Ok, this is only tangentially related to travel, but I want to reflect upon a road rage incident in Los Angeles that occurred over the weekend.
Road Rage In Los Angeles
Sunday afternoon I was driving through a two-lane canyon in Los Angeles. There’s a point in the road in which a speed sensor triggers a traffic light if you are driving more than 45 miles per hour. All the “locals” are aware of this and will slow down accordingly as we approach the point.
But when I slowed down, a guy in an oversized white van who had been tailgating me all the way down the canyon, barreled around me in the narrow bike lane. Coming within inches of my car, I honked at him, holding down my horn for three seconds. He had triggered the traffic signal but went right through the red light. He pulled into the intersection ahead and parked diagonally so as to block the road.
As I sat at the opposite end of the intersection, he stepped out of his van, still blocking my right of way. It was a portly man. He was screaming, though I had my windows up and could not make out what he was saying. He was also signaling for me to get out of the car. Quite honestly, I was expecting him to pull a gun.
Did I mention my two children, one 11 months and the other four years old, were in the backseat?
When the light turned green, I had a choice to make. There were now cars behind me and cars traveling in the opposite direction. I truly was blocked.
I proceeded toward him, straddling the double yellow line and narrowly weaving around the car traveling the opposite direction. He stepped aside just in time…I was prepared to hit him if necessary to protect my children. Thankfully, he did not jump out in front of the car or grab onto it.
I continued traveling down the canyon, which ends in an industrial neighborhood of Los Angeles. As I was traveling down the road, I noticed the white van in my rearview mirror. He was flooring it, with lights flashing at me. He was quickly gaining ground. The road was mostly empty.
I tapped the car and surged ahead…his van was no match for my car. But then we hit a red light…and I was not going to go through it. As he approached, the light turned green and I surged ahead again and onto a freeway onramp. He followed me, but I quickly lost him.
And that was that…
But I cannot tell you how scary that was. It would have been scary had I been alone, but it was incredibly scary when I had my two kids in the backseat. I was prepared to run him over if he did not move aside or tried to open the car doors. Thankfully, that was not necessary.
And all of this made me think of life. We don’t know when it will be our time to go. Some have died from COVID-19, others die of cancer. I could have died, along with my kids, for honking my horn at a dangerous driver. It happens, especially in the United States.
Will I still use my horn? Yes. Will I still use two-lane roads? Yes. But my goodness, it was a reminder of how anger can master us if we do not master it. That’s a timely lesson for all of us.
I just ignore these idiots. And yes, if I have to run him over to protect my family, I will.
It’s easy to say ignore it, but at the time you’re in the middle of it, getting out of dodge it the first thought.
Sorry you went through that Matthew.
Highly recommend getting a dashcam if you already do not have one. Too many crazies out there and nothing beats a live recording from the front and rear dashcam.
Almost sounds like the Unhinged movie I saw yesterday. Sorry for your experience but the movie was great.
A portly man in LA doing something like that? Only two options, either it was Stuart or it was Russell Crowe still in character from his recent blockbuster “Unhinged”.
What a jerk! Be careful he doesn’t lie in wait for you on that same road in the future (if you have to return to the same area).
Actually you should probably have called 911 to report his erratic driving and threatening behavior.
His rage will get worse if he ever finds out that you described him as a portly man 🙂
Yeah I was going to mention the movie Unhinged which I recommend you watch Matthew if you haven’t. These days I just give a quick tap on the horn and a wave. Too many crazies to get confrontational.
Once in Dallas when I lived there many years ago I had a similar incident and I honked the horn for about 5 seconds and the guy got road rage and flashed a gun. After that I just don’t let these nuts get to me.
Life is too short. Too many mentally unstable and too many guns in the USA.
Have never heard of this movie. Just watched trailer. Will watch!
That’s why I carry a Glock. He can honk all he wants, block the road, flip me off, no problem. If he steps out with a weapon, its the last thing he does.
LOL
For better or worse, keeping a loaded firearm in your car necessitates a concealed-carry permit in California. It is difficult (but getting easier) to obtain one in Los Angeles County.
Matt–sorry to hear about this, as I share the same streets.
LA drivers are very agressive about going around people–they have zero patience and a tremendous disregard for safety at a level I’ve never experiened elsewhere. For instance, I had never seen someone use the turning lane to pass other drivers at a stoplight as it just turns green until I moved to LA.
Guy should be reported, but it is a also good reminder to just let things go…(I try, but don’t always succeed).
