Actually, that’s what I was thinking they were for, but I didn’t know what they’d be called. Why would they come on if he was going foreward?
A few years ago, while stationd in Wisco, the wife and I were on our way home very late at night, on a very lonely and long road. At the time, I was driving a 1979 Chevy Malibu station wagon, complete with top mounted luggage rack. This will become important later. The car, not the luggage rack. Anyway, two clowns in nice late 80’s Monte Carlo pull up next to us and start giving us the business - the finger, the fists, the unheard verbal threats, etc. They’re probably drunk, and the wife begins her search for the tire iron and anything else that may be in the back. We deal with it for about two minutes. They slow down to make an exit, and at that point, because I’m pretty pissed off, I cut them off very closely. This was the point, I believe, that perhaps now I am partly guilty of what is about to happen. No problem, I can live with guilt.
They abort their exit, and proceed to tailgate me. Fine. I’ll take them right to the station, and they can deal with me, and the entire duty section where I work.
Then they move to pass me.
I’m not going to let these clowns get in front of me, so they can stop me. So when they punch it to pass me on my right, I punch it as well - just as he tried to get in front. We collided at 60 mph, and kept on going down the road. Glass breaking, sparks flying, we locked up with him caught up on my right front quarter panel, tearing it open. He hammered the gas to get out of it and the Monte Carlo takes a full Malibu fuck down its entire left side. Then he locks up his brakes and I see in my rearview that he’s skidded off the road to the right. I see this in my rearview, because that Chevy Malibu wagon didn’t miss a beat. Throughtout the whole ordeal, that car just drove straight as an arrow, suffering only the aforementioned panel damage. Man, I loved that car…
Anyway, they got back on the road, and took an IMMEDIATE exit. They wanted nothing more to do with the gunmetal gray Chevy Malibu Wagon of Death© (with luggage rack!)
Anyway, they were first at fault, and then I was just as guilty. I was fortunate that night that things weren’t much worse. I learned my lesson. I no longer bother with road-ragers.
That, and I no longer travel without “defense tools”. There’s a lot of nuts out there.
Sheeee-it! That is some scary driving, Chandeleur.
Worst thing that’s happened to me recently, is almost getting t-boned by a maniac blasting through a stop sign. We both slam on the brakes, and she proceeds to stick her head out her window and scream incoherently at ME! Something about her daughter being late for school.
Sure enough, there’s a little girl in there, white as a sheet and staring at me big, frightened eyes. Poor kid!
Wow. Sounds like there are a lot of crazy fucks out there. What Copa failed to mention was that I, in my concern for the other driver, thinking that maybe he was trying to signal for help, rolled down the window all the way once we were both stopped. The guy staggers over and half-way leans in the window pointing his finger right across me and screams at Copa something about ‘riding his ass’. I was incredibly confused, as he’d been behind us the whole time.
The more I think about it, the scarier it is in retrospect. I seriously expected him to have a gun. Good thing Copa was quick on his feet and immediately told me to roll up the windows and lock the doors. We left the guy in our dust just as he was walking around to his side to start something.
I haven’t been that scared in my entire life, just about.
fushjoo, be careful with that kinda thing. It can end you up in real jail. MP/SP off duty officers generally don’t have the same jurisdictional authority as standard state authorized peace officers. Encounters you may have had were probably just courtesy, unless of course activity like that is clearly outlined for you by your local civil jurisdictions and your Base Commander.
On duty, that’s a different thing, chasing a bad guy, but off duty, at least in Illinois, everything you claim to do as a military police officer, violates every law that even references this kind of activity.
The biggest problem you’ll have is getting a civilian criminal to stop and take orders from a military police officer. Hell, we can’t even get the criminals to listen to (us) the civilian police.
Holy shit! Have you ever considered making an action movie, Chandeleur? 
Seriously, though, great anecdote. Nobody got hurt and the drunken asshole got humiliated. Good deal all around!
XJETGIRLX: He actually started to lean in the window and then put his arm in? Damn! If anything, it seems like hubby understated the incident in the OP! Scary stuff. Thank (insert deity) that you two were unharmed! Good thing Copa had a level head in that crisis situation.
