It’s Not About the Gun
Whenever I tell people that I have a concealed carry permit I usually get a funny look in return. I think it makes people uncomfortable to know that I might be packing, especially if they have a negative view of guns or have never been around firearms. To be honest, I do not carry a concealed weapon on a consistent basis. After what happened last night a little over a mile down the road from us, perhaps I should?
A case of road rage in Walker County leaves a man dead and his children witnessed the whole thing…the victim and his two kids were driving along in their truck, when they were approached by a very aggressive driver. That driver began passing the victims car, tailgating him all along the road. Sheriff Steve Wilson says the victim pulled over to confront the driver. When he did, the suspect allegedly shot him four to five times.
When I heard this story my first thought was, “What if the victim had been armed?” When my wife found out about the shooting, her immediate comment was, “He should have never stopped.”
She is right. The first rule of self defense is try to avoid avoid a violent attack rather than attempt to survive one. Just because I may carry a gun does not mean that I am itching to use it. Keeping a clear head is key to avoiding a deadly encounter. The gun is there as a last resort.
My wife and I were driving south on I-75 toward Atlanta several years ago when a man started tailgaiting us aggressively. As soon as my wife noticed what was happening she moved over to the middle lane. However, the irate driver was not content to pass us. Instead he pulled up beside us and hurled obscenities. We backed off. We sped up. He continued to harass us on both sides. I wanted my wife to pull the car over so we could have a smack down, but she kept her course. Eventually the goon exited the highway.
I think back to that incident as a learning experience. Sometimes, however, we never get the chance to learn from our mistakes. Had cooler heads prevailed last night, then perhaps the outcome would have been different? Of course, this is not to say that one should not use deadly force when it is warranted. I am still thankful for that final option as our right and privilege. Most of all I am thankful for God’s grace, without which I would surely have undone myself long ago.
Update: Chattanoogan.com has more information on the story.
It’s hard to know what would be right to do in those situations. There was actually a recent movie made which is dedicated solely to one road rage incident.
I think you need both a physical preparedness and a mental preparedness, both of which are related. It is not enough just to have a gun, but one must practice shooting it, reloading it, go through simulations, etc.
On the mental side you must train yourself to remain as calm as possible under the circumstances, not letting emotion get the best of you. Practice is part of that as the familiarity with your weapon will make it one less thing to have to worry about.
The same would be true for a situation in which you are unarmed. It helps to have thought about what you might do in a threatening situation, such as “How can I take evasive action, what can I use to defend myself,” etc. Keeping your wits about you is as important as any amount of technical training.
The man who died did not deserve to be shot. The perp was clearly in the wrong. However, the news report said that the incident took place over several miles for about 15 minutes. It is possible that the victim stopped the car out of fear (not being able to know how to act further), or he stopped out of frustration and anger (not being able to channel the negative energy).
Man. There was a vicious case of road rage in Tampa. Two guys driving top of the line SUV’s. One was in the fast lane going slow. The other guy was tailgating him, beeping, etc…supposedly trying to get him to speed up or get out of the way. Then, he whipped around him once he had space and slammed on the brakes right in front of the guy who was driving slow. The SUV that was then in the rear hit the one in front and flipped over. The guy flew out, was crushed because he didn’t have a seatbelt on and he died on the causeway. I don’t think they ever found the guy who caused the accident.
The only thing I can say is that if I see peculiar stuff going on on the road, I try to do things to determine what other cars are doing. For instance, if I’m in a cluster of cars which seems hairy, I’ll set my cruise control real quick once I’m at a decent speed and am keeping up with the bulk of cars. Then, I try to tell who’s accelerating at a fast rate. Those are the guys I watch out for. It’s not so much speed but acceleration – or also, hitting the brakes a lot and speeding up. That to me is a sign of an aggresive driver, especially if you’re doing that at fast speeds close to other cars.
[...] An arrest has been made in the road rage incident that I first mentioned in this article. [...]