Posted: 12/9/2008 3:32:33 PM EDT
| I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. |
Oh jeez, yall weren't holding up 1911's flying down the road were you? Just eyeing eachother. 
Edited for the vid. Just go to the end if you don't wanna listen to the whole thing. Road Rage Quoted:
I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. |
|
Dude!!!!!
The same thing happened to me on 95! The guy was driving like 50 mph in the left lane, I went around him and the guy sped up to like 80 mph and stop me from passing him. I got behind him again and the guy slowed down and I raised my arms with the classic NYC WTF is wrong with you A**hole gesture, and he flipped me off!! I of course responded with double barrel fingers (I steer with good intentions). 
I passed the guy and he drifted back for a little while. I calm down and try to forget about the guy. Then a couple minutes latter he passes me as I was moving over to the right lane, and his GF takes a picture of me. So I followed him and snapped a picture of his license plate with my cell phone just incase, and then got off at the next exit. Moral of the story: don't drive 15 mph below the speed limit in the left lane!!!!! Then of course But seriously, nothing happened. Just two idiots driving on 95 getting on each others nerves!!! Your picture might be on the internet by now though. 
|
| It sounds like he may have been through this before. He probably took your pic so he can ID you, if need be. He would need to report it to the police. Believe me, unless the guy had a serious traffic offense committed against him, the police will not want to get involved, if at all possible. They will probably try to disuade the guy by outlining the process to get a warrant and the time he would need to devote to this in order for it to go to court. He would need to get the warrant because the officer did not witness the event. The vast majority of people are not willing to get involved to this extent. If you don't get a call from the police within a few days, most likely nothing will come of it. |
| The police can't but for any traffic or criminal offense where the witness/ victim can identify the person who allegedly committed the offense, the police can conduct an investigation. When the police can reasonably identify the alleged perpetrator, they would give enough info to the vict/ wit to get a warrant from the magistrate. More than likely these days, the wit/ vict would go to the magistrate's office with the officer. Let the vict/ wit swear to the facts of the alleged offense and then the officer would testify to the steps taken to identify the suspect and provide the magistrate with the alleged offender's information rather than giving the individual's info to the vict/ wit. |
| Out of all the cases I have had that were similar to this, no one ever wanted to take the time off work for the 3 or more court appearances, especially if a lawyer gets involved. They expect the officer to do everything in the case and all they need to do is report it to the police. No officer I know of will obtain a warrant for a misdemeanor or traffic offense based on hearsay evidence from an unknown entity. That's a great way to get yourself sued and lose! There is no way for the officer to know if what he is being told is the truth or possibly someone just trying to stir shit for someone else. There are always exceptions, such in the case of an automobile accident. The officer will issue a summons to the suspected violator, but the witnesses will also be subpoenaed and they will be required to testify. The officer also takes all the physical evidence into consideration and if it doesn't match the witness statements he will be reluctant to place charges. Again, bases on my experience most likely nothing will happen. |
|
Quoted:
So... no need to worry? I should relax? I would relax...I've only been a leo in VA for 3.5 years. I get these types of phone calls a few times a week. Like posted above many won't go the distance. Once they realize they have to put their name on paper and show for court they don't seem interested. I would suggest keeping your distance if this happens again. If someone acts the fool let 'em keep trucking...if they continue to harass you then do what needs to be done. In the long run it's not worth it...at least to me. |
|
Quoted:
I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. Sorry about that. I'm over it now. Besides, the picture I took of you at the stoplight didn't turn out that well... 
|
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
So... no need to worry? I should relax? You should have relaxed in the first place. So a moron cut you off. It happens all the time around here. Let it go. Pulling the passing back and forth crap to show him you're pissed just escalated the situation. Exactly. My goal is to get from Point A to Point B in one piece, and get there quicker than walking or riding a horse. FLashing your lights or honking your horn out of anger, and not as a genuine warning, is illegal. At least I know that the horn thing is. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. Sorry about that. I'm over it now. Besides, the picture I took of you at the stoplight didn't turn out that well... http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/38300786_285726d970.jpg?v=0 
|
|
All the other cops got it right. When someone finds out the police won't do their dirty work for them (and they actually will have to go to court themselves) they puss out.
BTW, you didn't commit aggressive driving, if your account of the event is complete. Aggressive driving, by code, requires at least two moving violations within a certain time/distance period out of a specific list of moving violations. I wouldn't think simply making a legal pass falls under that code section. Does the General District Court online Virginia Court Case Information display warrant information if the warrant has not yet been served? If it does, you could search for your own name in the county/city this occured and see if the paper has been issued. If it has, just contact the local PD/SO and make it easy on them to serve it... then go to court and blast the sucka. |
|
I have to admit that when a dumbass is driving like a complete fucktard around me i will generally take a snap of thier plate and if possible, them.
