[Gillies]

I think you did the right thing in not reducing yourself to his level, however I do think you should press charges. Guys with his attitude and violent behaviour have and will do it again unless civic minded people try to stop it. If he gets off, so be it. At least you will have done what you could. If he does it again, and he will, I have no doubt that the next judge will not be so forgiving.

[GoremanX]

No, not looking for an argument. It was just an observation.

I was wondering when someone would bring that up

The honking was to let the driver know I was there. The way he threw himself into traffic blindly had me worried he didn't realize I was there (despite the obvious size and sound of my truck). My understanding is that's what the horn is intended for and why it must be present on road vehicles. I almost never need to use it.

The one-finger-salute is typical Montreal-style driver communication for the complete lack of indication he gave when he cut me off. I grew up and spent most of my life in Montreal, and when someone drives like an idiot, they always get rewarded with a finger wave. Years of driving to work across the island of Montreal every day during rush hour has pretty much immunized me to the display of that finger, and popping it up at the appropriate times has become second nature. Is that a reflection on Montrealers? That's probably a discussion for another thread

This happened in a largish town south of Montreal (St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu). My impression of the young people there is they're bitter because they don't have the privilege of living in Montreal So I "shared some Montreal" with him.

In any case, the way my shocked mind could process it, he purposely created a situation where an accident could (and did) happen. It's not the first time I've seen this kind of thing, but it almost never results in an actual impact. Usually, the offended party will slow down on purpose to annoy the person who honked, and then there will be some crazy driving maneuvers followed by 2 very angry parties driving their own separate ways (again, rush hour driving in Montreal can be very elucidating).

Personally, I would've loved to avoid an impact in the first place, big trucks can cause some serious damage, and my wife's back doesn't need that kind of trauma.

[GoremanX]

For the record, I would have Never gotten out of the truck. I would have grabbed the bastard's arm, put the truck in gear, and floored the gas pedal. Pushed his POS honda out of the way and Drug his ass for about 50 yards (sorry, Meters)... "Gee officer, I don't know what happened. He punched me and I just tried tried to get away from the situation."

That almost happened! But not on purpose... notice I mentioned I didn't put the truck into Park until he punched me. I'm not sure why I had the sense of mind to do that, must be the automatic pattern I follow for getting out of the truck. Lucky for him, because that would've been ugly.

[JeffJS]

That almost happened! But not on purpose... notice I mentioned I didn't put the truck into Park until he punched me. I'm not sure why I had the sense of mind to do that, must be the automatic pattern I follow for getting out of the truck. Lucky for him, because that would've been ugly.

I hope there isn't one, but better luck next time..

[Gaelen]

Seeing me standing is usually enough to deter most would-be fighters. I'm 6'1", weigh 255 pounds, and I've been an avid mountain biker for 3 years now.

This has got to be my favorite line of the whole thing You showed an impressive amount of restraint, it's hard after the kid being so persistent.

I've had similar experiences (20 years of playing hockey), including knives pulled on my in parking lots because we beat them senseless on the ice.

I stand 6'4 ~350lbs, i usually scare most people to the point of running away, so i can understand what you meant by the surprise when this kid kept coming.

In the end I'm glad to here you are ok (well for the most part), and that your wife is ok

[PeterAM]

I don't know how it works where you live, but I believe in many places you can file a report with the police, who will hold it for some allotted period before you have to file a formal complaint. If that's the case, I would do that if you are undecided about pressing charges. It's entirely possible that a fool like this may try to file a complaint against you, so you might as well go on record.

I live in New York State, just north of NYC;over the past few years road rage incidents have gotten so out of hand that the police are out looking for these people in traffic. I would press charges, at which time you'll probably find out that he's got a history. You're lucky that you're OK and he wasn't carrying a gun.

[Arpe]

I can't understand why the police can't just arrest him for breaking the law. Why do they have to wait for someone to "press charges". Seems weird to me.

[GoremanX]

I can't understand why the police can't just arrest him for breaking the law. Why do they have to wait for someone to "press charges". Seems weird to me.

I'm no lawyer or police officer, I have no clue how it works. But since the police did not witness the incident, they can't do anything on their own anyways. I have heard of instances where a witness pressed charges instead of the victim, but that's an oddity more than anything else.

[jpzk]

Goreman,

I just read your thread/post ... was busy for a few days and was shocked to read this!

I think everyone agrees that you did the right thing and I do too.

Now, considering your weight and height ... If I were that crazy kid, I would probably have taken off rapidly!
He's got a sure case of miserabilis furiosus.

Cheers!

[yucatanPentax]

... for the complete lack of indication he gave ...

Thanks for teaching me something that should have been obvious.

When living in Texas, every time we'd ride with some Canadian neighbors, they were both constantly aghast at the "complete lack of indication". Eventually, we figured out that they were outraged by people changing lanes without signaling which is pretty much how everyone drives around here, particularly on the freeways.

So, apparently, it is considered highly hostile to fail to use a signal in Canada and deserves a finger response. We just figured that "our" particular Canadians were high-strung (they never did get used to seeing rifles in pick-up windows) and didn't realize all of Canada believes fervently in the turn signal offense.

(said half tongue in cheek, but not really)

[keyser]

Ah, the turn signal thing... yes, it warrents a finger in Canada, but it's still common. You should go to Britain, where the lack of a signal on a roundabout (traffic circle) makes those affected want to track down the offender and beat them to a bloody pulp.

[GoremanX]

Ah, the turn signal thing... yes, it warrents a finger in Canada, but it's still common. You should go to Britain, where the lack of a signal on a roundabout (traffic circle) makes those affected want to track down the offender and beat them to a bloody pulp.

I don't mind the lack of turn signals so much, I don't use mine half the time either. But I don't expect parked cars to suddenly leap into traffic without warning where there is no room for them to do so, that warrants a horn (and perhaps a finger too). If someone does something stupid that requires me to hit the brakes suddenly, I honk the horn. Often times, they do this because they're not aware I'm there in the first place.