Recently I was driving to a store. As I turned my car, I drifted over to the lane I wanted to be in instead of the one I was supposed to be in. Suddenly, I noticed a large black truck with tinted window following too closely behind me. I arrived at the parking lot of the store but thought, “Don’t stop. Maybe you cut that guy off and he is following you.” My instinct was correct.

I locked my doors and kept driving in a circle around the parking lot with the truck on my bumper. I positioned myself so that I could quickly exit onto a main street to my left. I glanced over to the black hulk. The passenger door opened and a man with both middle fingers out gesticulated and screamed at me. Much to my disbelief, he scooted to the edge of his seat ready to jump out and attack. I screeched out the parking lot and got in a lane so there would be a line of cars between me and the truck. Sure enough, the truck roared around the corner speeding towards me with the driver shouting curse words out his window. I kept my face forward, stayed with traffic, and drove a public but circuitous route home keeping my eye on the rear-view mirror. They were nowhere in sight.

The question I asked myself afterwards was, “Did I do everything I could to protect myself during this incident?” Sgt. Jim Partin, Olympia PD, and Detective Dale Elliott, Tumwater PD, pass on this advice to drivers who find themselves threatened:

• Lock your doors; close your windows.
• Stay calm.
• Keep moving.
• Do not make eye contact or engage with the perpetrator.
• Do not provoke or retaliate by slamming on your brakes, for instance.
• If you have a cell phone, call 911 and get law enforcement on the way. Even if you have to drop the phone, keep it on so the dispatcher can hear what is transpiring.
• Get yourself to a public place where other people can help you. Drive to a police station, a busy gas station or a food or coffee drive-through. Draw attention to yourself by pressing on the horn if necessary.
• Do not get out of the car unless it is safe.
• If you are close to a place with cameras (Department of Transportation sites and some intersections), drive through it so a picture can be taken of the offending vehicle and its license plate.
• If you cannot get the license plate number, shout for someone else to get the number and ask them to call the police on their cell phone. At a minimum, observe as many details as you can about the vehicle and driver/passenger so you can report the incident accurately.

Afterwards, you may want to file a report with the police. They will take different actions depending on the severity of what occurred. In my case, officers would have contacted the owner of the vehicle per my request. However, I was not able to obtain the license plate number.

I hope you are not the victim of road rage, but if you are, you can handle the situation. Partin remarks: “Once it starts, your first thought must be of safety.” Stay calm, get help, drive to a safe location, and use sound judgment.