What would you do: Guy the car behind me made gun hand gestures at me repeatedly

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[Post New]03/23/2017 15:16
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What a f#cking loser. I'd probably memorize the license plate and report it to 911 later in the day.

He needs a visit from the cops to straighten him out.


This would not be an appropriate response. The appropriate response would be to ignore. But if you really felt like you MUST call the police, use the non-emergency number. I'd want you arrested if you called 911 for this.


You're a lunatic.

This is exactly what 911 is used for in most major localities. In DC, 911 is the general government services number for ANYTHING that may involve the police, fire department, and paramedics. This would include noise complaints, getting an illegal parked car towed, etc. It goes through 911 because that's where the city can track and keep records of all requests.

No, the man did not commit a crime. But he did make a threatening gesture to a mother and a child. Most cops I know would be happy to drop by and give the man a stern lecture on his front porch about appropriate behavior while driving.


I have always wondered about this-- if I call to report someone driving erratically, threatening people, or whatever, and give 911 their license plate, do the police really go to their house? I've called in what appears to be a drunk driver in the past and wondered if they do anything like that.


I don't think it happens. The police have better things to do than go out to tell people to play nicely.
[Post New]03/23/2017 15:20
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I wanted to make a Twitter where I posted pictures of people who drive like jerks, but my lawyer husband told me not to.


On that topic, if you ever find yourself wanting to yell at bad drivers, search for "road rage" on YouTube. Seriously messed up. It will cure you of wanting to respond.
[Post New]03/23/2017 16:40
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Anonymous
I shoot people all the time with my finger gun, but never where they can see me do it and never at a child.

I usually reserve it for really horrible driving. In your case if you're driving slower than the rest of the traffic put on your hazard lights to indicate you're being cautious OR fasten your cargo better do it doesn't cause you hold other people up.

[Post New]03/23/2017 16:57
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:What a f#cking loser. I'd probably memorize the license plate and report it to 911 later in the day.

He needs a visit from the cops to straighten him out.


This would not be an appropriate response. The appropriate response would be to ignore. But if you really felt like you MUST call the police, use the non-emergency number. I'd want you arrested if you called 911 for this.


You're a lunatic.

This is exactly what 911 is used for in most major localities. In DC, 911 is the general government services number for ANYTHING that may involve the police, fire department, and paramedics. This would include noise complaints, getting an illegal parked car towed, etc. It goes through 911 because that's where the city can track and keep records of all requests.

No, the man did not commit a crime. But he did make a threatening gesture to a mother and a child. Most cops I know would be happy to drop by and give the man a stern lecture on his front porch about appropriate behavior while driving.

I have always wondered about this-- if I call to report someone driving erratically, threatening people, or whatever, and give 911 their license plate, do the police really go to their house? I've called in what appears to be a drunk driver in the past and wondered if they do anything like that.


911 dispatcher here, no we dont.
[Post New]03/23/2017 17:27
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Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I was driving with my two kids in a 25 mph zone and took a turn slowly because I had a big plant in the back of the car and I didn't want it to tip over. It wasn't super slow, but apparently it was slow enough to piss off the guy behind me, because right after the turn we were stopped at a light and he made a gun shape with his hands and fired at me twice. Then, when the light turned green, he pulled around me and pointed his finger gun at my 9-year-old (who was in the passenger seat). That was the end of it, but I'm still thinking about it, and wondering if I should have taken down his license plate and called the cops. Thoughts?


I probably would have given him a hand gesture of my own. But I realize the better reaction is to let it go and not egg him on. Sorry you had to deal with a jerk, OP.
[Post New]03/23/2017 17:47
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Anonymous
Wow - I would find that behavior seriously disturbing too. Practically speaking, probably nothing you can do about it. The sad fact is, people basically have to wait to get killed before cops can do anything about an aggressive threatening lunatic. I'm surprised by the number of people who seem to think this is no big deal tho. I can't imagine ever making a gun gesture at another driver (or their kid?!). Giving someone the finger - sure. Still not a good idea (and also wouldn't do that to a kid either) but I feel like simulating shooting someone is just a whole other level. What a psycho.
[Post New]03/23/2017 17:59
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:For anyone recommending calling 911/311, what is the outcome that you hope to achieve?


