When to carry..?

[BallTurret]

Well, I learned a valuable lesson yesterday, changing my belief on when I should carry. Living in a rather small, benign Kern county town, my past habits to when to carry prompted me to only do so when leaving the confines of my local stomping grounds. To shed some additional info on my availability on when to carry... I work on Federal property, which forbids me to carry to, from and during work.

So now the life changing situation... Leaving work I get behind this guy driving way under the speed limit (by about 10 to 15 mph) on a two-way highway. Behind me the traffic builds, and I'm thinking what's up with this guy? Anyway, we all approach a freeway on-ramp and the guys still continues to enter the freeway at a snails pace - roughly 30 mph on a freeway with a 70 mph speed limit. There are two freeway lanes per direction of traffic. So as I enter the freeway (with it being clear), I move over to the second lane to pass "The Snail." Well as I get even with his vehicle, he begins to accelerate, attempting to move over and block me, but has to slow to avoid hitting an 18-wheeler. I'm thinkin' what the hell is wrong with this guy, but continue on.

So I finally get clear of this nut, put some distance between us, move to the right and then set the cruise to the speed limit. Ten minutes go by and I see this nut barreling down on me at over 100 mph! I'm thinking, now what..? He gets along side of me, gives me the one-finger salute and begins to attempt to run me off the road. I slow down, and with the grace of God, spot a CHP sitting the opposite direction on an overpass. I guess this nut sees him too and breaks off the confrontation and speeds off.

Further down the freeway this nut has slowed and laying in wait for me. I'm thinking not again..? Now since I'm coming from work, I can't carry my firearm, so I grab a bat I've got in the vehicle and sit it in the passenger seat. He sees this and speeds off again giving many the one-finger salutes.

Now here's my belief-changing event... As I near the first off-ramp to my small, benign town, this nut takes the off-ramp. Moral of the story... Life threatening situation come out of nowhere, and usually where you least expect them. So now when I go out (except for work) I plan to be carrying. I wanted to share this story to all that may practice my previous mindset. BTW the nut I was dealing with was at least twice my size - not a fair match up (be prepared)!

[NSP]

I would have driven over to the CHP officer. Also a call to 911 would have been made on my part.

[PHM]

Originally Posted by BallTurret

Well, I learned a valuable lesson yesterday, changing my belief on when I should carry. Living in a rather small, benign Kern county town, my past habits to when to carry prompted me to only do so when leaving the confines of my local stomping grounds. To shed some additional info on my availability on when to carry... I work on Federal property, which forbids me to carry to, from and during work.

So now the life changing situation... Leaving work I get behind this guy driving way under the speed limit (by about 10 to 15 mph) on a two-way highway. Behind me the traffic builds, and I'm thinking what's up with this guy? Anyway, we all approach a freeway on-ramp and the guys still continues to enter the freeway at a snails pace - roughly 30 mph on a freeway with a 70 mph speed limit. There are two freeway lanes per direction of traffic. So as I enter the freeway (with it being clear), I move over to the second lane to pass "The Snail." Well as I get even with his vehicle, he begins to accelerate, attempting to move over and block me, but has to slow to avoid hitting an 18-wheeler. I'm thinkin' what the hell is wrong with this guy, but continue on.

So I finally get clear of this nut, put some distance between us, move to the right and then set the cruise to the speed limit. Ten minutes go by and I see this nut barreling down on me at over 100 mph! I'm thinking, now what..? He gets along side of me, gives me the one-finger salute and begins to attempt to run me off the road. I slow down, and with the grace of God, spot a CHP sitting the opposite direction on an overpass. I guess this nut sees him too and breaks off the confrontation and speeds off.

Further down the freeway this nut has slowed and laying in wait for me. I'm thinking not again..? Now since I'm coming from work, I can't carry my firearm, so I grab a bat I've got in the vehicle and sit it in the passenger seat. He sees this and speeds off again giving many the one-finger salutes.

Now here's my belief-changing event... As I near the first off-ramp to my small, benign town, this nut takes the off-ramp. Moral of the story... Life threatening situation come out of nowhere, and usually where you least expect them. So now when I go out (except for work) I plan to be carrying. I wanted to share this story to all that may practice my previous mindset. BTW the nut I was dealing with was at least twice my size - not a fair match up (be prepared)!

Glad you made it out OK. I would take the firearm to work and leave it unloaded in your vehicle in a locked container and load up when you are off the property.

[BallTurret]

I work on an Air Force base, so even bringing a firearm on base is forbidden. Prior to 9/11 it was offered (with approval) to transport it to the Armory for check in - this is no longer the case without a very good cause.

I was going to call 911, but didn't have the license number of the other vehicle. I reported a drunk drive years back, didn't have the license number (too dark to get) and was told by the dispatcher that it would be hard to help me without this number. I would have dialed 911 if I had been cornered by this individual. If I ever see this guy again I WILL jot down his license number.

As far as contacting the the CHP, I would of had to have driven several miles to find the next exit and double back to make contact. The guy was laying in wait prior to the next exit.

[G30 Steve]

You must be an avid baseball player. You probably are in a league and/or have other baseball equipment in the car too, right?
If not, be careful of PC 12020.

I think calling 911 should be a priority in a situation like that.

Glad your OK and no one got hurt or killed.

[huna koa]

when I attended the ccw class for my permit, the instructor, an active LEO;said that not all of us would get our permits, but for those that would, he asked us to carry 24/7...and that we should practice weekly and also compete in some form of shooting sport as much as possible to become familiar with our weapons should we ever have to use it. The mindset is so important; if the SHTF, you will default to lowest form of training;;;prepare yourselves, there are some who DON'T GIVE A RAT*** about you or anyone else and you or I won't even know when or where they'll show up!

