Knife wielding driver - to report or not?

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clk208

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Just been the subject of some road rage. A driver slammed on the anchors in front of me, presumbaly to stop and go to a cash point. There was no use of indicators and the stop was abrupt so on passing I looked over to see what sort of person was driving.

Maybe it was the way I looked over. He raise the fingers at me followed by a fist and then aborted his cash point stop, floored the throttle and caught me up pulling along side me, going the wrong way down a 30 road in a busy residential area. He then swerved over forcing me to stop or risk scraping the side of my car. So I stopped. He then gets out of the car and walks over - just as he approaches I eased onto the pavement and sped off.

Come the traffic lights down the road he has caught up so I slow in order to be able to keep rolling and not have to stop in case I became trapped at the lights. He pulls along side again, gets out a knife and starts jabbing it in my direction and shouting. No idea what he was saying as I wasn't about to wind down the window.

Anyway, I whip out the mobile camera, take a pic which flashes and all of a sudden he just drives off. I noted the registration.

Dilemma is do I report to police? I am due to go away to Spain for the week at 6am on Monday so if I get called in to give a statement it will be a problem. Would like to do my bit and have this guys collar felt to reduce the chances of him doing this to other drivers but in practice being my word against his nothing will probably happen anyway. Decisions...
 
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Yes, report him, simply because of the knife, he could really hurt or worse.
 
Report it. Follow up statements/actions can be done when you get back.

Thank you for taking the actions you did thus far.
 
Report it. Follow up statements/actions can be done when you get back.

Thank you for taking the actions you did thus far.

I concur with Trapper. We both have solid knowledge of police procedures. His carrying a knife in his car is a serious offence.
 
What!? Report it now!

I was driving up the A1 and had a incident on a Sunday afternoon with White van man.
Sounded similar to my experience although at the time I could pull away from him in a Beemer compact 318, had 3 others in.
Lasted about 10 minutes, him coming up the side of me throwing bottles out but it got heated just as we turned onto the a46 towards Lincoln he pulled a knife out and started waving it.
Screeched round the junction and looked like he was struggling to steer and wave the knife so he stabbed it into his dashboard!
Was about 6" long.

Enough was enough so my passenger called the cops and was giving them a running commentary, the girlfriends screaming in the back!
No less than ten more mins we got to a roundabout with a copper perched there. Slammed anchors on and pressed horn, van man shot past. Police looked up, turned out they was getting the instructions from control, they then pursued. 1 mile up the road, greeted by 3 cop cars and van man spread over his van.

They didn't find the knife but the knife hole was plain to see in the dash.

A month or so later we went to crown court and he was convicted for affray.
 
What!? Report it now!

I was driving up the A1 and had a incident on a Sunday afternoon with White van man.
Sounded similar to my experience although at the time I could pull away from him in a Beemer compact 318, had 3 others in.
Lasted about 10 minutes, him coming up the side of me throwing bottles out but it got heated just as we turned onto the a46 towards Lincoln he pulled a knife out and started waving it.
Screeched round the junction and looked like he was struggling to steer and wave the knife so he stabbed it into his dashboard!
Was about 6" long.

Enough was enough so my passenger called the cops and was giving them a running commentary, the girlfriends screaming in the back!
No less than ten more mins we got to a roundabout with a copper perched there. Slammed anchors on and pressed horn, van man shot past. Police looked up, turned out they was getting the instructions from control, they then pursued. 1 mile up the road, greeted by 3 cop cars and van man spread over his van.

They didn't find the knife but the knife hole was plain to see in the dash.

A month or so later we went to crown court and he was convicted for affray.

Yikes, that sounds like a bad experience for all concerned! Nothing like people screaming to help you think clearly in what must have been a very stressful event. :)

Good job on getting the scoundrel convicted and out of action for the time being - I'm sure that will make him think twice about doing that sort of thing again.
 
Bloody awful experience, although I'm not sure I'd report it, though.

It's as easy for the knife wielding maniac to record and remember your registration, car make, model, colour, your location, time of your journey (he may have seen you many times allong that route, and you wouldn't know it) and also your face. If you press charges he may well be jailed, but if he gets off on a technicality (or when he is released from prison) I can't really see him being that happy about things.

In this sort of situation I'm afraid we are damned if we do, and damned if we don't.

I'm not suggesting you shouldn't report the incident, but I should take the time to think a couple of steps ahead if I was in your shoes.

Good luck.
 
Bloody awful experience, although I'm not sure I'd report it, though.

It's as easy for the knife wielding maniac to record and remember your registration, car make, model, colour, your location, time of your journey (he may have seen you many times allong that route, and you wouldn't know it) and also your face. If you press charges he may well be jailed, but if he gets off on a technicality (or when he is released from prison) I can't really see him being that happy about things.

In this sort of situation I'm afraid we are damned if we do and damned if we don't.

I'm not suggesting you shouldn't report the incident, but I should take the time to think a couple of steps ahead if I was in your shoes.

Good luck.

Paul: I totally understand your point of view but something must be done about it,he might go killing around next
 
Paul: I totally understand your point of view but something must be done about it,he might go killing around next


I understand that, Dash and can't say I disagree with you. :)

The problem lies in the real possibility of retribution from this kind of person. If they are prepared to brandish a knife over a minor motoring incident, there is a live danger they'll do worse to whoever sent them to prison and this could be far reaching endangering ones family, etc.

Looking over your shoulder on a full time basis wouldn't be much fun in my opinion.
 
Not directly related but... just a reminder that while the car windows will stop and slightly move back down if meeting an obstruction when moving upward - for the driver's window, however, if the button is pulled once again (within 5 seconds or so) after it stopped due to obstruction - will NOT stop again but go up at considerable force.

I seem to remember that the Palestinian president lost the upper part of his pinky in this way while waving to the crowd - because on his armoured car all the windows go up without stopping (for obvious reasons)
 
I was threatened by a mad van man who claimed I had cut him up.

He followed me (I the simpleton thought he was going the same way lol) then when I stopped at a pizza place he swerved in front to block my escape and came out shaking his fist at me.
I dialed 999. He was goading me to get out of the car. Called me a F#%k*+g Pa$i C#%t and told me to go back to where I came from.
the police heard it all. (yippee for the MB phone pre- wiring)
He was arrested later and went to court.
In an informal chat at a council meeting ( I'm a local parish councillor) I was told he was a BNP self styled hardman, and had been fined almost 1000£ including court costs...
Now...
I've seen him on 3 other occasions when I've been out with the wife and kids, he's given me the look and the 'I'm watching u gesture', and made a big show on one occasion of driving past slowly and noting my car reg...
This left me a little uneasy. The police said they can't do anything because he hasn't actually done anything. So now I'm very uneasy and very angry at finding myself in a vulnerable position because there is nothing I can do.
In a different life, he might have woken up with his gonadds lopped off, but I appreciate we live in a civilised country now and we must live by the rules of the land:-(
at the moment he's just a thug looking for trouble and an opportunity...
And I'm driving around uneasy and a little scared for the safety of my kids n wife.
On hindsight maybe I shouldn't have reported it...
 
Report it immediately. How would you feel if this maniac seriously injured someone when you were lying on the beach in Spain. Can you not do it anonomysly using crime stoppers or something similar.
 
Careful... been there, done that.
 

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