21 September 2014

Road rage on Monaro today almost killed us

| lucifuge
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My partner and I are very lucky to be alive this afternoon….

At approx 3:10pm this afternoon, we experienced horrific road rage directed at us on the Monaro Hwy. It happened in the direction going from Civic to Hume about 1km or so of the Alexander Maconochie Centre. An “electric blue” coloured ute (pretty sure it was a like a 2009-ish Ford with hardtop rear cover + spoiler) had been tailgating us aggressively. My partner was driving and she commented on how close it was, I glanced and was shocked as it appeared to be really close to us. We were in the overtaking lane and was intending to pass one final car and allow him (yes, young male) to pass. He immediately accelerates and drives between us and the car we were passing. Side by side to us, he swerves into our car and nudges us off the road at 100kph. My girlfriend realises she is heading straight towards a tree and manages to brilliantly steer past it just missing and a subsequent tree. We came to a stop after some time and were both obviously shaken up and sickened by what had happened. The rage was so high he didn’t even car he was damaging his own car in the process.

It was all so fast an unfortunately no chance of no. plate recognition. But he left blue paint on the our passenger front wheel so he must white on his panel. We both are feeling shaken up and quite sick in the stomach. Made a police report and another lady stopped which was nice, got her details for insurance as a witness.

This is stab in the dark, but if anyone witnessed this event and may have any further information please post back.

 

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Carby – I’ve msg’d you on FB, can you see it?

Carby said :

Could the OP please PM me, I’d like to confirm something about the vehicle in question regarding a similar experience with a vehicle that sounds fairly close.

Agreed KB, Legislation is made probably by those who will never drive, like supermarket shelves are designed by people who will never have to fill them!

Skelinoz said :

KB poor example by me, apologies.

No biggie.

Its a pretty common assumption and the example in the road rules raised my eyebrows. Everybody (including myself once apon a time) thinks just because a car is doing 10km/h under the limit its obstructing traffic, which it is in a sense but not by the intent of the legislation, which is the crux of the issue.

KB poor example by me, apologies.

Skelinoz said :

I have heard of the “hogging the right hand lane is ok” law in the ACT but never been pointed in the direction of the legislation other than urban myth that actually covers it. I then went one step further and asked a Police friend of mine the facts. You can indeed sit in the right hand lane at your pleasure, but you cant impede traffic behind you, IE you cant sit in a 80 zone doing 50.
I have never heard of a law that allows you to ignore a road sign indicating the left lane is for left turning traffic only but you can ignore it if the right hand lane is full and can therefore use the left lane to undertake the queue and push (because your not merging) your way back in a meter before the roundabout.

There is a section on obstructing traffic in the ARRs. The example provided in the legislation is that a vehicle travelling at 20km/h would be obstructing traffic, not 50.

50 in an 80 zone would be quite reasonable, car towing a caravan up a hill for example, I could not see a copper booking someone for that.

I have heard of the “hogging the right hand lane is ok” law in the ACT but never been pointed in the direction of the legislation other than urban myth that actually covers it. I then went one step further and asked a Police friend of mine the facts. You can indeed sit in the right hand lane at your pleasure, but you cant impede traffic behind you, IE you cant sit in a 80 zone doing 50.
I have never heard of a law that allows you to ignore a road sign indicating the left lane is for left turning traffic only but you can ignore it if the right hand lane is full and can therefore use the left lane to undertake the queue and push (because your not merging) your way back in a meter before the roundabout.

Obviously this thread has the potential to explode in a variety of directions, and I for one appreciate the passion people have, but can we please keep discussion specifically relevant to the case in hand.

Mysteryman said :

Also, advancing down an empty lane and merging further ahead is not illegal. You can’t write someone a ticket for that.

I actually think people like yourself who don’t know the road rules are equally as big a problem on our roads as those who are just plain inconsiderate.

I think you nailed it right there. It is not illegal to be an impatient, rude and pushy douche. There is no such thing as courtesy or manners on the roads anymore. I wonder how many of them would still be rude and pushy if they were outside of a car, like in a shopping centre? No wait – they are rude there too. The difference being that I can say something to their face in a shopping centre …

Skelinoz said :

Its not rocket science, the ACT in general is severely lacking in Traffic Patrol Cars, Get more police presence out on the roads to hopefully remove idiots like this from our roads. Sit by the side of the road and start ticketing people for traffic offences such as the right hand lane hogger who pulls into the right hand lane and then goes slower than the traffic he has pulled out to overtake. Erindale Drive at the roadworks, park a Police car at the bottom of the hill now and again, and ticket those that come hurtling down the hill in the left turn lane only, passing stationary traffic in the right hand lane and then barge there way across at the last moment. Do it a few times and Canberra drivers will soon get the message.