Yeah, Copa has an annoying habit of being incredibly rational about these kinds of things. The guy completely ignored me and after he’d threatened Copa through my window, went around to the other side. That’s when he floored it. Scared the shit out of me, and I made Copa drive all the way to the police station in case we were being followed.
Still, though, we have no fucking clue what set this guy off. While I was busy mentally picturing all the horible ways that could have ended, Copa was playing Sherlock Holmes on me trying to figure out what the thing with the lights meant and making deductions.
buttonjockey308,
I appreciate the concern. In Sumter County, within a 50 mile radius of the base (which covers the entire county and ends at the Sumter county limits) off duty SP’s and Army (NG) MP’s hold the same jurisdiction as the Sherrif’s Department, and we’ve assisted both the City and County law enforcement teams as a matter of furthering civilian/military cooperation (it’s already a pretty tight Air Force town, we’re just making it as cozy as bed-buddies.) In fact, with the shortage of County deputies, Shaw AFB’s SP’s have taken nearly full jurisdiction for traiffic control and the like for US 76/378 from the end of Broad Street (about 10 miles from the base’s East Gate) to the county line, SC-441 from the beginning of Patriot Parkway (about 4 miles from the East Gate) to the town limits of Dalzell, and US-521 from the 521/441 interchange to the 521/378 junction.
In Sumter County, my shield means as much as a Deputy’s star or a City officer’s shield does. Now, when I was at Charleston AFB, it was a totally different story. We had some leeway, but unless it was a gross violation of the law (eg, you’re going 60 in a 60 zone and some jackass goes screaming past you) then you’d be stuck in letting it happen. But then again, driving a gunmetal Crown Vic with lights mounted on it usually slows down people around you 
One time d_redguy and I were driving down the highway, on our way from Chapel Hill, when we saw some guy jump out of his car at a red light. He then proceeded to run at a car near him, weilding a baseball bat. It was extremely strange.
We pulled over to make sure the guy being attacked (and his girlfriend) were okay. They were, and the maniac went away. Definitely the oddest road rage incident I’ve ever witnessed, though. The couple had absolutely no idea why the guy was upset with them.
(Wouldn’t have been you we saw, by any chance, 5U1C1D3?)
There are just way too many nutjobs out there nowadays. When I was in Virginia a few months ago, there was a story in the paper where two guys were dead from road rage. Seems some nutjob rear ends a guys in traffic, they get out, and he proceeds to beat to death the guy he rear ended. Then he goes after an off duty cop who was just rolling up to the scene. Well, the cop had to shoot him, and both men are now dead. Because of a fender bender.
You just never know the capabilities of strangers in these situations. You guys did the best thing by getting the hell out of there.
Well, if you had a gun you could have shot the rude fellow. As a matter of fact, if more people were armed I believe we would have a world that showed the other fellow a little more courtesy.
I was sitting at a red light, the guy in the car in front of me was having a convo with the car next to him. The light turned green, and after about 10 seconds, as he was still yapping, and not moving, I quickly tapped the horn. He finally pulled throught the light, then jumped over to the right lane so I could pass him, and then started his ranting. At the next light, he got out of his car, and walked up to mine. “You got a problem, man?” As I’m pulling out my S&W .40, I reply, “Yeah. I can never remember if I chambered the first bullet.”
Not to derail the thread, but how is this legal? I’m under the impression that the armed forces can’t enforce any laws (Posse Comitatus and all that). Is there a special dispensation from congress regarding the areas around bases? I did a quick web search and didn’t find anything.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for making cop’s jobs easier and safer. But, after the DC sniper incident, I’m just wondering if this is a law that nobody challenges when it is broken.
People are nuts, I tell you… About 80 % of the driving-population need anger management.
