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It seems cliche to post road rage incidents these days since they seem to be part of daily life anymore, but my experience tonight had me prepared for a fight that I never wanted and never expected. It started after my wife asked me to pick up our 14 year old daughter in N Eugene.
I arrived to pick her up about 6:20 and headed for home east on Beltline Hwy. Traffic slowed near the Coburg exit for vehicles that were getting off so I moved to the left lane to pass. I was doing 60 in a 55 and had just passed the last of the vehicles that were slowing to exit when I noticed a black Mercedes approaching rapidly in my rearview mirror. As he swerved from the left lane to the right to pass me he narrowly missed my rear bumper and the front bumper of the vehicle I had just passed. While moving back over to the right lane I sounded my horn in dismay at "Mario's" complete disdain for mine and my daughter's safety, as well as that of everyone else on the road. The driver of the Mercedes then swerved back to the left lane, slammed on his brakes, waited for me to pass on the right, then took up a position 25 feet off my bumper. He was in such a hurry before this point but was suddenly completely content staying behind me, so I was pretty certain this had just graduated to road rage and that this jackdonkey was there to stay for a while...
He followed me through three highway interchanges before I approached my exit. I wasn't about to lead him to my home so I informed my daughter that the car behind us was the car from the earlier interaction that had been following us ever since. Much to my surprise, she replied "I know"; there hadn't been a word since the interaction as she was engrossed in her phone. I continued past my exit toward Thurston on Hwy. 126 with a plan to turn west on Main St. and call 911 if the car continued following. I hadn't voiced this plan to my daughter and was again surprised to hear her explain how we don't want to drive away from the populated area but could pull into a busy parking lot at a big store (I've told her all this stuff, but never thought she actually listened)! I turned west on Main and the Mercedes followed...
I called 911 and explained the situation to the dispatcher. While on the phone with her the Mercedes ripped by me on the left, moved to the right lane in front of me, cut through the gas station on the next corner to avoid the signal, and headed north on 42nd, but not before I relayed the license plate number to the dispatcher. I followed north on 42nd about 75 yards back while keeping the dispatcher informed of the position and path of travel; I don't believe the driver knew it was me behind him at this point because there was a lot of traffic at the intersection and I had waited for the light while he cut through the gas station. When we approached the intersection at 42nd and Olympic the light was red so I slowed down hoping the light would turn green before I closed the distance. That didn't happen, so to avoid coming to a stop behind the Mercedes I changed course to a pullout on the left, prepared to launch out of there quickly if needed, and waited for the officer who I knew by that time was close by.
I updated the dispatcher on my position and explained to her that I was a CHL holder and was carrying a firearm. I don't typically feel compelled to do that, but I wasn't sure what my interaction with the officer was going to entail and wanted to avoid surprises for everyone's safety. The officer arrived about 15 seconds later and had his window down, so I actually heard the dispatcher inform him of my armed status. He was very friendly and not concerned about my being armed, but wanted to be sure I was ok. My daughter was visible to him in the passenger seat which may have helped put his mind at ease. I explained what happened and although no crime had been committed he certainly understood the concern; he said I did a good job. A second officer arrived during our conversation but remained in his/her vehicle. I asked if he needed anything else from me and he said no, so I thanked him for his time and response and wished him a good evening.
During the entire incident, I kept thinking "this is why I carry a gun, and i will kill this guy if he does anything that threatens my daughter, but I'm going to do everything I can to avoid that". Things observed and learned:
I arrived to pick her up about 6:20 and headed for home east on Beltline Hwy. Traffic slowed near the Coburg exit for vehicles that were getting off so I moved to the left lane to pass. I was doing 60 in a 55 and had just passed the last of the vehicles that were slowing to exit when I noticed a black Mercedes approaching rapidly in my rearview mirror. As he swerved from the left lane to the right to pass me he narrowly missed my rear bumper and the front bumper of the vehicle I had just passed. While moving back over to the right lane I sounded my horn in dismay at "Mario's" complete disdain for mine and my daughter's safety, as well as that of everyone else on the road. The driver of the Mercedes then swerved back to the left lane, slammed on his brakes, waited for me to pass on the right, then took up a position 25 feet off my bumper. He was in such a hurry before this point but was suddenly completely content staying behind me, so I was pretty certain this had just graduated to road rage and that this jackdonkey was there to stay for a while...
He followed me through three highway interchanges before I approached my exit. I wasn't about to lead him to my home so I informed my daughter that the car behind us was the car from the earlier interaction that had been following us ever since. Much to my surprise, she replied "I know"; there hadn't been a word since the interaction as she was engrossed in her phone. I continued past my exit toward Thurston on Hwy. 126 with a plan to turn west on Main St. and call 911 if the car continued following. I hadn't voiced this plan to my daughter and was again surprised to hear her explain how we don't want to drive away from the populated area but could pull into a busy parking lot at a big store (I've told her all this stuff, but never thought she actually listened)! I turned west on Main and the Mercedes followed...
I called 911 and explained the situation to the dispatcher. While on the phone with her the Mercedes ripped by me on the left, moved to the right lane in front of me, cut through the gas station on the next corner to avoid the signal, and headed north on 42nd, but not before I relayed the license plate number to the dispatcher. I followed north on 42nd about 75 yards back while keeping the dispatcher informed of the position and path of travel; I don't believe the driver knew it was me behind him at this point because there was a lot of traffic at the intersection and I had waited for the light while he cut through the gas station. When we approached the intersection at 42nd and Olympic the light was red so I slowed down hoping the light would turn green before I closed the distance. That didn't happen, so to avoid coming to a stop behind the Mercedes I changed course to a pullout on the left, prepared to launch out of there quickly if needed, and waited for the officer who I knew by that time was close by.
I updated the dispatcher on my position and explained to her that I was a CHL holder and was carrying a firearm. I don't typically feel compelled to do that, but I wasn't sure what my interaction with the officer was going to entail and wanted to avoid surprises for everyone's safety. The officer arrived about 15 seconds later and had his window down, so I actually heard the dispatcher inform him of my armed status. He was very friendly and not concerned about my being armed, but wanted to be sure I was ok. My daughter was visible to him in the passenger seat which may have helped put his mind at ease. I explained what happened and although no crime had been committed he certainly understood the concern; he said I did a good job. A second officer arrived during our conversation but remained in his/her vehicle. I asked if he needed anything else from me and he said no, so I thanked him for his time and response and wished him a good evening.
During the entire incident, I kept thinking "this is why I carry a gun, and i will kill this guy if he does anything that threatens my daughter, but I'm going to do everything I can to avoid that". Things observed and learned:
- As tempting as it is, avoid using the horn to express disapproval of jackdonkey drivers. It's not likely to make the situation better, but has lots of potential to make it worse
- Keep talking to your kids about personal defense and survival tactics. Even if it appears that they aren't listening, sometimes they are
- Make sure your family knows where your tools are and how to use them if possible. After the incident, I wished I had reminded my daughter that my backpack was in the back of the vehicle and that my personal trauma kit was in it
- ALWAYS CARRY YOUR GUN! You don't get to pick the date, time and circumstances of the fight; the fight will come when it comes
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