Two reasons for this: one, if something happens, I have documented the actions (sort of) and two, it makes the person wonder who I am and what I can do with that picture. I know that there really is nothing that I can do with just a picture, but there was one time where the guy ended up running a woman off the road (Westbound 66) and I had the plate for the LEOs... Mostly though, if you do snap a picture of someone while they are driving like fucknuggets, they will generally tend to stop driving like complete asshats... My 2cents... |
|
Why let someone else control your emotions, just let them continue on and stay clear. They will get whats coming to them in the end. If you escalte the situation it can end badly, as I have seen over the years. If you happen to be CCW during the incident, now your front page news for the Brady campaign. I would hate to explain to VSP why you rear ended that other car trying to get someones photo on your cellphone. Why let a traffic dispute ruin your or someone elses life. Just my 2 cents, stay safe.
http://www.drivingtoday.com/kpix/features/archive/road_rage/index.html |
|
Quoted:
I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. Quoted:
Flipping you off hardly amounts to aggressive driving. I suggest some growing up. You actually started the whole thing by flashing your high beams. I disagree. If someone cuts you off (to the point where you feel like "Shit, I was just f-in cut off!" then flashing your high beams is a common response. If the guy had never cut him off , he would never had flashed his lights. If he had never flashed his lights, he STILL would have been cut-off. Simple cause and effect... It was the "cutting-off" that was the aggressive maneuver, not the flipping off. Did you read the original post??? |
|
Quoted:
I didn't do anything. I am concerned about possibly having a fraudulent report put out against me. Nothing is going to happen. There is no way that this individual can take legal action against you unless he files a "citizens report" which would put out a ticket in your name. IF you were to get that ticket, (LEO serves you) then you go to court just like a regular ticket. Once in court, it is simply a "he-said, he-said" situation and there is not really anything they can do. This happened to me recently where some guy tried to do the same thing. He followed me to a gas station, then called FFX City cops - they told him there was nothing they could do, then he called the FFX County cops - they told him there was nothing he could do, then he called the State cops - they told him there was nothing they could do. So he went to the court and got a summons against me. I was served and went to court. Judge cited the OTHER GUY with AGGRESSIVE DRIVING for "following me to a gas station with intent to confront". He also got a TRESPPASSING ticket because he followed me into my neighborhood, which is a private street and is clearly marked "No Trespassing" All in all, don't sweat it. People generally drive like assholes. If it wasn't this guy, it's the next! |
|
Quoted:
I didn't do anything. I am concerned about possibly having a fraudulent report put out against me. Dude, relax already. All the other boys in blue nailed it. I will expand on their advice by saying and real po-leece would never "investigate" someones report of aggressive driving. In traffic cases, if the copper doesn't observe the driving behavior, we ain't getting involved.......PERIOD! Now if some mouthbreather actually had video of the alleged acts, and your identifying information necessary to obtain a summons from a magistrate, I promise that by the time it sees the inside of a courtroom, any judge worth his or her salt would dismiss it. Can you imagine the waste of time it would be to hear evry case of "he said-she said" traffic bullshit? The courts docket is already stuffed to its absolute limit every day without this ridiculous bullshit. "Buckle up and drive safe, now, Ya hear?" |
|
I have some pretty off the wall theories and things I do while driving. They may not be "popular" but from what I have learned almost nobody on the road really belongs there.