My very pregnant girlfriend was in her car with her mom driving to a store when this guy cut them off and pulled in front of them. My friend beeped at him and kept going. He was flipping the finger, getting mad, but they brushed it off. He pulls on the side of the road, let them go by and pulls right behind them. They arrive to the store, a little nervous as the guy pulls in the parking lot as well. He followed them into the store and they played hide and seek for a while (thank Home Depot for the very high shelves and numerous aisles). They finally leave, as they don’t see him anymore. They get back to their car, a note is on the windshield, saying “you bitch, haha”… and they realized the 4 tires are slashed…
I couldn’t believe this, what is wrong with people…?
BlackNGold,
Ran your question by my Chief today. Asides from him calling me a dumbass for wasting his time with a ‘stupid-assed question,’ he informed me that nominally, our own jurisdiction would end where the razor-wire tipped fence sat, but that in 1966, Shaw AFB and the county of Sumter went into agreement that the area surrounding the base could and should be patrolled by both military and civilian authorities. Apparently, back then, there was a drastic shortfall in manpower and the base offered to pickup the shortfall. In the end, through our squadron liason officer (a staff NCO, actually) with the Sherrif’s Department, we can make pickups and whatnot (mostly for speeding and traffic violations.) We are under expressed orders not to assist in serving warrants, unless both the County Council and base commander have written their approval for the action (its been done once, and we supplied 2 SP’s to assist in a crackhouse takedown which involved 22 deputies and 10 city officers.) If the individual is a civilian, he is held on location until the Sherrif’s deputies come and pick him up. On the other side of the coin, any City or County officer who is persuing an individual may enter the base if the person being persued does so first. That’s much, much harder with the tank-traps and concrete barriers put up since 9-11, but that’s not stopped folks from trying.
I should add, though, that this agreement seems to be exclusive to Shaw. I’ve seen a few bases who held jurisdiction for areas immediately around their bases, but not quite to the extent that we do. Anyway, hope that helps.
Yes but what if any of the ‘bad’ people in the above stories had guns?
Then we would never read these stories as they would not be alive to post them.
:rolleyes:
Right. Because obtaining that courtesy through threats is MUCH more effective.
If more people were armed, we’d just have more people who were dead. Period.
Ava
Road rage by itself is bad enough. Road rage + nearby firearm = strong potential for homicide.
Yes, some potential is there for other weapons as well but with those all one has to do is stay in their car and they’d be pretty much safe. Introduce a gun in the picture and safety goes out the window.
I’ve found a good defense against agressive idiots is a simple cell phone. When they realize you’re calling their plates in it tends to quickly deflate their bravado.
Driving home one afternoon we had an idiot in a pickup that was speding through traffic, never using his signal, gestering wildly to his two friends and just being pretty inconsiderate and dangerous to everyone around him. Pulling up to a light I saw him intentionall toss his cigarette onto the convertible top of the car next to him and then turn to his friends and laugh. I honked to alert the driver that his top was burning. Next light the son of a bitch pulled up behind me and threw something, a coin or rock or whatever, hitting my back window. When I walked back and began to chew their punk asses out the driver pulled a knife on me and started trying to slash me through the window. He was yelling “My dad’s a cop and I’m gonna kill you man.” Heh, how did I get so lucky?
I popped him pretty good with his door when he tried to get out and hopped back in my vehicle and called 911. I then held the phone up so the three of them could see what I was doing. They peeled off at the next light.
When the police (finally) showed up, there were five of us from three seperate vehicles there to turn in a report. Sure enough, the vehicle was traced back to a policeman’s loan agency and they left to go talk to him. Unfortunately they said they couldn’t do shit to him, all they could have charged him with was littering but hopefully he’ll think twice before acting like such a jackass again. This is why I carry a phone instead of a gun.
lieu, he tries to slash you and all they could get him for was littering? WTFIUWT?
Cell phones are your best bet. Reminds me of a COPS episode (I think it was COPS). Some road rager is following/chasing a fellow on the highway. The fellow being chased is an off duty cop who calls his on duty buddies on the phone. LOL! Sure enough, the cavalry arrives and hauls the dumbass off to jail. LOL!!
I’d be willing to bet the off duty cop had his gun, but he played it smart and awaited the uniforms. All’s well that ends well.