One day last summer I was driving home from my workplace. I had worked the evening shift so it was nearly 10:30 pm. I was stopped at a red light turning right onto a four lane road. Looking to my left, I could see a pickup approaching in the left lane, and a car behind it. Since the right lane was free, I made the turn and proceeded on my way. As a habit, I tend to practice a more moderate acceleration because of the increased fuel economy. Since my lane was clear, I felt no reason to change my habit.
As the truck pulled up beside me, there was a flurry of noise and light behind me. The car that was behind the truck had pulled into the right lane behind me. As my acceleration brought me up to speed, the pickup truck came up beside me as I matched its speed. Had the driver in the car simply changed lanes, he would have been behind me with ample space just as he was behind the truck previously. But no, he pulled out and accelerated knowing full well I was there. He didn’t hit me so I wasn’t concerned. If he wants to demonstrate that he’s an ass, that’s his prerogative.
As we continued on, I moved past the truck and the car dropped back. To my surprise, the car made no move to pass. It didn’t feel right. Instead of my usual left turn, I took the next right into an older subdivision. The car followed. I then took the first left. The car followed. I made another half-dozen turns and the car stuck with me, with a few flashes of his high-beams for good measure. As I reached the edge of the sub-division, I turned right, away from my home. The car turned left, to get back to the main road we were on, apparently giving up on me.
I wasn’t afraid because I was in my car and safe. At the same time however, I didn’t want to lead an interested stranger to my home when I have no idea what form their interest took. I’m not that interesting, so when I find a car has been with me for a time, I’ll throw an extra turn into my route to see if it’s more than a coincidence. I’m far more likely to do this as l near home, as where I live is no one’s business.
Be aware of what’s around you. Not only to prevent collisions, but to prevent someone following you, especially if you think another driver may be upset for whatever reason.
Jessica
Scary. Road rage is real, people! Gives you an idea of what women go through whenever they walk somewhere alone at night. Be aware of what’s around you, have an escape plan, don’t panic.
A taxi once tried to run us off the highway because my partner wasn’t going fast enough for the taxi driver’s liking. He actively prevented us from taking our exit, even when we braked aggressively to try to get behind him (there were no cars behind us). I called the taxi company to report him, but I wonder if anything was ever done about it.