1 Getting high beamed from behind. If I am driving slow in the left lane, this means to me move over I am going to pass you. Usually I'm not the one getting passed but it happens. 2. Getting high beamed after I pass. Now I have done nothing to prevoke this, all I did was pass a vehicle, never on a double yellow or anything "illegal*" (not including pass on right) If somebody high beams me for no reason, they are most likely going to get a high powered spot light beamed from the inside of the car back at them. 3. Pass on the right only as a last resort. 4. Stay to the right, and select the lane I want based on known traffic patterns. If this means staying the left lane for extended periods I at least keep up with the traffic in front of me. 5.Merging (on off ramps) This is no man's land. I do not recognize speed limits. I have told this to district attouneys and gotten off speeding tickets. Merging on a highway, I always merge at at least 10mph over the current traffic. It is much easier to see ahead of you than to see behind you. Merging off, I keep highway speeds untill I see the next posted speed limit. 6. People tail gaiting me. I am perfectly ok with it. You wouldn't be doing it if you didn't know the risks. I will not break check you, but I will stop if the car in front does so too. 7. High spee weave. I will avoid congestion at all costs, if people are driving slow in the left lane, I will do everything I can to remove myself from the bottleneck or cluster. 8 Maintenence, I have driven the same car fore nearly 10 years. I do all the work on it and know what it can do. |
|
If you live in Fairfax County and a similar incident occurs, you can file an online report with the FX County Police. The registered owner of the vehicle gets a letter:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/traf_sfty_report.htm |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
I was on my way home tonight when some jerk cut me off. I flashed my high beams at him and when the road opened up to two lanes, I tried to pass him. I looked over and he was giving me the finger, so I sped off. I passed him, then he went in to the right lane next to me and we pulled up at the stoplight. I look over and he's taking my picture with a digital camera. Has anyone been reported for aggressive driving? What happens? I certainly can't be charged with anything since it is essentially a he-said-he-said situation. Quoted:
Flipping you off hardly amounts to aggressive driving. I suggest some growing up. You actually started the whole thing by flashing your high beams. I disagree. If someone cuts you off (to the point where you feel like "Shit, I was just f-in cut off!" then flashing your high beams is a common response. If the guy had never cut him off , he would never had flashed his lights. If he had never flashed his lights, he STILL would have been cut-off. Simple cause and effect... It was the "cutting-off" that was the aggressive maneuver, not the flipping off. Did you read the original post??? Never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence. Napoleon Bonaparte Stupid or a bad judge of distance does not constitute aggressive driving. |
|
Quoted:
All the other cops got it right. When someone finds out the police won't do their dirty work for them (and they actually will have to go to court themselves) they puss out. BTW, you didn't commit aggressive driving, if your account of the event is complete. Aggressive driving, by code, requires at least two moving violations within a certain time/distance period out of a specific list of moving violations. I wouldn't think simply making a legal pass falls under that code section. Does the General District Court online Virginia Court Case Information display warrant information if the warrant has not yet been served? If it does, you could search for your own name in the county/city this occured and see if the paper has been issued. If it has, just contact the local PD/SO and make it easy on them to serve it... then go to court and blast the sucka. You need TWO? So the Red Top cab driving down 66 in the left lane doing 45 and logjamming the whole highway that I highbeamed, and who then brake-checked me, is not an aggressive driver? I had a soccer mom in an SUV riding my rear bumper, and his idiocy damn near killed all of us. Cab company was like "we don't care." I guess they're all from (self) centreville. |
|
Quoted:
Quoted:
All the other cops got it right. When someone finds out the police won't do their dirty work for them (and they actually will have to go to court themselves) they puss out. BTW, you didn't commit aggressive driving, if your account of the event is complete. Aggressive driving, by code, requires at least two moving violations within a certain time/distance period out of a specific list of moving violations. I wouldn't think simply making a legal pass falls under that code section. Does the General District Court online Virginia Court Case Information display warrant information if the warrant has not yet been served? If it does, you could search for your own name in the county/city this occured and see if the paper has been issued. If it has, just contact the local PD/SO and make it easy on them to serve it... then go to court and blast the sucka. You need TWO? So the Red Top cab driving down 66 in the left lane doing 45 and logjamming the whole highway that I highbeamed, and who then brake-checked me, is not an aggressive driver? I had a soccer mom in an SUV riding my rear bumper, and his idiocy damn near killed all of us. Cab company was like "we don't care." I guess they're all from (self) centreville. I just went and looked up the code. It does have a list of violations, but requires 'one or more' and a special articulation that the person is a hazard or had intent to harm or injure. I don't find it to be an especially useful code section, personally. § 46.2-868.1. Aggressive driving; penalties. A. A person is guilty of aggressive driving if (i) the person violates one or more of the following: § 46.2-802 (Drive on right side of highways), § 46.2-804 (Failure to observe lanes marked for traffic), § 46.2-816 (Following too closely), § 46.2-821 (Vehicles before entering certain highways shall stop or yield right-of-way), § 46.2-833.1 (Evasion of traffic control devices), § 46.2-838 (Passing when overtaking a vehicle), § 46.2-841 (When overtaking vehicle may pass on right), § 46.2-842 (Driver to give way to overtaking vehicle), § 46.2-842.1 (Driver to give way to certain overtaking vehicles on divided highway), § 46.2-843 (Limitations on overtaking and passing), any provision of Article 8 (§ 46.2-870 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 46.2 (Speed), or § 46.2-888 (Stopping on highways); and (ii) that person is a hazard to another person or commits an offense in clause (i) with the intent to harass, intimidate, injure or obstruct another person. B. Aggressive driving shall be punished as a Class 2 misdemeanor. However, aggressive driving with the intent to injure another person shall be punished as a Class 1 misdemeanor. In addition to the penalties described in this subsection, the court may require successful completion of an aggressive driving program. (2002, cc. 752, 782.) |