<p>I think there’s more to the story than we’ve been given.</p>
<p>I now have a habit of taking a pic with my cellphone of crazy" drivers. I would have taken a pic of the car/license and called the police.</p>
<p>Aren’t you glad you asked? (not)</p>
<p>This is a bizarre story. One thing though, is that I bet your behavior spurred him on. It sounds like he was just itching for a race, a fight, or both, and you gave it to him. (I’m guessing you are male?) Probably, responding like you are on Dragnet was not a good move. </p>
<p>You should still call the state troopers and alert them though.</p>
<p>In WA, cell phone use while driving is against the law (unless one has a hands-free device). However, there is one exception: a driver can use his/her cell to report a crime or a dangerous situation such as an erratic/aggressive driver. </p>
<p>You should have reported this guy.</p>
<p>I strongly doubt any cop would ticket someone for using a cell phone to call because of a dangerous driver/situation, no matter what the law states. Cops are given discretion and the cell phone is an important resource in these dangerous situations. In any case, risking a citation would be well worth being safer.</p>
<p>The situation sounds extremely odd–have never experienced anything like it in my decades of driving, nor has anyone I’ve ever spoken with. I do wonder if there is more to the story. I also have never set cruise control to 80 or driven extensively while “drowsy.”</p>
<p>With all the cars on the highway……………why YOU?</p>
<p>Maybe I’m missing something but I don’t quite get why so many of you are so quick to assume that OP has something to hide? I drive like an old lady (according to DH) but it’s not uncommon to see cars doing 80ish on the interstate anyway. And I’ve witnessed several cases of unexplainable road rage so, to me, this could happen to any of us. Terrifying to say the least.</p>
<p>There’s a certain stretch of 4 lane highway that I travel every day where traffic backs up on one side. There’s a grocery store on that side and cars coming out of the parking lot are constantly trying to cut through the line of stand still traffic to make a left turn, even though there’s no intersection there and they have no right of way. It’s extremely dangerous and I’ve seen a head on collision (at low rate of speed) because of this. I’ve also seen people get so angry because cars won’t let them through that they roll their windows down, wave their arms, screaming. In this day and age, it wouldn’t surprise me to see someone pull a gun out and shoot someone.</p>
<p>DH and I have talked about this sort of thing before because of road rage we’ve seen and he says use your camera phone to take a picture if they’re in a position where you can do that and let them see you calling 911. I honestly don’t think quickly on my feet, so I probably would have done the same thing OP did, just trying to get away. Hindsight is a little clearer.</p>
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<p>I had been tired all day (only got about 4 hours of sleep the night before), but postponing my trip back was not an option. I pounded a coffee and a soda in the half-hour before I left, so I knew I would be able to stay awake for the trip. I was in a hurry, though, because I was attempting to beat the inevitable “crash” that occurs when the caffeine wears off. Needless to say the whole ordeal wired me up more than any caffeine drink could have. </p>
<p>To respond to some of the other posters on here-I wasn’t worried about getting a cell phone ticket for reporting this guy. I just assumed that if I had called him in, I would have had to pull over to file a report, and was afraid that he would have access to it and be able to find out who I was. This guy’s actions freaked me out, and I was afraid that he would come to find out my name and/or address if I had turned him in (as I said earlier, don’t you have a right to know your accuser?). Does anyone know if this is indeed the case?</p>
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<p>Nope, I gave all the details that I could think of. </p>
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<p>That’s what I’ve been wondering. Traffic was pretty light, and there was nothing unusual about the car that I noticed when I passed it. Like I said before, I passed him, didn’t make eye contact or anything with him, and thought nothing of it until I saw him rapidly closing on my bumper about 10 minutes later. Maybe the fact that I was driving alone had something to do with it?</p>
<p>Taking a photo & calling 911 would NOT obligate you to reveal any info initially. I think it would be good for you to be seen taking the photo & making the call. That may have sent the other driver off. If the officer appeared, you could explain the situation & then see what s/he advises. In fact, you could call now & ask them what to do if you’re ever in a similar situation. If you do, please post their response so we’ll all know how to handle such situations. There are some scary folks out on the road.</p>
<p>Since he had dealer plates, tough to get an easy ID by vehicle.</p>
<p>Here’s an article about some suggestions to de-escalate these types of aggressive driving situations. In my mind, one of the keys is to STAY IN THE PACK WITH OTHER CARS rather than havig it be just you & the aggressive/dangerous driver.</p>
