Tag: WWYD

Brandished Gun In Traffic: What Would You Do?

Today on Reddit, a man posted this clip of an apparent road rage incident off of his dashcam:

Here’s a LINK to the post on Reddit.

If you can’t watch, the driver of a mercedes stops in the middle of a 3-way intersection here in Atlanta. The mercedes passenger gets out and starts pacing towards the camera car holding a pistol. He racks his slide as he walks and you can see him talking to the driver of the camera car. Gun guy walks back to the mercedes and it leaves through the intersection. No shooting. There is no audio.

Here’s what the driver said about the incident:redditrage

So, put yourself in his shoes. How would you answer these questions knowing what he knows:

  • Do you leave enough maneuver room when you drive(even in busy city traffic) to be able to quickly maneuver around the vehicle in front of you? Are you prepared to run someone over and drive through a car door if that’s your only recourse?
  • Does anyone who stops in the middle of an intersection, gets out, and immediately beelines towards your car EVER have anything constructive to say? Would you wait around to see?
  • Do you have the composure to resist doing the “monkey dance” of chest beating and insult hurling which escalates the situation? Can you feign compliance and de-escalate and placate him, even if you have no idea what he thinks you’re guilty of?
No, YOU’RE the jerk.
  • Can you access your firearm fast enough in your vehicle to have your pistol ready before his is on you?
  • Does this problem need a gun solution?

Those are some things to think about. In addition I found it interesting that he had a personal revelation about himself in reflecting on the situation. He has stopped carrying his gun (though he wasn’t that day either, probably fortuitously) because he realized he’s a hothead and is playing out the possible outcomes, surely many negative, that could have resulted. I wonder if he will change how he deals with people in the future.

That’s it. Thanks for reading. Let me know your thoughts.

Mark
If you find value in my ramblings, please subscribe, share, and shop through our amazon affiliate link.