Road rage - when to get out of your vehicle?

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Originally Posted by STI

Where's the "like more than once" button. Thanks lwt!

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You are most welcome.

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Originally Posted by lwt16

So if the guy stands there at my door and screams and yells, and tee tees, and moans......and then gets back in his car and leaves....okay, you win dude and I'll chastise myself for getting boxed in in the first place. If he kicks the car or keys it or flattens a tire....okay, whatever......I'll get the tag and call it in and file a report.

If, however, he makes the mistake of trying to get "me" out of the vehicle, I am going to assume that's to either kill me or car jack me....both of which are valid self-defense arguments to present in a court of law in my state. He's getting shot through the window until the threat is over.

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Yet another good reason for a dash cam. I keep thinking I'd prefer a cleaner setup in my truck, but I can easily turn the one I have to the side or pop it off the dash to get video in any direction.

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Originally Posted by That Guy

While I agree with you, it's good to keep in mind that a lot of modern cars have things like fuel cutoff switches that may make this more difficult.

In a previously owned vehicle, when I went looking for the fuel cutoff reset switch (not for any particular reason, just to know where it was), I really had to spend a while looking for it. It was actually in a quite convenient location, just tricky to find at first. If I would have had to go looking for that switch in an emergency, without having first spent the time identifying where it was in the car, I'm not so sure it would have gone well.

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What vehicle are you referring to, with a fuel cutoff switch? I’ve only encountered this on ATV/motorcycles. As far as I know, in a “car”, the gas is in the tank and is pumped to the engine while it is running. I’m not sure how this comes into play here?

Many models come with emergency fuel cut off resets. After an impact, they have to be re-set before the engine will fire up.

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Originally Posted by TXBK

As far as I know, in a “car”, the gas is in the tank and is pumped to the engine while it is running. I’m not sure how this comes into play here?

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Originally Posted by lwt16

Many models come with emergency fuel cut off resets. After an impact, they have to be re-set before the engine will fire up.

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The inertia sensors will tell the engine computer to stop running the fuel pump, so that if the collision caused a fuel leak any potential or actual fire won't be fed gasoline.

This is what I love about p-f.com. Ask a question about a topic I have somewhat of an opinion on already and get a dozen solid responses with more food for thought from people with some actual knowledge and real life experience. Thanks everybody.

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Originally Posted by STI

The inertia sensors will tell the engine computer to stop running the fuel pump, so that if the collision caused a fuel leak any potential or actual fire won't be fed gasoline.

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I thought it was being suggested to manually shut-off the gas to prevent someone from starting your vehicle on fire. Perhaps, the cut-off/reset switch was suggested to get you going if a collision had caused a confrontation and you needed to escape in the vehicle? I’m still unsure.

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Originally Posted by TXBK

I thought it was being suggested to manually shut-off the gas to prevent someone from starting your vehicle on fire. Perhaps, the cut-off/reset switch was suggested to get you going if a collision had caused a confrontation and you needed to escape in the vehicle? I’m still unsure.

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It's about the potential of your vehicle shutting down should you have to ram your way out of being boxed in during a road rage or carjacking attempt.

What Joe said.

Another thing to consider is that some of the higher end cars have things like collision avoidance systems, where the car automatically applies brakes to stop before you hit anything. Which would make using the bumper to move obstacles out of the way difficult.

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Originally Posted by TXBK

I thought it was being suggested to manually shut-off the gas to prevent someone from starting your vehicle on fire. Perhaps, the cut-off/reset switch was suggested to get you going if a collision had caused a confrontation and you needed to escape in the vehicle? I’m still unsure.

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I don't know of any car you can manually cut the fuel off, and that's not going to prevent arson anyway. The interior of your vehicle is pretty flammable. It's an automatic thing based on sensors thinking you've rolled over, been in a nasty crash, etc. In the CVPI it was a button in the trunk you'd have to push to reset it afterward, but you couldn't make it cut off without crashing into something (or simulating it)


There's not much to add to the thread, but I will say from a legal/investigation standpoint it's MUCH friendlier to be the guy who stayed in the car. Cops, prosecutors, and juries are much more apt to believe you weren't a willing participant and were a true victim. Know your state law on the matter, but in my state being in your car is the same as being in your house. You have more leeway in the use of lethal force than if you were on the sidewalk. Someone whacking my door with a baseball bat or breaking my window with a motorcycle helmet while I'm in the car justifies lethal force, but same scenario while I observe from the sidewalk doesn't.