Recently there was a local case where a driver honked at a car dangerously passing and ended up with the other car hitting the brakes, backing up, pulling a gun and pointing it at the driver.
Obviously the right thing to do it hit the gas and get the heck outa there.
Except if you can’t. If you’re blocked by traffic in front and back and crazy driver to your left, guardrail or embankment to your right.
Not knowing if this person is going to kill you, I assume you need to assume the worst is about to happen and defend yourself.
Welcome to the family brother @Master2025 , glad you joined us. I comes before U, when life is in danger. Always be ready to protect self, family and others.
Not a lawyer so take this free advice for what is worth.
In most if not all States, If a reasonable person would feel that they are in imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm than that person usually has the right to use deadly force to defend themselves. Some States have duties to retreat which as you stated is likely the best choice if you can.
I think the vast majority of reasonable people would assume a person waiving a gun at them is an imminent threat. I would be reluctant to leave the decision of whether or not my family or myself gets to live up to such an irrational person who is threatening to shoot us.
Hope he spends a lot of time in jail and is never allowed to touch a firearm again or at least until he proves beyond a reasonable doubt that his anger management issues are completely cured.
@Master2025 Welcome to the community. We are glad to have you. I can’t speak to your scenario from exact experience. That said, one made the choice to honk the horn and aggravate the situation as opposed to reporting the reckless driver. Out of habit, I avoid initiating confrontation while carrying. You never know how some rogue prosecutor will interpret your actions.
No, this happened locally was in the news and got me thinking. The police tracked the driver down and arrested him on a pile of charges, including no LTC (required in my state).
What got me thinking was how this ended with no violence. But you can’t assume the guy pointing a gun at you isn’t going to shoot you. Cops can’t make that assumption and neither can we. That’s were I landed on this I think.
Looks the guy was lucky to survive his action.
Sometimes people use this “technique” of threatening others. And these people usually don’t own the firearm legally.
I think low ego needs a tool to feel “in control”.
These is common in Russia.
Check YouTube for “armed road rage”.
Agree that horns should only be used to warn people about an approaching problem and not to yell at people for the stupid thing they just did. I hate horns almost never use them. I’m even reluctant to beep at the distracted drivers in front of me who didn’t see the light has changed because they are on their phones.
Beeping, yelling, using sign language, etc. are just good ways to make yourself a target. But no matter how rudely you beep your horn there is no justification for having a gun pulled on you. Glad this guy got caught!
Now if you are beeping your horn and threatening to run someone off the road because they cut you off, or whatever, that is another scenario entirely.
However, it’s easy enough to envision another scenario where you don’t take any intentionally purposeful action which could end in the same result: a driver (on drugs, on alcohol, in a rage because he was told everyone of your color is a racist, his wife just left him, dog died, lost his job, doesn’t like the color of your car, etc etc etc etc), decides that your legal lane change was intended to CUT HIM OFF and that’s all she wrote. Same ending.
So the total scenario is worth considering: car pulls up beside you, you’re boxed in and can’t escape, he points a gun at you, 10-15 ft feet away.
I am.
The people on the roads out here do not pay attention so they need a reminder to stay in their lane.
When I lived in Chicago we all used our horn for the same purpose.
