Yesterday I witnessed a scary incident. While my wife and I were walking into a restaurant we heard lots of honking and yelling coming from the street.
A very large man (think 400lb Samoan) was yelling and gesturing from the driver-side window of his Ford Expedition at another man in a mid-size sedan. The second man was not responding. Big Guy then started to get out of his SUV. At that time the turn arrow turned green and Smaller Guy drove off and turned left onto another street. Big Guy then proceeded to get back in his car and pull into the turn lane to follow the other driver.
I whipped out the cell phone and dialed 911. I gave the police the description of the SUV, Big Guy, the car he was pursuing, and the direction they were last going. Nola then told me that she had seen a woman and children in the sedan!
Big Guy was certainly Big enough to make disparity a force a real issue. His SUV was big enough to easily force the other car off the road or kill the occupants in a collision. I don't know what Smaller Guy did to anger Big Guy like that but it couldn't have justified Big Guy's actions.
It brought home to me why I choose to carry in this world. But at the same time the .38 revolver in my pocket suddenly seemed of questionable efficacy against a huge man aggressively driving a huge SUV. A Benelli loaded with slugs or one of those SOCOM M1A's would seem to be more appropriate.
That got me thinking about tactics. The cell phone call to 911 is the obvious first step, but who knows if a unit is in the area? I drive either a Chevy Lumina sedan or a Chrysler Voyager minivan. I don't know if either can beat one of those Expeditions in acceleration. I do know my Lumina can probably turn tighter at higher speeds without flipping or rolling. But high-speed chases on residential streets aren't a good solution either. Stopping and getting out is foolish. I have just thrown away my mobility. The police station is several miles and many lights down the road.
What would you do?
A very large man (think 400lb Samoan) was yelling and gesturing from the driver-side window of his Ford Expedition at another man in a mid-size sedan. The second man was not responding. Big Guy then started to get out of his SUV. At that time the turn arrow turned green and Smaller Guy drove off and turned left onto another street. Big Guy then proceeded to get back in his car and pull into the turn lane to follow the other driver.
I whipped out the cell phone and dialed 911. I gave the police the description of the SUV, Big Guy, the car he was pursuing, and the direction they were last going. Nola then told me that she had seen a woman and children in the sedan!
Big Guy was certainly Big enough to make disparity a force a real issue. His SUV was big enough to easily force the other car off the road or kill the occupants in a collision. I don't know what Smaller Guy did to anger Big Guy like that but it couldn't have justified Big Guy's actions.
It brought home to me why I choose to carry in this world. But at the same time the .38 revolver in my pocket suddenly seemed of questionable efficacy against a huge man aggressively driving a huge SUV. A Benelli loaded with slugs or one of those SOCOM M1A's would seem to be more appropriate.
That got me thinking about tactics. The cell phone call to 911 is the obvious first step, but who knows if a unit is in the area? I drive either a Chevy Lumina sedan or a Chrysler Voyager minivan. I don't know if either can beat one of those Expeditions in acceleration. I do know my Lumina can probably turn tighter at higher speeds without flipping or rolling. But high-speed chases on residential streets aren't a good solution either. Stopping and getting out is foolish. I have just thrown away my mobility. The police station is several miles and many lights down the road.
What would you do?