wedging traffic and a very angry 4x4 driver was trying to get past. Realising that the person was using my car as part of the rolling sea wall I slammed on my brakes (with good rear clearance) and thereafter the two were free and clear to fight over 3 lanes of traffic and block each other in attempted rear-end collisions.

Why anyone would want to be in an accident with a lunatic is a guess at best. You get to give them your address as a bonus.

The 4x4 driver smashed to off-side window with some sort of projectile and the beads of glass rained onto the bitumen. The little cubes bounced a while and even my 150 metres of clearance was not enough to prevent 3 cubes from bouncing onto my car - one of which took out a slither of paint with surgical precision.

I dont want to claim that either. I dont want those losers to know who I am.

 

[lotusmark2]

Incidentally, unlike seemingly everyone else on this forum, this week I haven't had one brown trouser event

Even I had a nasty moment this week.........



Could not find the cork screw


now, wheres mi coat.

 

[996jimbo]

Even I had a nasty moment this week.........



Could not find the cork screw


now, wheres mi coat.

Schoolboy error.

Keep it on a bit of string around your neck.

 

[chriswt]

This is the BEST motoring forum on the web. I'm on the Audi-sports.net, BMW car forum and the jaguarforum and this has to be the best.

All views and opinions are, in the main, balanced and sensible and there is a very british-ness to everyones posts and replies.

My post was a bit of a rant because I'm sick of dnagerous driving and as for my short fuse behind the wheel, well I intend to start my advanced driving course next month to address that.

I'm glad to have found this site!

 

[glojo]

My post was a bit of a rant because I'm sick of dnagerous driving and as for my short fuse behind the wheel, well I intend to start my advanced driving course next month to address that.

I'm glad to have found this site!

Some of us spotted you were in rant mode. Congratulations on deciding to take an advanced driving course. It is money well spent and a great investment.

Go into it with an open mind, except any criticism in the manner that it is meant to be beneficial, and most important practice what is being preached.

Good luck, and remember,

deep breaths,

Breathe in.........

Breathe out .......
If some lunatic wants to race you,

Pull over and say to yourself,
You win, I loose....... and then get on with enjoying the day

John

 

[gary350]

I used to have road rage but now I just look at my nurse she taps me on the head wags her finger at me tucks in my blanket gives me another pill and I just sit there smiling singing a sugarbabes tune.

gary

 

[marcos]

this is the funniest post i have ever read, middle aged, middle class "have a go heroes"

yeah i bet you came down to earth when the gun came out

just what exactly were you planning to do pullling up to them? give them an earful? oh well done, that would have modified their behaviour

how would you have felt if you found the driver had an injured child spewing blood out of it's ears and mouth and was being rushed to hospital?

Sasha,

I would take a bit of time in future to find out who you write about. Middle aged possibly, but I won't agree , middle class, I don't think so!
Would I have given them an earfull ? Yes probably followed by the biggest beating they would have ever recieved, yes I'm more than capable of dishing it out mate as I have done for the past 20yrs.
One more thing, if they were rushing a child to hospital why would they shoot at people

Regards

Marcos

 

[GrahamC230K]

I don't know about middle aged and middle class, the amount of macho threatening behaviour I read about on this forum lately, I start to wonder whether the pot is calling the kettle black!!