Totally OT: Yokels Run Amok on Local Highway

[KA4HJH]

On my way from Harrisonburg to Charlottesville, Virginia, on route 33 
this evening I encountered some bad drivers. It all started with a 
car that was hogging the left lane, speeding up to 65 then slowing 
down to 55, occasionally hitting the brakes. I don't know what this 
guy's problem was, but needless to say he seemed to take umbrage at 
my attempts to pass. A couple of miles down the road (around Penn 
Laird, to be exact), we caught up with another car that was 
apparently being driven by a friend of his. The next thing I know the 
two of them are blocking both lanes and not letting anyone pass 
(there were several other vehicles immediately behind us).

At first I wondered if there was something wrong with my car; I just 
had it inspected and they did replace a couple of bulbs. I wondered 
if my taillights were out or something (I realized later that all 
this started while they were in front of me--duh). But whatever the 
reason I was determined not to do the one thing they wanted--react. 
So I didn't.

The first car pulled off at McGaheysville while the second continued 
in an increasingly obnoxious fashion. Swerving from one lane to 
another (no turn signal), speeding up/slowing down suddenly, tapping 
the brakes, i.e., more of the same. Seemed like he wanted me to stop 
or something. At one point he was right alongside, yelling at me. I 
could swearing he was cussing but I couldn't really make out exactly 
what he was saying. He definitely seemed a bit angry (remember, this 
was the SECOND car. If the first guy thought I did something out of 
line it certainly didn't apply to this fellow).

When I got off at Elkton (to stop by Ciro's Pizza) I got in the left 
lane to make a left turn. He zipped over into the extreme left lane 
behind me (the turning lane back onto 33 bound the other way), then 
zipped back over to the right (still no signals I could see). Then he 
pulled into the Pizza Hut parking lot and stopped.

When I got out at Ciro's I looked the car over but didn't see 
anything unusual. Now that the immediate excitement was over I had 
the shakes and was really distracted thinking about what happened. I 
paid for the meatball sub and left. The guy at the counter reminded 
me I had forgotten the sub. I told him what happened and he said, 
"man, they really rattled you" (or something like that). I replied, 
"yeah, but at least I got the whole thing ON VIDEOTAPE" (did I 
mention I pulled the camera out when they started double-teaming me?).


I wonder how much those shows on TLC pay for this sort of thing? Mind 
you you probably can't see much very clearly in a lot of places but 
it should be enough to cost someone their license.


-- 
Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"