Welcome to California – the land of the fruits and the nuts. But you have to look at the bright side – at least California is not burning this week. That is if Maxine Waters and her lynch mob get their murder conviction in Minnesota.
@AlohaDaveKennedy – you can leave anytime you want. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
@JF
You have to have a permit to carry a run in your car anyways. Or else you are almost guaranteed to violate the Federal Gun Free School Zone Act. That’s a quick 5 years in Club Fed
@Matthew
Why did you just not run the red light if you were in danger?
The cross traffic was too busy to do so safely.
I have a CCP . In any case , no one goes to jail for anything less than multiple felonies.
Glad you’re okay. Still, a great example of why we need to make gun ownership much more difficult so that you don’t have to fear for your life over some idiot flipping out because he’s an idiot.
Really similar thing happened to me last year. This guy started tailgating me and following me around. I noticed it and so at one point I turned into a small parking lot and he boxed me in. He got out of his car and started to come towards me. At that point I had 911 engaged. I kept moving the vehicle around the lot to keep him at bay and was ready to ram his car and duck down quickly if I saw a firearm. He soon heard the sirens and got in his vehicle and sped away. The cops would not even make an effort to go after him….which was very upsetting. The oddest thing? Nothing occurred before. I have no idea who this was or why. I was simply driving around town doing errands and minding my own business. To this day it’s a mystery. So yeah, I feel for you, having your kids in the car would make it even more frightening.
Sounds like a very scary incident indeed. Glad to hear you and yours are safe!
@ Joe Chivas. I suggest you tone down your banter in my direction. I have no idea why I occupy such a place in your head – but it’s not funny. And I am reaching the end of my patience. If you want to engage me in conversation/debate that is a discussion, fine. But I will not tolerate these direct insults for no apparent reason any more. Quite frankly it’s getting quite creepy and concerning. Knock it off.
When he blocked the intersection why didn’t you just stay put there? So what if there are cars behind you. Seems an unnecessarily risk escalation to risk hitting him when you are safely stopped.
I wanted to get away from him. I had no desire to “provoke” him to approach me.
A wise mentor once remarked that there is no winner in road rages, which I keep in mind when the crazies are in evidence. All too common. It’s the wild west out there, with too many of them wielding guns.
This is not the first time he’s done this; it won’t be the last. It will only end when either he seriously injures or kills someone in an incident, or drops dead of a heart attack in the process. We can only hope it’s the latter.
In my observation the most likely perpetrators of RR events/ dangerous driving are : commercial/trade vans / utilities ( trucks in the US) and those monstrous SUV things.
You should have recorded his license plate. When this happens, I always post their license plates in public online.
Get a dash cam or activate your sentry mode if you have a tesla
@Matthew, if you have a dashcam (hope you do), then presumably you can report the incident and send the footage. Speeding, crossing double yellow, running a red light, etc. Whether they *do* anything is another matter entirely, but at least you’d have done something about it.
As an aside, the threaded Reply function seems to be broken…
It is broken. We are trying to fix. I don’t have a dashcam…but will get one.
There’s nobody writing airline articles in the world that I like more than Matthew. That said, I urge reconsideration of the use of the horn. The horn is used to alert another driver of danger. It is not intended to be a surrogate yelling voice. Therefore, the use of the horn for 3 seconds is understandable but incorrect.
Often, an unhinged person will be triggered by the horn.
The possibility of hitting the pedestrian (formerly the other driver) is also to be admonished. I understand the danger of the man having a gun. If that were the case, I would not proceed past the intersection and even might make a turn despite my intended journey being straight ahead.
In any case, with road rage, it’s important not to be dead and right but rather alive. Also one should be a good driver and not a slow poke in the fast lane.
Others have recommended a dash cam and I concur. I have a Rexing dash cam that is probably discontinued but it works ok. I would like to hide the wiring to prevent break in s but haven’t yet.
You know I have the greatest respect for you, but I do tend to disagree with you here. Further, the speed limit was 45mph and there was only a single lane. I wasn’t going under the speed limit, but at the speed limit to avoid triggering the traffic signal.
@Matthew Last month I was at the Griffith Park playground with my son burning time before our 2pm time slot for the LA Zoo. When leaving, I was pulling out of the adjacent parking lot and hanging a left; there is a stop sign. The vehicle to my left did not want to wait his turn so he attempted to go through even though I had the right of way. He acted like an idiot and threw up his hands and yelled something from his driver’s side window. I live in south Texas these days and in south Texas we assume everyone has a firearm in their vehicle — keep your head down and you’ll live to drive another day. One day these individuals like the man you came across, will cross the wrong person and they’ll be the ones at the wrong end of a hothead’s pistol.
