The road-rage psycho from hell...
As previously mentioned, my friend and I just got back a few weeks ago from Cleveland. Instead of coming home 71, we came home 75 via Toledo. We were about an hour north of Dayton when it happened - I was almost run off the road!
See, it was a two-lane high way at that point, and I was in the fast lane going about 80. It was about 11:30 at night and there weren't many cars on the highway...until I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw these HUGE headlights! This relatively new pickup was on my tail and had its headlights in my window and was blinding me! I was a little annoyed and covered my rear-view mirror with my hand so I could see the road. At the same time, I got over to the right lane to let him pass. But I was upset that someone would *drive* with their brights on...it's not for that, it's for use in emergency situations like fog or poor visibility, and isn't supposed to be used when other drivers are around! So after he passed, I got over in back of *him* and turned on *my* brights so the a**hole would know how it felt.
That's where I made my mistake.
He got over to the right lane and let ME pass - then got over behind me and REALLY put on his brights! It was then that I realized he hadn't been using his brights at all, but just had really bright regular headlights! I thought about waving at him to tell him I had been mistaken, but feared he would take it as me flipping him the bird and who knows what would happen then! So my friend snapped off the radio and we held hands and I told him how scared I was, and he told me to find an exit. There wasn't one anywhere near where we were, so I got over to the right lane to let him pass - and he got over behind me!
It was then that it started to rain - out of nowhere. It was right out of a horror movie.
I got over to the fast lane, hoping he would pass - and he followed me there, too. This happened a few times, until I was about to pull out my cell phone and call 911. But what would I tell them? That I had provoked this maniac and we were somewhere on 75 and hope they got to me before he ran me off the road? This all happened so fast and there was no time to think.
The third and final time I got over to the slow lane, he stayed in the fast lane. See, out of habit I had been using my turn signals...and the final time, I just got over because no one was there. He stayed in the fast lane - but kept pace with me and stayed in my blind spot. I said to my friend, he's not passing! He told me again to find an exit, and I was beginning to re-think the cell phone idea - when he took off like a bat out of hell. AND THAT IS WHEN THE RAIN STOPPED. I swear, it was the eeriest thing I've ever been through.
He took off but I could still see him. It seemed we were going the same speed, so what was his hurry? The thing is, he got in back of a SEMI of all things up head and did the exact same thing to them, getting on their tail and turning on his brights until they moved over. But he didn't follow it all over the road, he just passed them and kept going the same speed I was.
It was the eeriest thing I'd ever seen, but I'm glad it happened - it taught me the valuable lesson of not pissing off fellow drivers, because you never know what kind of maniac you're messing with!
What made this funny, and something I will definitely write about at some point, is that after it was all over with, I turned to my friend and asked with a dead-serious expression, "Have you ever wondered how you were going to die?" I wasn't trying to freak him out, I was just curious and wanted to talk about something serious instead of our usual unimportant BS. But it DID freak him out, and he laughed and went on and on about how it was just like a horror movie, and I told him I just wondered...he finally answered my question, saying he wanted to die of old age surrounded by people he loved and people who loved him, which was THE perfect answer. Not that he was trying to give the perfect answer, it just was....and you would have to know my friend to know that he usually does say the right, perfect thing, even without trying. He's just a dramatic person and I have no doubt what he said was sincere.
I told him I'd envisioned dying in a fire, or possibly a car crash, which sent him into more hysterics...and he told me about this actress in the 30's, can't remember her name, but apparently she was deathly afraid of fire. She always did these darkly-themed black and white movies, too, and had jet-black hair. At one point in her career, she accepted the role of Joan of Arc....of all people to portray! She managed to survive being burned alive on screen, but rather than getting over her fear, it just made it all the worse.
Later in her life, she was trapped in her home and burned alive. She lived four days before her death. And apparently, my admitting that I had often envisioned my own death in a blaze of glory reminded him of this cursed actress.
