Never let a stranger approach your car
This week, I came across a road rage reel without trend-level views. It’s sitting at about 50K, and it reminded me of an experience I had driving around North Hollywood a few years back. I’m from the Midwest, where, for the most part, I’ve felt pretty comfortable saying “Hi” or “Ope” to nearly anyone around me. I’ve also traveled a bit over the years and found strangers mostly pleasant. Before the NoHo encounter, though, I hadn’t experienced a total stranger approaching my car so directly. That interaction, plus the hundreds of road rage clips I’ve seen in my automotive media career, changed how I’d handle strangers approaching my car.
Robby Saligman, the CEO and founder of a digital media company, says he was on his way to the airport. Saligman needed to turn left, so he signaled and changed lanes. Another driver sped up to pass him and then swerved in front of him at an angle, blocking his car at the intersection.
The man got out of his car and approached Saligman, who had his left front window down. Saligman says the man started kicking his car while cursing, so he decided to turn on his camera.
Next, the vexed driver punches Saligman square in the jaw through the window. Saligman looks shocked.
In the comments, Saligman says the driver was ultimately arrested.
“Lesson learned for me: keep the windows rolled up when the angry man approaches your vehicle. Lesson learned for him: Road rage isn’t worth it! Just take a second, and breathe,” Saligman captioned in the post.
A strange NoHo encounter reminded me to be careful
This took me back to 2016 when I was driving with my husband and sister in LA. She was living in North Hollywood, and I often visited. We were on our way to a Thai restaurant and were stopped in a lot, getting ready to turn left.
My sister was driving her old Toyota Camry, and I was in the passenger seat. I looked to my right to tell my sister whether she was clear to turn. Oddly, there was a woman about our age jogging toward us from a short distance. While that doesn’t really sound odd, the details were.
She wasn’t wearing athletic wear but more formal, trendy clothing – it matched 2016’s NoHo vibe, in my mind, anyway. The woman looked put together – except she wasn’t wearing shoes. She had a really worried look on her face. At first glance, I thought she needed help. The gal made direct eye contact with me and rushed up to the car, seemingly running from something.
I don’t know how my sister’s reflexes worked so fast. The Camry’s doors didn’t lock automatically since we hadn’t driven far enough. At the very moment the woman grabbed my door’s exterior handle, my sister pressed the door lock button on her side.
The woman found the handle locked, yelled out at me, and punched my window glass. It was almost a surreal change of tone. My sister turned out of the parking lot and drove away with the woman yelling angrily at us all the way.
Obviously, that woman was in some sort of a layered sitch, which is a topic for a non-automotive site. However, had my sister not quickly locked the car doors, I think I would have been randomly assaulted.
While the Midwesterner in me wishes for community-oriented and pleasant interactions, the reality is that they aren’t all like that. Of course, they aren’t all bad, either, but just be wary of strangers approaching your car directly.
Our own Erik Sherman shared tips on how to handle road rage this year:
- Be aware of your surroundings
- Never stop your vehicle at the prompt of an angry motorist
- If you suspect that you’re being followed, don’t return home
- Notify the authorities of any instance of road rage
You can have the same attitude about pedestrians approaching your car, too.
