Ot: Near Death Experience

[clhorton]

Ok I just got off of work at the psych ward and I had something really happen to me. We cant smoke on the grounds at work so we go drive around. Well im on one of the roads behind the hospital driving with a friend and a random tan camry comes up behind me and rams my car. I speed up to get away and they speed up and get behind me. I get back on the main highway and they get on my left side and try to run me off the road so I call 911 and tell the police where I am out of nowhere 6 police cars going probably about 100 surround the car and pull the camry over. The cops want me to pull over also and I do. They pull some stupid nasty white trash redneck woman out of the car and she was piss drunk. She was just really drunk and decided she wanted to try to kill somebody. Imagine that all the really people arent at work. Man last night sucked!

[Gayle]

OMG--How frightening! That someone would decide that they would want to kill someone randomly and that the random victim selected would be you.

(However if it were me that had experienced that, I would wonder if the universe was telling me to give up smoking....Just a thought).

What did we do before cell phones? Yesterday a tow truck driver honked at me repeatly because he didn't like my lane change. I deserved one honk of displeasure but I thought 10 was a bit excessive, so I pulled out my cell phone and called his company and reported his rude behavior. It was great. I could drop back and give them his license and pull up and tell them the truck number. Cell phones rock and so do quick repsonse times by the police.

[Martin in Bellevue]

Gayle, you cut somebody off, so you called their employer because you didn't expect a response? The guy used his horn too many times?
Was he towing a vehicle at the time, reducing his ability to decelerate & maneuver around your lane change?

[Gayle]

Gayle, you cut somebody off, so you called their employer because you didn't expect a response? The guy used his horn too many times?
Was he towing a vehicle at the time, reducing his ability to decelerate & maneuver around your lane change?

Traffic was going 10 miles per hour. He was not towing--it was an empty flat bed truck. He did not come close to hitting me. There was no need for him to declerate cause he was going about 7 mph. He just didn't like it that I switched lanes in front of him. I have no problem with him expressing his displeasure with one or two honks, it was 8 through 10 I didn't like--especially since at that point traffic was not moving at all.

And in SoCal we pride ourselves on being aggressive but mellow drivers. People just don't sit on the horn like that here, even though they do in other parts of the country. And when I called and reported him, I owned up to my part--I didn't make it sound like I was innocent--I started by telling the dispatcher what I did. I said he had a right to honk at me--just not at infinitium--my offense didn't warrant his response.

.

[romus]

Tow truck drivers are imbeciles here too. They're speeding, running red lights, cutting off and doing all sorts of crap only to arrive at the "scene" fighting with another tow truck driver who got there first.

[mattyb]

did u still have that sticker on the back ur car, "honk if ur horny"!

[Evan]

what is "at infinitium" is that latin?

you shouldn't be proud of what you did, gayle... the truck driver was an ass for honking.. but why would you call his work... did he injure your ears?

and.. oh **** it

[Gayle]

what is "at infinitium" is that latin?

you shouldn't be proud of what you did, gayle... the truck driver was an ass for honking.. but why would you call his work... did he injure your ears?

and.. oh **** it

Maybe I am to much of a capitalist, but I figure if he is in the company truck he is representing the company. His behavior gives his employer a bad name.

And I believe if you are willing to do the crime, you should be willing to pay the time. I am always willing to pay the consequences when I choose to behave badly and think other people should too.

The flow of information corrects behavior. He gave me feedback about my behavior and I gave him feedback about his. I will think about it the next time I consider merging into a space that is a little too small and he will think about it the next time he feels like laying on the horn.

And I am proud of what I did. People don't mess with me with impunity. I am one of the few women I know who doesn't feel powerless and sort of a potential victim in the world and the reason I don't feel like a victim is because I am willing to take actions to influence outcomes.

Just a different perspective from yours probably reflecting our different life experiences. But thanks for expressing your opinion.

[Scott H]

In your justification, you are comparing apples to oranges....

His reaction to your lane change was a series of horn honking. Your reaction to his horn honking was calling his company and reporting him? It doesn't take a genius to realize that his response to your action does nothing but embarrass you, while your response to his action could cost him his job. Sounds like a poorly thought out, knee-jerk, emotional reaction on your part because you were embarrassed that you were getting honked at in traffic for your self-admitted questionable maneuver.

You say you are willing to do the time for the crime. Are you are willing to do equal time as the tow-truck driver since your crimes were the same? If he gets fired are you willing to give up the same income he loses?

You seem to champion the "eye-for-an-eye" idea here. In this situation, the proper response would be for you to return horn honking or the middle finger through the sunroof, not report the driver to his employer....it's that simple.

This smells like a one-way deal. Whatever logic and reasoning you have tried to apply here to justify your response is ********.

Maybe I am to much of a capitalist, but I figure if he is in the company truck he is representing the company. His behavior gives his employer a bad name.

And I believe if you are willing to do the crime, you should be willing to pay the time. I am always willing to pay the consequences when I choose to behave badly and think other people should too.

The flow of information corrects behavior. He gave me feedback about my behavior and I gave him feedback about his. I will think about it the next time I consider merging into a space that is a little too small and he will think about it the next time he feels like laying on the horn.

And I am proud of what I did. People don't mess with me with impunity. I am one of the few women I know who doesn't feel powerless and sort of a potential victim in the world and the reason I don't feel like a victim is because I am willing to take actions to influence outcomes.

Just a different perspective from yours probably reflecting our different life experiences. But thanks for expressing your opinion.

[632 Regal]

I wouldnt have responded at all but would have simply been embarrassed for doing something stupid instead of either waiting or looking to see if there was room.

your self-admitted questionable maneuver.