[BallTurret]

there are some who DON'T GIVE A RAT*** about you or anyone else and you or I won't even know when or where they'll show up!

Amen, and I've learned this by this situation. Just glad it didn't go any further.

And for a previous post: Of course I like baseball... Got the bat, ball and glove in the vehicle at all times. Never know when I'll be asked to play.

[newshooterinca]

This is why I carry constantly. The only times I don't are if I'm going somewhere that prohibits weapons or if alcohol will be involved

This is also why I'm a much calmer driver since I began carrying a few years ago. There are way too many nuts on the road who are easily provoked. Obviously you didn't do anything to provoke this guy, so just imagine how crazy he'd go if someone flipped him off. If I get cut off I let it go instead of throwing my hands up like I used to. I really, really, really don't ever want to use a firearm anywhere but the range. And if someone opened fire on me with my gun holstered under my seatbelt I wouldn't have much chance of surviving anyway.

[BallTurret]

Originally Posted by newshooterinca

This is why I carry constantly. The only times I don't are if I'm going somewhere that prohibits weapons or if alcohol will be involved

This is also why I'm a much calmer driver since I began carrying a few years ago. There are way too many nuts on the road who are easily provoked. Obviously you didn't do anything to provoke this guy, so just imagine how crazy he'd go if someone flipped him off. If I get cut off I let it go instead of throwing my hands up like I used to. I really, really, really don't ever want to use a firearm anywhere but the range. And if someone opened fire on me with my gun holstered under my seatbelt I wouldn't have much chance of surviving anyway.

Yes, I think the guy was looking to be provoked - thus his super slow driving tactic. And no, I offered him NO reaction to his behavior... There is no point in dealing with scum like this. It provides no benefit. I was mainly bewildered to his actions, but then unnerved when he got off at an off-ramp into my town. Being in a small town, if he lives there, I'll eventually run into him...

[NSP]

Originally Posted by BallTurret

I work on an Air Force base, so even bringing a firearm on base is forbidden. Prior to 9/11 it was offered (with approval) to transport it to the Armory for check in - this is no longer the case without a very good cause.

I was going to call 911, but didn't have the license number of the other vehicle. I reported a drunk drive years back, didn't have the license number (too dark to get) and was told by the dispatcher that it would be hard to help me without this number. I would have dialed 911 if I had been cornered by this individual. If I ever see this guy again I WILL jot down his license number.

As far as contacting the the CHP, I would of had to have driven several miles to find the next exit and double back to make contact. The guy was laying in wait prior to the next exit.

I thought you meant that the officer was on an offramp you had access to.

If I was the person dealing with a crazy driver like that I'd still call 911, just telling them that you have a guy trying to run you off the road and confront you with what direction and spee dyou ar etraveling would be of help, especially if you actually had to use that bat.


You never know where the crazies are, but they know where the normal people are.

[BallTurret]

Originally Posted by NSP

If I was the person dealing with a crazy driver like that I'd still call 911, just telling them that you have a guy trying to run you off the road and confront you with what direction and spee dyou ar etraveling would be of help, especially if you actually had to use that bat.


You never know where the crazies are, but they know where the normal people are.

Understand... I personally have had some poor dealings when dialing the 911 service. One involving a gang shooting outside the front of a home I once live at (L.A. County). My wife called 4 times stressing the need for police response, but she was not taken seriously and they kept hanging up. It was only until after gun shots were heard over the phone (on the forth call) did they dispatch police. This is why I cherish being issued my CCW permit.

[NSP]

Originally Posted by BallTurret

Understand... I personally have had some poor dealings when dialing the 911 service. One involving a gang shooting outside the front of a home I once live at (L.A. County). My wife called 4 times stressing the need for police response, but she was not taken seriously and they kept hanging up. It was only until after gun shots were heard over the phone (on the forth call) did they dispatch police. This is why I cherish being issued my CCW permit.

Sorry to hear about your bad dealings with 911.

I've called 911 before to report a fire, the operator told me I must be wrong and ended the phone call. Five minutes later there were engines screaming past me and the area filled with sirens. I guess I wasn't wrong and all it cost was an acre of land.

[EM2]

I once was run off the road by an angry big rig truck driver. Apparently I was going too slowly for him, and when he passed he swerved into my lane when he was 1/2 way to completing the pass. I was driving a large electrical service van at the time and could easilly have rolled it.
I did not call 911 because it is my understanding that cell phone 911 calls get routed to SF first then after some questioning they transfer you to the local 911 operator to start all over again.
What I did was to call information and have them transfer me to the local CHP dispatcher (which is probably the same as the 911 operator anyway). This seemed to cut down on the time it took to make contact. I had no license to # to provide, but I did assist the CHP officer in catching the guy.

If this guy is trying to run people off the road, it would seem to me to be a case of attempted assault or attempted homicide. A motor vehicle can be a deadly weapon after all.

[38special]

I thought of this thread today as we were almost hit by a crazy driver.
A small SUV came off a side street on a red light crossed into our lane after almost colliding with the vehicle next to us. The SUV preceded to run red lights and swerve all over the place. We immediately wrote his plate number down while calling 911 which took all of two seconds to transfer the call to the local SBPD dispatcher. SBPD had has keep them posted as long as we could after we lost him at a red light he ran. No idea if they got him but they have his plate number and his description.

[PirateQueen]

I'm glad your okay.