<p>[Special</a> Report - Dangerous Drivers](<a href=“http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/specialreport/A459/]Special”>http://www3.whdh.com/features/articles/specialreport/A459/)</p>
<p>OP: Are you an attractive female? That might have intrigued the other driver.</p>
<p>Or, alternatively, are you male, and the other driver thought you cut him off??</p>
<p>Just trying to figure out, Why you?</p>
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<p>Nope, not a female, and I made sure that I didn’t cut him off (I don’t cut people off unless it is an absolute necessity).</p>
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<p>Believe me, I’ve been trying to do the same thing. No clues yet though. I figure it may have been due to my car-Black Tahoe, chromed out, tinted windows, halogen lights, etc-a lot of gangs that are around my area have Tahoes that are similar to mine. I figured it may have been a case of mistaken identity? A friend of mine with a vehicle similar to mine was actually shot at in South Carolina-turned out to be a case of mistaken identity due to his car. </p>
<p>Another scenario I considered at the time was that this guy was an off-duty cop and was trying to turn me in for going too fast or something. However, looking back at the situation I can see several reasons why this wouldn’t be the case. The driver appeared to be very young (late teens/early 20s) and was driving a brand-new BMW 5 series. Most agencies in my area don’t pay their rookie cops enough to buy cars like that. Also, I had my eyes on this guy the entire time that he was following me and I didn’t see him on the phone at all. He may have had a hands-free set, but I didn’t immediately observe one.</p>
<p>Regardless, it was a weird situation and I’m glad that I got out of it. Thanks to everyone here for your input and your criticism, I’ll be sure to take everything into consideration if it happens again.</p>
<p>I hate to tell you this, but that hand gesture, in addition to being the symbol for money can also mean “delicious.” He could have been coming on to you or it could have been meant as a threat. I would never have gotten off the highway the way you did. I also wondered if you did something that ticked him off without your realizing it. Maybe he was trying to turn into the lane and you sped up next to him and didn’t realize it.</p>
<p>You didn’t necessarily do anything out of the ordinary. This guy was clearly nuts. My H and I have had an experience like this, when passing someone (in a perfectly ordinary way, not speeding or cutting him off) ended up in some crazy aggressive and threatening behavior on their part. I just want to reiterate my point that your response (speeding up, tricky maneuvers, u-turns, etc) may have been just what he wanted – a chase/race, just like in the movies. You need to drive like a little old lady whenever someone gets aggressive like this. Don’t feed their thrill.</p>
<p>I have couple questions: </p>
<p>“I passed a young African-American male”
How did you know he was American and not from France or Liberia?</p>
<p>“I passed a young African-American male, early 20s, driving a black BMW 5 series”
How dare you pass a Beemer, especially a 5 series? BMW drivers act like they own the world even when you DON’T have the gall to pass them.</p>
<p>I agree that DE-ESCALATING the situation be slowing way down & staying with the slower traffic would probably have been your safest option. It can be tough to understand what sets another driver off and the goal is to become BORING so the other driver will find something better to do than terrorize you.</p>
<p>Glad you ended up safe (even if a bit rattled) rather than having more serious consequences. It could well be your vehicle attracting unwanted attention. My dad test-drove a Cutlas (back in the day). In the 24-hours he used it, he got 2 speeding tickets (normally doesn’t get any). He took the car back the next day & stuck with cars that aren’t as interesting to the police officers–tickets back to rarely.</p>
<p>You may wish to re-consider the pros & cons of keeping vs. selling/trading a vehicle that attracts that kind of attention if you have additional unwanted attention–just something to think about.</p>
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<p>Come on, now. In our racially over-sensitive society, no one knows what to call anyone. African-American sounds better to a lot of people than “black”. It was a black person.</p>
<p>Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I can generally tell if someone is American by all sorts of indicators other than the color of their skin. Facial expression, skin tone, dress, body language. I didn’t confuse my new black neighbor from France with an African-American, even from fifty feet away.</p>
<p>All those Liberians driving around on our roads, making the “money” sign at people from their dealer-plated BMW’s…what a menace… :D</p>
<p>*I figure it may have been due to my car-Black Tahoe, chromed out, tinted windows, halogen lights, etc-a lot of gangs that are around my area have Tahoes that are similar to mine. I figured it may have been a case of mistaken identity? *</p>
<p>probably
College students should be poor and drive crappy cars.</p>
<p>So you’re driving a gang-type car at 80, and you wonder why you attract the attention of somebody driving a rival gang-type car. Then you play cat and mouse and wonder why he follows and plays along. Keep posting, it is becoming clearer.</p>