Just thought id tell you guys about an incident i had on the way home from work last night...

I was on the M61 heading from manchester to preston in reasonable traffic, we were moving steadily all the way from the m60. I was behind a silver Audi A3 1.8T driven by a bloke who had stayed in the outside lane all the way from manchester. this wasnt a problem as the middle and inside lane were busy, but he was trying to get something from his passenger footwell which caused him to swerve a few times.

anyway, we get within 2miles of my junction and the middle lane clears but he stays in the outside lane, whilst trying to get whatever he was after. On this try he really was veering all over the road and slowed down to about 60mph which caused me to close up on him a bit, and no i really wasnt tailgating!. He then slammed on so hard with nothing in front that i was totally taken by surprise, bear in mind that he had unexpectedly slowed down as well and reduced the gap between us.

He started going absolutely apesh*t and pointing to the hard shoulder to get me over there for a fight, but i wasnt interested. I stayed behind him for a ew secs but he starts really slowing down, im talking 40mph in the outside lane. i pulled over to the middle lane but he swerved and braked, trying to take me out. he did this three times before the sliproad (half a mile in distance!) and then proceeded to watch me whilst still gesturing to the side of the road.

when we got to my exit, he was still trying to swerve and force me to the side of the road so i dummied an overtake but then cut left to come off, but he followed! he forced me to the hard shoulder by cutting me off but got forced to carry on by a truck. I waited on the HS till he got properly caught in traffic (there was a queue on the sliproad so didnt want to get stuck)

I then realised i didnt have his reg, so i went after him but lost him in the traffic. damn it! Im not kidding when i say this guy was an absolute nutcase and a danger to himself and everyone around.

sorry for the long post, but this really p*ssed me off (and scared me! )

I can see how a situation like that would be frightening. There's no such thing as a fair fight these days even if you did stop. You just don't know what he has in the car... You did the right thing.

thats what i was thinking, im 6ft 2 but fairly skinny! The way this guy flipped from being annoying in the outside lane to complete psycho is quite unnerving. I just didnt know what he would do if I had been forced to stop

Phew! You did the right thing and really well to get out of that situation. I wouldn't have gone after him for his Reg though - he could have started up all over again.

Did you actually collide with him when he slammed on the brakes then? If not why was he was so pd off - apart from being absolutely nuts of course!

I had this a couple of years or so back, following an astra estate, wasnt tailgating, then when going up a hill he started slowing down, to 10 mph, and then braking with nothing in front. I pipped the horn as he was also swerving. When we got to a round-about he jumps out of his car asking me out for a fight. askinging him why he told me i was tailgating him along ith a torrent of abuse. he was doing all this in rush hour.

I refused to get out saying he got it all wrong and should grow up, he then went to his car and opened the boot, at the point I thought right im off, started to take the plate but half of the rear plate was missing. out comes charlie with a peice of wood so I shot off in my car round to front of his where i get out, inform him he is making a big mistake, and I took a picture with my phone of him and the car and the reg plate. he then jumped in and promptly, f***ed off. A witness gave me her details. gave details and what have you to the fuzz but never heard anything back. they said he sounded like he had a screw loose.

Was bricking myself but he appeared not to be the big man once the camera come out the pocket

sounds like u had an interesting and scary time hun xx

My mate's a taxi driver and he has a mag lamp for such occassions.. people are really realy unstable. I had someone waving and screaming at me for getting "too close" to his bumper, but that's cos the pillock was using his mobile and dropped it, decided that it was ok to bend over to pick it up, and nearly hit this merc in front of him...

You have to bear in mind that the mentality of these people is that they own the road, and they are never in the wrong....

There are way too many d*ckheads on the roads. You done the right thing there mate. Although I have been in this situation a few times in the past and I have to say I don't do the sensible thing Sorry I can't always help myself

For Road rage occasions where people think ive done something wrong but haven't and get had baggy I give em the up middle finger, tell them to "fcuk off you ccok suckin son of a biatch"

And have a car full of "tools" ready shall I ever need them.

