Remember your audibly assaulting someone. His reaction could have been much worse. He could have snapped and starting shooting at you.
I find as Im getting older the scare factor isn’t worth the risk anymore. There is too many people in this world delt hard times and will snap at a moments notice. Look at all the crime going on anymore. Never mind the people that are just plain nuts.
Here is a story from my truck driving career.
Last summer while driving a back road in philly with a big truck and two trailers a black man jumps in the road, in front of my direction of travel. The distance is less then a block between him and I.
Im doing 45 miles per hour loaded at 60,000 pounds, He started dancing in front of me. Literally jumping around and taunting me. He continued to dance and flip me off, basically showing off who is the dominant one in the situation.
There was a group of about 30 other black people watching and laughing. I didn’t speed up, but I didn’t hit the brakes either I kept a even pace running every scenario in my head, will he move, will I stop, do I stop and take the chance of being robbed or killed if i do stop. Last words I said to myself: If he doesnt move I will run him over and keep going till I can get to safe area to call the cop’s.
Well I guess he decided I wasn’t gonna stop, so he moved out of the way just in time, just in time to jump up on the passenger side of the truck and grab onto my mirror and bent it against the door resulting in him falling off the truck. He held on tight, he wanted in my truck, or a scenic ride. Lucky for him he fell away from the truck. As the rear trailer passed he got up and flipped me off. Flip me off cause I wouldnt play a brother’s game. Did I stop, no, would I stop, no. I get to the end of the block the light was red and I ran it, thats the last I saw of the dancing fool’s.
If he got run over I would have kept going. It would have been another mass beating of a white trucker if I stopped. It was a game of chicken, he had his life to lose, I had everything to lose. I wasnt going to be killed or mugged by 30 some-odd street gangers.
His goal most likely was to get me stop so I could be robbed, and or kill me and take the truck. He tested me, and he failed. It almost cost him his life.
Moral of the story is, be it a trucker on the wrong street, or someone on the side walk, you never know how crazy either one is. Honker beware.
I am a hypocrite cause I had my fun scarring undeserving people. But anymore I have fun with friends, car shows, and empty country roads. If I need to get someones attention I quill my horns with a ball valve, not to scare, but to firmly get there attention. Then if they throw something at me or my car I may snap and just shoot them. Everyone has a psycho switch, a fun time blowing a horn with friends at night could turn deadly.
Times have changed in the last year, people are stressed and ready to snap. Look twice, Honk once. If all found it funny, good, if they didn’t then its time to run.
