# Incident with violent, racist driver **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410 "2014-08-24T22:22:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/21 "2014-08-25T16:27:09Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > That’s not violence. They did not harm anyone, nor set out to do any harm, and they kept their behavior under sufficient control that nobody was harmed inadvertently, nor any damage to property. > > Your definition may vary, but in my view, Violence requires at a minimum, some quantifiable harm coming to someone’s person or property, and not just “hurting somebody’s feelings”. Requires harm? So shooting at someone is ok, as long as you miss? The driver in this story took a shot at causing a car accident – it just missed. It seems like if one did that to a police car, one would get into trouble, and possibly it would be described as a “violent” confrontation. edited to add: and the driver did NOT [keep] “their behavior under sufficient control that nobody was harmed inadvertently,” since it was the _cab driver’s_ reflexes that prevented the accident when the aggressive driver braked hard in front of him. Any time you do something that will cause an accident unless someone else reacts quickly to evade, it’s not “your actions” that are under control, you are gambling that the other person’s actions will prevent the accident. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/22 "2014-08-25T16:39:53Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > That’s not violence. They did not harm anyone, nor set out to do any harm, and they kept their behavior under sufficient control that nobody was harmed inadvertently, nor any damage to property. > > Your definition may vary, but in my view, Violence requires at a minimum, some quantifiable harm coming to someone’s person or property, and not just “hurting somebody’s feelings”. If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be accurate. Having “violent passions” doesn’t mean that your emotions are beating up someone else’s. The way in which the OP used the word is perfectly cromulent. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/23 "2014-08-25T17:12:46Z")
IMHO, the cab driver should not have engaged with the other driver. He’s on the clock and has a passenger. I think it goes without saying that the other driver was clearly an idiot. > [@jtur88](#): > > Your definition may vary, but in my view, Violence requires at a minimum, some quantifiable harm coming to someone’s person or property, and not just “hurting somebody’s feelings”. In my view, a punch is violence even if it misses. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/24 "2014-08-25T17:14:24Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > That’s not violence. They did not harm anyone, nor set out to do any harm, and they kept their behavior under sufficient control that nobody was harmed inadvertently, nor any damage to property. > > Your definition may vary, but in my view, Violence requires at a minimum, some quantifiable harm coming to someone’s person or property, and not just “hurting somebody’s feelings”. It is pretty much the textbook definition of assault. Bolding mine: 1. Intentionally putting another person in _reasonable apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact._ No intent to cause physical injury needs to exist, and no physical injury needs to result. So defined in tort law and the criminal statutes of some states. ---
**Author:** ![Astroboy14](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/df705f/32.png) [@Astroboy14](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astroboy14)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/25 "2014-08-25T19:04:41Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Did you manage to get a shot of his plate? What difference does it make what the nutjob was eating? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/26 "2014-08-25T19:56:47Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > IMHO, the cab driver should not have engaged with the other driver. He’s on the clock and has a passenger. I think it goes without saying that the other driver was clearly an idiot. Yeah I don’t disagree with what the driver said, but telling a drunk to “calm down” usually accomplishes the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/27 "2014-08-27T19:48:43Z")
Why didn’t you call 911 on the drunk driver and give his plate #, type of vehicle and location? That’s a hell of a lot more dangerous than the name calling. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2014, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/28 "2014-08-27T19:54:29Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > Yeah I don’t disagree with what the driver said, but telling a drunk to “calm down” usually accomplishes the opposite. Sober people too. ---
**Author:** ![DrumBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@DrumBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrumBum)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/29 "2014-08-28T13:01:52Z")
I think the cab driver was unwise. Had I been in the cab I would have asked him to take the next turn, Given the propensity of gun violence in the US I would want to get well away from those idiots as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/30 "2014-08-28T13:52:55Z")
That’s an unfair stereotype. Our cabbies always return fire. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/31 "2014-08-28T14:00:26Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Why didn’t you call 911 on the drunk driver and give his plate #, type of vehicle and location? The OP answered this in post #14. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/32 "2014-08-28T14:05:54Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > The OP called them “violent”. What evidence is there of that? The driver of the other car drove in a manner that was deliberately dangerous and obviously aimed at threatening the cab that **madmonk** was in. Is that not ‘violent’? If someone takes a swing at me, I consider them _violent_, even if they don’t actually connect. And the hostile remarks from the other car make it unequivocal that the cabbie was the target of these dangerous actions. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/33 "2014-08-28T14:10:58Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > My husband once got into a screaming match with with another driver as we were leaving a parking lot. This was before cell phones, but I was scared to death and was trying like hell to calm my husband down. > > It still gives me shivers to think about. > > I’m glad nobody was hurt. A frequent discussion I had with my ex-wife. What is the point of screaming and flipping off the guy that you just perceived as cutting you off? Other than testing to see if he’s a violent asshole who is going to shoot you or pull you out of the car at the next light. > [@Sailboat](#): > > The driver in this story took a shot at causing a car accident – it just missed. > > It seems like if one did that to a police car, one would get into trouble, and possibly it would be described as a “violent” confrontation. From a legal standpoint I would call it reckless behavior, not violent. Certainly not attempted assault. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/34 "2014-08-28T14:20:10Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > From a legal standpoint I would call it reckless behavior, not violent. Certainly not attempted assault. > [@](#): > > screaming threats like “I’m going to fucking kick your ass”, swerving violently between lanes and slamming on his brakes in front of us Is this not assault? What is the definition of assault, from a legal standpoint? ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/35 "2014-08-28T15:05:29Z")
> [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](#): > > Is this not assault? What is the definition of assault, from a legal standpoint? Sorry I missed the threat it wasn’t mentioned in the OP. Yes that could be considered assault by the legal definition. Without any actual injury I don’t see any way this would go anywhere in court around here. The courts would look at it as harassment. And if it’s just from menacing then it is just a disorderly persons offense. Or as the rest of the English speaking world calls it, a misdemeanor. If there is injury Assault by Auto is automatically a felony even without serious bodily injury. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/36 "2014-08-28T15:17:15Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If you’re going to be pedantic, at least be accurate. Having “violent passions” doesn’t mean that your emotions are beating up someone else’s. The way in which the OP used the word is perfectly cromulent. cromulent adjective – Appearing legitimate but \*\*\*actually being spurious \*\*\* If you’re going to be pedantic, you’re right. Perfectly spurious. ---
**Author:** ![LurkerInNJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed655f/32.png) [@LurkerInNJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkerInNJ)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/37 "2014-08-28T15:26:02Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > The OP answered this in post #14. Part of my point was why “racist behavior” and the exact definition of what constitutes “assault” versus drunk driving as being the really important thing going on in that situation. ---
**Author:** ![dada2fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ccd318/32.png) [@dada2fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dada2fish)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/38 "2014-08-28T15:30:39Z")
You said you weren’t paying attention but the cabbie did something to upset the other driver. Did he cut him off almost causing an accident? flip him off? moon him? Something happened. The cabbie is hired to get you from point A to B safely. He didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410/39 "2014-08-28T15:47:39Z")
> [@LurkerInNJ](#): > > Part of my point was why “racist behavior” and the exact definition of what constitutes “assault” versus drunk driving as being the really important thing going on in that situation. Well, “why didn’t you call 911” is a funny way to express that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/incident-with-violent-racist-driver/696410.md?page=1)