Police may already be watching/aware of this guy if he has a criminal record. This adds an another data point.
Police can approach the individual and said they have received a complaint about his threatening behavior. Even if he denies everything to the police, the individual may modify his future behavior after knowing that he's been "put on notice."

Will he get arrested? No. Will he change his anti-social behavior? Potentially.


You live in a world of delusion. The police don't give a crap and are definitely not watching anyone. Seriously. The police around here don't care about actual crime--we had someone rob us, we even knew who it was (guy admitted it) and the police response was "oh well, it was only $3,000 worth of stuff, not worth us doing anything."
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:15
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Anonymous
You should have called 911 right there and said there was a man with a gun pointing it at you.
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:18
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Anonymous
Ignoring is the best revenge.
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:34
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Invictus
Member Offline
Make a gesture like that in Florida or Texas and the response might be a real gun pointed at that moron. I don't own a gun but there are situations where having one would make someone think twice...unless you had to fire in self-defense. The US isn't Canada, the UK, Japan or other nations where either handguns are outlawed or tightly regulated. I have a female friend who was taught by her older brother, in the Army, how to use a gun as a teenager and she's owned a gun since she was 21. It saved her life a few times.

I apologize for editorializing, as I know gun ownership stirs up emotions on both sides. I just weighed in, since I have friends in Texas and Florida is where I was raised and have family and friends.
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:42
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:I was driving with my two kids in a 25 mph zone and took a turn slowly because I had a big plant in the back of the car and I didn't want it to tip over. It wasn't super slow, but apparently it was slow enough to piss off the guy behind me, because right after the turn we were stopped at a light and he made a gun shape with his hands and fired at me twice. Then, when the light turned green, he pulled around me and pointed his finger gun at my 9-year-old (who was in the passenger seat). That was the end of it, but I'm still thinking about it, and wondering if I should have taken down his license plate and called the cops. Thoughts?


Thoughts?

I think you're a complete idiot for having a 9 yr old in the front passenger seat. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends parents wait until a child is at least 13 years old, over 100 pounds and taller than 4 feet 9 inches. But you go ahead and fret about hand gestures while you're driving you're nine year old around in the front seat of your car.

Stupid.
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:46
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Anonymous
^^ was going to ask the same question about why your son is in the front seat. Not the safest.
[Post New]03/23/2017 18:51
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Anonymous
I would have been inclined to ignore until I read these posts and it has convinced me that the non-emergency call later on is the thing to do and I would stress when I reported that he went out of his way to intimidate your young child. As I read the posts it is clear that a lot of drivers feel that expressing rage is an appropriate response to any inconvenience they experience. On the off chance that the intake dispatcher took the call seriously and one of these a-holes get a visit would be enough for me to memorize the plate and a description of the driver
[Post New]03/23/2017 21:33
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:Wow - I would find that behavior seriously disturbing too. Practically speaking, probably nothing you can do about it. The sad fact is, people basically have to wait to get killed before cops can do anything about an aggressive threatening lunatic. I'm surprised by the number of people who seem to think this is no big deal tho. I can't imagine ever making a gun gesture at another driver (or their kid?!). Giving someone the finger - sure. Still not a good idea (and also wouldn't do that to a kid either) but I feel like simulating shooting someone is just a whole other level. What a psycho.


The only psycho here is you
[Post New]03/23/2017 22:03
quote
Anonymous
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Being a raging asshole is not a crime.


+1 ignore. sorry OP. so many a-holes out there, but in this case, not a police issue.


+2 I was almost hit today in a crosswalk (for which I had a walk sign) by an asshole who pulled around the car in front of him who was waiting for the pedestrians to finish crossing before turning right. Only reason I wasn't hit is that I am 9 months pregnant and walking slowly so I wasn't nearly as far into the crosswalk as I would have been otherwise. He went so fast I couldn't have gotten his license plate even I'd wanted to, and I doubt the cops would have done or been able to do something, so I just chalked it up to yet another asshole driver. This area really breeds them.
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