What would you do?

[muslhed]

You're out on the rainy interstate in the daytime, and you have your wife and kids in the car with you. You enter a construction zone (there are no workers present because it's the weekend) and the 2 lane interstate merges into one lane. On your left is a friendly concrete divider, and on your right is an open paved shoulder. The construction zone stays like this for the next 10 miles. The speed limit drops from 70 MPH to 60 MPH. There is one single car in front of you, and behind you is a loaded down 18 wheeler. There is absolutely no traffic in front of the car that is in front of you, and there is probably a mile of traffic behind the 18 wheeler.
As you entered the construction zone and fell in behind the one car that is in front of you, that car begins to drive approximately 15-20 MPH under the 60 MPH speed limit. You notice that it is an elderly woman with handicapped plates. About every 30 seconds she slows down suddenly, causing you to brake hard as well. The 18 wheeler driver behind you begins to drive aggressively, getting within 1 to 2 feet of your rear bumper every time you have to get on your brakes to avoid the elderly woman in front of you. Every time the elderly woman hits her brakes, the 18 wheeler driver pilots his 80,000 lb. rig closer and closer to your rear bumper...not backing off. You have 8 more miles to go.
What would you have done in this scenario? Would you have risked the lives of your family and just rode out this scenario until the end of the construction zone? Or would you act defensively, and pass the little old lady on the clear shoulder to get away from the situation? Texas law apparently says passing anyone on the shoulder is illegal.....especially in a construction zone. Again, what would you have done?
I'll tell you what I did! I decided that I didn't want to continue to sit like a duck on water, and wait until me and my family become another story in the local newspaper. I waited until the road was straight, and could see the shoulder very clearly for a ways, and I dropped the hammer! I left that situation like a condom in the park on prom night!
Here's the kicker. 15 miles down the interstate, I was pulled over by Johnny Law, and was told that they had received 2 reports of a car just like mine recklessly passing other "cars" on the shoulder in a construction zone...in the rain! Now I am the bad man...but my family was safe.

What would you have done?

[MarauderMark]

I hate when a trucker can see it's not ur fault but gives you the crap anyways. Me i hate truckers they totaled my car with my son driving it and kept on going in the rain on 95. Me i would've slowed all the raffic down until he got off my butt or stop in the middle of the road and either had a fist fight for threating my family..That's what i would want to do ,but i would have done what you did ..Did you get a ticket?

[muslhed]

No, I was harassed for a while though. He even had a couple of his buddies come to back him up. I simply asked them to not pass judgement on me when they weren't there to see the situation. I told everyone of them that I'd do it again and again if I were put in the exact situation again. After hearing my story, and seeing that I was a respectable tax payer and not some reckless little punk kid, they dismissed me and I went on my merry way.

[MarauderMark]

invest in machine gun terets.or have this installedhttp://ibistek.com/video2.asp

[TripleTransAm]

Can't say for sure, but you can bet the highway patrol would have received a panicked call about an ********* trucker putting my family and I in grave danger. I'm not sure what that prick thought he was proving, but I'd put on such a show for the patrol folks over the phone that they'd surely have not only half the force on his a$$ but a couple of choppers bearing down on him as well, for good measure. Did the jerk really think the lady in front of you would have sped up if he tailed YOU? Where's the connection? I must have missed something...

A little story, from before I was a dad (sometime in winter 1999):

Heading home (westward) around 6:30 pm to the west end of Montreal from my central-Montreal place of employment, along a 3 lane 100 kph (~60mph) highway that usually cruises at 110-120 kph (70-75 mph) in the fast lanes and about 80-95 kph in the slow lanes (50-60 mph). I was in my crappy old 4 door 1985 Civic, purchased in 1998 for winter duty. The thing got the best mpg around 90 kph (~56 mph) so that's where I kept it (and there was similarly moving traffic ahead of me anyway). Obviously, I was in the right lane (I'm very anal about this).

Some jacka$$ trucker decided he didn't appreciate my turtle's pace IN THE RIGHT LANE and was *right* up against my bumper. Really scared the crap out of me... so much so that I literally FREAKED. I was really pi$$ed. I slowed down progressively to about 20 mph, enough so the little prick could NEVER manage enough steam to be able to slingshot into the next lane, which was moving at about 60 mph or more. Boy was he hopping mad! I was literally seeing red, and even went so far as to miss my exit on purpose to prolong his misery. We're talking a good 15 minutes or more like this!!!

Not something I'd do with my family in the car nowadays, but a good indicator of why some folks just lose it on the roads when faced with this kind of aggression.