Horrible. Glad you dodged more trouble.
This is why we need to protect and further gun rights so decent peaceful citizens are not disarmed while cops and common criminals have them to abuse you and your families. The war on drugs and prohibition of alcohol in the 20s/30s showed that banning anything doesn’t work. Bans only keep cautious citizens from having things while dangerous people are willing to take more risks. Knife bans in England doesn’t stop thugs (13% of the population in the U.S. commits 52% of the violent crime. Same story in the U.K.) from attacking innocent people with knives.
Certainly, it would be helpful if cops focused on deterring and stopping actual crime like rape/vandalism/theft/robbery/battery/murder instead of persecuting people for making choices for their own body (seat belts/drugs) or enforcing gun control.
A dashcam is a good idea. Conceal carrying a handgun is also a good idea. Remember, the goal is always deescalation and finding safety. Using a firearm is a last resort. Don’t even take it out unless it is necessary to deter an imminent attack. Having bear spray in your car may be a good idea in lieu of concealed carry. Pepper spray on person and a small knife (pit bulls also commit a disproportionate amount of unprovoked violent attacks no matter how nice they are raise= genetics) too.
Hi Matt – as said above, reconsider using the horn for incidents other than for safety reasons (warning pedestrians, animals on road etc). In my state in Australia, using a horn for purposes other than for an emergency would get you a ticket. It can definitely trigger psychos as well.
If in fear, drive to the nearest police station and never respond to the idiots. Stay calm and change radio station to classical music. Trust me, we have more than our fair share of dickheads in Australia and this strategy has worked well for me many times. Do not allow yourself to be bullied.
This is really scary stuff. I have to remind myself super hard not to honk or lose my cool with crazies here in Dallas TX. My fear is someone is going to get bent out of shape and pull a gun.
John C – Way ahead of you! This third generation Californian left the state for better pastures half a lifetime ago with fond memories of ambulances rolling into the parking lot of our plant in Hawthorne to carry out employees who fell ill during third stage smog alerts. But if California is your idea of paradise, please stay there, enjoy the atmosphere and The Shaky State.
@David S.: It looks like you never been to Asia or Latin America. Horns are part of people’s lives. LOL!!!! They use their horns more than they listen to their radios. Americans are not used to but elsewhere horns are normal.
The fact that so many people are recommending that you purchase a gun for protection provides a fairly interesting, and I would also say disturbing, commentary on America.
You did not mention – what race was he?
I find that middle easterners (tons in LA) are more prone to road rage.
Today one has to be so careful driving because of the crazy people out there. I would do the same as you to protect family. You never know who may have a gun.
I lived in San Jose for 8 years and could not believe how polite the drivers: no horn honking, put blinker on and cars let you move over.
I am in Philadelphia now and when the light turns green you better move or you will get a horn blast. Dash cam good idea to report this jerk but a gun is a bad idea.
I have had this to me twice in Los Angeles. But I was by myself, and the ‘unhinged driver’ chased me. Each time they were honking their horns, running red lights and stop signs, and incessantly waving at me to stop (and I assume ‘fight it out’!). I don’t even remember what triggered their insanity, but probably a justified honk of my horn (I don’t use it often, but as you know living in LA you need to occasionally). I find it fascinating that a honk of your horn would trigger such irrational behavior. Really? Are that many people wound so tight? In Los Angeles….yes, they are.
And I agree with you…it is much scarier when you are in the moment, and some complete stranger becomes unhinged….
Too many Americans are terrible drivers. I think this is due in large part to the fact that they are not required to learn how to drive a manual transmission. Autonomous driving can’t come soon enough for most.
Don’t engage with insensate beasts. Avoid them or defeat them if absolutely necessary. Trying to reason with them is a fool’s errand.
Interesting to read that such things occur in the US. As a traveler just visiting the states for vacation purposes I always felt there was fewer road rage than in my home country (GER). I felt drivers in the US were more careful and passive than in Germany. Here, road rage is also a common thing but escalations are seldom. Is this a thing for California? I never have been to California, but for Florida and NJ I’ve always encountered quite passive drivers.
I once had a horrible road rage incident in Köln. Very similar to what occurred, expect on the Autobahn. The Turkish guy cut me off on the Ausfahrt and pulled out a knife. Scary…
So sorry this happened! Especially with kids! I personally don’t like using my horn, I’ll usually give 10 seconds for people to notice the green light of someone doing something stupid before I use my horn. I would have used it in your situation as well! Glad you got out safely!