Attacked in my car

[aclivity]

I was going to add this to the end of the Motorway driving thread but as it was A) not on the motorway and B) the offender was not actually driving I thought it warranted a thread of it's own.

I was attacked this morning. Not technically me, my car took all the damage (several hundred pounds worth) but it shook me up.

I left home as usual at 7:00 am, and I was less than 500 yards from home when I saw a couple of lads ('scrotes') crossing the road. I didn't speed up as usual, thinking that if I eased on the acceleration on that bit of the road, by the time I got there they would have reached the other side.

Well, as I approached I realised that the two were not crossing the road as quickly as I expected. I slowed to a halt only to have one of them - the shaven headed one - run at my car, punch both fists down onto the bonnet and scream something about me trying to run him over. His mate pulled him off to the side and I drove forward. It looked (in the rear view mirror) that he had calmed down so I reversed back and opened my window to ask if he was OK (concerned that I actually might have hit him). He tried to pull the window down, screamed at me some more; his mate was saying "just go, he's drunk". As the window had foxed him (I'm not saying he was thick but the door wasn't locked) he decided to kick my car, stoving in the front wing.

I then drove off, round the corner and called the police.

Now here's where I have to say the Hertfordshire police are wonderful. Withint a few minutes of me calling the police I heard sirens, and (I found out later) the lowlife scum was caught and arrested. It turned out that he had been quite active all morning, as he had kicked several cars on the estate in his apparent rage. I was the 'lucky' one chosen for attention despite the fact that I was both in the car and moving.

Within 90 minutes I had been visited by a police officer and made my statement, I identified the offender and he was locked up for the rest of the day to sober up.

But the bad parts:
- The quote for repairing my bodywork is somewhere around £500 (it was a LOT of damage, the repairers didn't believe it was done by a foot and not another car at high speed).
- I have had, up to now, 9 (NINE) years no claims. Luckily I have protected no claims bonus, but if I need to make another claim within 3 years I will lose that protection and will be busted back to 6 years. Unless of course they can get the money back off the guy who caused the damage, but the judgement of the officer, the insurance company and the assigned DS, the chance of this guy paying up is slim.
- I have an excess of £300 on my insurance, so not only do I lose some of my no claims protection, I'm also out of pocket.

Anyway, the t*sser sobered up this evening and claimed - amazingly - that he "couldn't remember" anything that happened this morning. He'll be in court in a couple of days, I don't know what charges will be; I think the DS on the 'phone mentioned 'wilfull damage'. He may decide to change his plea to guilty when he appears in court, although part of me hopes he tries to get out of it, perhaps I just want my day in court?

I don't know why I'm posting this, I know that I've only just calmed down. I kept going over what I 'should' have done - part of me wishes I'd run the scum over, or actually got out the car and taken him on (I'd have smacked him over the head with my laptop!). Whatever, I'm sure asking him if he was OK wasn't a good move.

So, morals of this story -
Road rage isn't limited to drivers.
Christian charity / concern for fellow man may not always be a good idea.
In hindsight, my wife has pointed out that this sort of encounter is sometimes seen in the paper as "father of 2 stabbed by youth". Sobering thought.

[Garf]

I think your wife is spot on. Just glad you're ok mate. Could have been a lot worse.

[Janos]

Glad you're ok. This sort of thing tends to shake you up a little. Fortunately it's unlikely to happen again.

Hope it works out for you and that he fesses up and pays up.

Laters,
Janos

[DecoWarrior]

well you made a couple of mistakes mate the first one was slowing down to avoid him the second was going back to check he was ok, lets face it, the world wouldnt be a worse place with one less scum bag like that on the streets, the other is you would have been doing all us motorists on the street a favoiur removing a nob like that

and if you wer right about him being active all morning there would have been less paper work for the police dealing with one pissed scrote being run over than multiple counts of vandalism

[divingniknaks]

Glad to hear you're OK.

Remember (maybe not now) cars are bits of tin well all's said and done, your wife's right. YOU are more important to her, your kids and you !

Still sickening though.

Phill

[MONO]

I know, it can be frustrating at times doing the right thing instead of just lumping the f'ker, which would be cheaper and more expedient. Unfortunately, as social scientists will tell you this is the "retributive model of justice" not the "rehabilitative model". We have to let them go: http://www.sfu.ca/cfrj/fulltext/charbonneau.pdf.

Indeed, I have a criminal operating from my address at the moment - but the police wont tell me his name, because his identity is protected by the Data Protection Act!!

This is not a joke! I have had police officers 'round asking me if I was the driver of a hit-and-run vehicle registered at my address!

--

Do as you have been trained: remain calm and Do It Right - whatever you have to do.

[Beardy]

It's usually have a go heros <sic> that end up as pin cushions, but from what you say, your humane streak could have been your undoing. I/m generally a liberal leftie when it comes to the socially disadvantaged, but incedents like this do cause me to question my beliefs.

Glad you're ok though, and remember, when in doubt, run away bravely, for he who runs away, lives to runaway an other day.

[Mr T.]

Originally Posted by aclivity

I don't know why I'm posting this, I know that I've only just calmed down.

Catharsis mate - you feel comfortable sharing it with mates knowing that, here, you won't have the mince ripped out of ya

I kept going over what I 'should' have done - part of me wishes I'd run the scum over, or actually got out the car and taken him on (I'd have smacked him over the head with my laptop!). Whatever, I'm sure asking him if he was OK wasn't a good move.

No point mate - coulda-shoulda-woulda: whilst it's still fresh with you, I'd concentrate on what you're gonna do if the wee toe-cheese in question decides in court to change his plea to one where he tries to paint you as the villain of the piece before pulling some "he tried to kill me by running me over with his car, your worshipfulness..." before claiming that it's not really his fault that that day he got completed bladdered before deciding to take his newly acquired route-rage out against you, your car and other citizens' property because he has 'attention-span deficit disorder' and mummy didn't give him enough attention when he was a youth and only shouted "go and play with your XBox, yer little bleeder..." whilst trying to get him to babysit for his pregnant 11 year old sister...............................

So mate, it's important that you remember - if you're even half decently educated, manage to hold down a reasonably good job and meet your bills and familial responsibilities and add something worthwhile to society, then YOU are the one in the wrong and the root-cause of all society's ills and the wee cherubs who never get a job coz they're too fuckin bone idle and the system allows them to work it and never have a care in the world whilst insisting that the world owes them a living are ones we must go out of our way to help and to whom we must give collective succour....

I wander whether on a social worker's job application form it has a tick-box which reads "Must have the ability to offer advice which flies in the face of all received wisdom and common sense whilst having the wool pulled squarely over your eyes..." when they wander out with any number of excuses for these toe-rags?


Glad you're OK mate - welcome to the world of abrogated and abnegated responsibility

[dlegros]

Glad to here you're OK.

Hope you get the car sorted out.

Dom

[chrisch]

Sorry to hear this Andy. Glad you're OK - that's what matters not the car. Sometimes in life you have to shrug your shoulders and move on.

I hope all the wellwishing from YD helps you realise not everyone is bad!

Best
Chris