I took this particularly hard because I always thought I had a good rapport with truckers... making an effort to guide them in lane changes with light signals, allowing plenty of room, courteous driving on the roads... but since the late 90s / early 2000s I noticed truckers just plain terrorizing the roads. My trip to Chattanooga in May 2001 in my WS6 was really stressful in some points (watching trucks tail cars with plenty of room and chance to pass, two trucks blocking traffic on a 2 laner side by side, trying to pass on an uphill, cutting cars off, etc...). Maybe too many hot-headed youngsters hitting the market at the same time?

[MapleLeafMerc]

Something has changed, TTA. It is a delicate subject to broach, beause good truck drivers are justifiably proud of what they do. But as you imply, maybe the truck driver population has declined the same way as the general driver pop has. I don't think too many would argue that average car driver skill and courtesy has fallen, leading to more accidents and bad habits. Odd, considering how much has gone into mandated car safety.

Average car safety today: :up:

Average driver today: :cry:

[muslhed]

invest in machine gun terets.or have this installedhttp://ibistek.com/video2.asp

Now that's an idea!!!!

[jspradii]

Now that's an idea!!!!
Any good aviator will tell you: In any emergency or dangerous situation, FLY THE AIRPLANE. Only survivors can explain what actually happened, as you did.
On the other hand, commercial trucks are required to have a minimum liability and property coverage of $1,000,000. While that might buy a few new Ford GT's, it won't replace lost limbs or lives. I think you did the right thing, IMHO. :shot:

[MMdriver03]

:mad2: I hate to see trucks pushing cars out of the way like that :mad2: The best thing to do in a situation like that (I've seen this work!!!) is to have a family member in the back seat pull out a camera, preferably vidio and point it at his face like a 45.cal and pull the trigger!!! You just watch how fast he backs off. And don't forget to scan the tag number just in case you need that..This should back him off a half dozen car lengths or so.. :coolman:

[Smokie]

What would you have done?
I would have called the Highway Patrol from my cell phone and described the situation and give location...and then I would have gotten out of there like you did. The lady was doing about 45 mph based on your description of the incident, it would take the Marauder about 2 seconds to safely pass her and then you can continue at the posted speed limit.

[Petrograde]

You enter a construction zone (there are no workers present because it's the weekend) and the 2 lane interstate merges into one lane.

Sounds like you were driving on I-35W south of I-20... I would've done the same thing.

I'm glad you were able to make to cops see your point of veiw!

As for the trucker,... I like the turret idea! http://smilies.sofrayt.com/1/e/para.gif

Tom

[CRUZTAKER]

My reply won't help you now, but I always have my big CB in my car. Never leave home without it. I have been in similar situations, I voice my concern to the driver, and ask him politely to back off.

My wife doesn't appreciate my driving aggressively, (I would have done the same as you did), but with the family on board, I likely would have slowed that truck to a crawl, pulled off the road, re-entered and followed him while getting his DOT/PUCO number off his cab, and contacted his carrier.

[jgc61sr2002]

If it was safe I would have pulled over on the shoulder of the road and let the truck pass. Then use your cell phone to call Police with a discription, plate number and location number of the aggressive vehicle.

[Marauderman]

I agree with Smokie-- and this is just another reason of a long list why I wanted to have "no problem with hammer time" went it came to situations like what was described...thus my S/C ..and I just love it/her sooooo much!!

[SHERIFF]

I'm gonna pass on what I would do or have done at the construction site..... but I will say this..... I wouldn't have made any statement to the police at all. This is still America, you do not have to provide evidence against yourself.

Is mine good advice? Probably not. But I don't subscribe to the "Kiss A Cop's Ass" and "Pray For A Break" theory.

[greyghost]

I would have to go with Sheriff on this one. It wasn't a good situation and you handled it the best way you could. I am glad you and your family are safe.

Check out what is happening in our country and what misconceptions are getting honest people.

http://tinyurl.com/27lfb

This was terrible!

[woaface]

I would have called HP and slowed way down. Tail-gating like that is a real problem around here. You're doing or are behind someone doing 10 or 15 over and the next thing you know, some ass in a truck or SUV is right on your bumper trying to haul down a two lane road with high school traffic. It's this little road that I have to travel for 10 minutes a couple times a week and it happens all the time. I would have passed if I hadn't had a cell phone or if slowing down further endangered my family. Oh well, you did what you had to do, glad your family is safe!

[THE_INTERCEPTOR]

just this past weekend on I-95 I saw atleast 20 accidents...

Us non-morons were in the slow lane doing about 30 MPH with our hazard lights on.

There was only one group of people still driving in the fast lane doing 60+ on the icy roads. Freaking 18 wheelers.