My friend and I have been through so many amazing adventures over the ten years we've been together, and they'll all go into a book someday. Each one will have its own chapter, and this one will be entitled Road Rage.
See, it was a two-lane high way at that point, and I was in the fast lane going about 80. It was about 11:30 at night and there weren't many cars on the highway...until I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw these HUGE headlights! This relatively new pickup was on my tail and had its headlights in my window and was blinding me! I was a little annoyed and covered my rear-view mirror with my hand so I could see the road. At the same time, I got over to the right lane to let him pass. But I was upset that someone would *drive* with their brights on...it's not for that, it's for use in emergency situations like fog or poor visibility, and isn't supposed to be used when other drivers are around! So after he passed, I got over in back of *him* and turned on *my* brights so the a**hole would know how it felt.
That's where I made my mistake.
He got over to the right lane and let ME pass - then got over behind me and REALLY put on his brights! It was then that I realized he hadn't been using his brights at all, but just had really bright regular headlights! I thought about waving at him to tell him I had been mistaken, but feared he would take it as me flipping him the bird and who knows what would happen then! So my friend snapped off the radio and we held hands and I told him how scared I was, and he told me to find an exit. There wasn't one anywhere near where we were, so I got over to the right lane to let him pass - and he got over behind me!
It was then that it started to rain - out of nowhere. It was right out of a horror movie.
I got over to the fast lane, hoping he would pass - and he followed me there, too. This happened a few times, until I was about to pull out my cell phone and call 911. But what would I tell them? That I had provoked this maniac and we were somewhere on 75 and hope they got to me before he ran me off the road? This all happened so fast and there was no time to think.
The third and final time I got over to the slow lane, he stayed in the fast lane. See, out of habit I had been using my turn signals...and the final time, I just got over because no one was there. He stayed in the fast lane - but kept pace with me and stayed in my blind spot. I said to my friend, he's not passing! He told me again to find an exit, and I was beginning to re-think the cell phone idea - when he took off like a bat out of hell. AND THAT IS WHEN THE RAIN STOPPED. I swear, it was the eeriest thing I've ever been through.
He took off but I could still see him. It seemed we were going the same speed, so what was his hurry? The thing is, he got in back of a SEMI of all things up head and did the exact same thing to them, getting on their tail and turning on his brights until they moved over. But he didn't follow it all over the road, he just passed them and kept going the same speed I was.
It was the eeriest thing I'd ever seen, but I'm glad it happened - it taught me the valuable lesson of not pissing off fellow drivers, because you never know what kind of maniac you're messing with!
What made this funny, and something I will definitely write about at some point, is that after it was all over with, I turned to my friend and asked with a dead-serious expression, "Have you ever wondered how you were going to die?" I wasn't trying to freak him out, I was just curious and wanted to talk about something serious instead of our usual unimportant BS. But it DID freak him out, and he laughed and went on and on about how it was just like a horror movie, and I told him I just wondered...he finally answered my question, saying he wanted to die of old age surrounded by people he loved and people who loved him, which was THE perfect answer. Not that he was trying to give the perfect answer, it just was....and you would have to know my friend to know that he usually does say the right, perfect thing, even without trying. He's just a dramatic person and I have no doubt what he said was sincere.
I told him I'd envisioned dying in a fire, or possibly a car crash, which sent him into more hysterics...and he told me about this actress in the 30's, can't remember her name, but apparently she was deathly afraid of fire. She always did these darkly-themed black and white movies, too, and had jet-black hair. At one point in her career, she accepted the role of Joan of Arc....of all people to portray! She managed to survive being burned alive on screen, but rather than getting over her fear, it just made it all the worse.
Later in her life, she was trapped in her home and burned alive. She lived four days before her death. And apparently, my admitting that I had often envisioned my own death in a blaze of glory reminded him of this cursed actress.
My friend and I have been through so many amazing adventures over the ten years we've been together, and they'll all go into a book someday. Each one will have its own chapter, and this one will be entitled Road Rage.
posted by Donna @ 3:32 PM
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