When me car was quick (before I broke it) I just put me foot down and left em, that way I didn't have to look at their suddenly ugly car and their stupid face. but when you cant boot off and have to put up with their ramblings they get some back.

In Enfield the other week I was victim to racial abuse from a PASSENGER.. yes a PASSENGER who had his missus drivin after she tried to overtake me on the wrong side of the road, failed and for some reason the male passenger decided he would tell me off for.. wait for it..

1) Drivin on the wrong side of the road
2) Not indicating (even though It was only a 2 lane road and I had no intention of driving on the wrong side of the road
3) Being black

I'm only guilty of the third charge but I'm cool with that if I wasn't with two female passengers who told me to leave it you might have heard the story on the news.

after the initial shock of the tw@t trying to run me off the road, i became angry and wanted to get his reg but i lost the f*cker in traffic.

Im too laid back to get into a fight with someone over some road rage. plus i didnt want him to damge my nice shiny abarth!

You really did do the right thing... i don't know what i would do in that situation..
i usually get people trying to get right up the back end of my car just after i've overtaken them, they speed up and try to intimidate me,.. why do people bother?! Do they not know how bloody dangerous it is, without them being idiots! grrr..
but well done.. and it is horrible when u get prats like that on the road.

i once was driving along a road near my house, and on my side of the road was a parked council van, i couldnt overtake it because of the cars coming towards me, but the lass in the car behind me was screaming and shouting, waving her arms around, and swearing out of the window, it got so bad i could see her spit being sprayed on the inside of her windscreen :yuck:

I would advise like Steve and the majority of others not to rise to the challenge because you never know but more so becasue you could end up with a criminal record for something that you didn't start, if they jump out, they've likely done it before and have a record so in their eyes have nothing to loose.

But like Koa said, I found it to be amazing the folks who once walking towards your car about turn and head back when I get out and I ain't a 6ft bodybuilder, there just intimidating shyte bags!

Liam

just remember that if a car gos into the back of you its their fault. it doesnt matter if you brake suddenly or just stop. i have a habit of driving a little too close to cars. but iv never actually hit one. on the otherhand when cars drive too close behind me it pisses me off so decide to drive about 10mph or just slam on brakes now and again. once they have completly **** themselves they then decide to drive further away. at which point i floor it and leave them in the dust

Wow LRD, sounds like you have a really responsible driving style...
H

when i say a little too close i dont mean while bombing along at silly speeds i mean in town driving and i am about a car length away. but it might just be me who thinks its too close. everyone else seems to be about that far apart. and when people are following me all i can see is thier lights in my rear view. so i know they are too close.i am a responsible driver. and a very safe driver il have you know so dont lecture me. im not a chav who would wrap thier car round a tree and take another car with them!!!

I have been doing a fair bit of motorway driving over the last three weeks, and it scares me the number of people out there who really have no road sense what so ever!

I can live with trucks pulling out with not much notice, it's something they do, I have been brought up around trucks etc, so know when to expect it. But idiots who seem to get close up to slow moving vehicles then slide into the middle lane and don't really accerlate to match the speed of the cars in the middle lane. I have been very nearly wipped out by stupid sods who just can't seem to read the road. :bang: :bang:

As for road rage - if someone has a go, I tend to keep out of the way and leave ASAP!

When driving on the open road, if you are being followed too closely, you should allow extra stopping distance between you and the car in front. Manoevres should be indicated well in advance.
When following in traffic, the general advice is to allow enough distance between you and the car in front that you can see their back tyres. When facing uphill, you may want to leave more, seeing as many people either hold the car on the footbrake, or seem simply unable to do a hill start.
H

just to point out that i wasnt tailgating the guy, or driving too close in the beginning. it was only when he was f*cking about trying to open his can of carling or whatever the cnut was doing that i got closer to him. even then i was well away, i must have been because i didnt hit him even when he slammed on...

plus the middle and outside lanes were empty, he should have moved.

Stilochris said:

the middle and outside lanes were empty, he should have moved.

Click to expand...

Yup. It's inexcusable. My record is sitting in the outside lane behind a BMW, waiting for it to pull over, for over 53 miles!
H