Are you aware that “hogging” the right hand lane is only illegal in a few parts of the ACT? Specifically where the speed limit is greater than 80km/h (not many roads) or where there are signs that clearly say “keep left unless overtaking” (of which there are even fewer roads).

Also, advancing down an empty lane and merging further ahead is not illegal. You can’t write someone a ticket for that.

I actually think people like yourself who don’t know the road rules are equally as big a problem on our roads as those who are just plain inconsiderate.

HiddenDragon9:32 pm 22 Sep 14

Skelinoz said :

Its not rocket science, the ACT in general is severely lacking in Traffic Patrol Cars, Get more police presence out on the roads to hopefully remove idiots like this from our roads. Sit by the side of the road and start ticketing people for traffic offences such as the right hand lane hogger who pulls into the right hand lane and then goes slower than the traffic he has pulled out to overtake. Erindale Drive at the roadworks, park a Police car at the bottom of the hill now and again, and ticket those that come hurtling down the hill in the left turn lane only, passing stationary traffic in the right hand lane and then barge there way across at the last moment. Do it a few times and Canberra drivers will soon get the message.

That’s the thing, though – the police never seem to be in the right place. By comparison, the point-to-point cameras on Hindmarsh Drive do seem to have brought about a general reduction in aggressive driving on that stretch of road.

I’m really leaning towards it sounding like an V8 and possibly a worked one at that, It really roared as it past and in the distance. If I had to guess, possibly a resident of the Tuggeranong valley. Just from a gut feeling we were with the traffic going home of an afternoon….., but that’s pure speculation my part.

The closest I can come up with from best recall is something like this.

….the images are NOT the actual car, but simply represent example pics I found on the internet…..

http://img.drive.com.au/drive_images/Editorial/2008/02/15/XR8-Styleside_L_700.jpg

http://liveimages.carsales.com.au/carsales/car/private/cp4700252683811601823.jpg?height=700&aspect=FitWithinNoPad&width=1050

Noteworthy is the electric/mica blue, wing, ACT plates (blue text /white background). The headlights sort of ring true with me as well. My gf now remembers the driver was s single male, possibly 20’s with shortish hair and round dark glasses. The other thing I can’t stress enough is that when I speak of tailgating, this guy was REALLY close. This a really aggressive driver and should stand out bigtime. I would imagine people should take note of that feature alone and remember this discussion. Please grab the number plate if you can!

The report on here will have been read by all the police who visit and they will now be talking about it/on the lookout for it.

Carby said :

Could the OP please PM me, I’d like to confirm something about the vehicle in question regarding a similar experience with a vehicle that sounds fairly close.

cant see how to PM you. maybe i need higher access? happy to chat somehow though

Pitchka said :

Skelinoz said :

Its not rocket science, the ACT in general is severely lacking in Traffic Patrol Cars, Get more police presence out on the roads to hopefully remove idiots like this from our roads. Sit by the side of the road and start ticketing people for traffic offences such as the right hand lane hogger who pulls into the right hand lane and then goes slower than the traffic he has pulled out to overtake. Erindale Drive at the roadworks, park a Police car at the bottom of the hill now and again, and ticket those that come hurtling down the hill in the left turn lane only, passing stationary traffic in the right hand lane and then barge there way across at the last moment. Do it a few times and Canberra drivers will soon get the message.

Valid point…. I see more Police doing radar sped testing on my way to work at 3am weekdays, then i do during normal work hours..

Agree too much emphasis on speed cameras and speeding in general. More police would mean more people getting caught for bad driving. Bad driving at the speed limit is probably more dangerous than catching someone doing a few kmph over the limit.

Maybe use google images search using words like ‘blue ford ute’ and then save the image that closes matches what you saw. Then post the image (pointing out this is a not the actual ute in question!)

Skelinoz said :

Its not rocket science, the ACT in general is severely lacking in Traffic Patrol Cars, Get more police presence out on the roads to hopefully remove idiots like this from our roads. Sit by the side of the road and start ticketing people for traffic offences such as the right hand lane hogger who pulls into the right hand lane and then goes slower than the traffic he has pulled out to overtake. Erindale Drive at the roadworks, park a Police car at the bottom of the hill now and again, and ticket those that come hurtling down the hill in the left turn lane only, passing stationary traffic in the right hand lane and then barge there way across at the last moment. Do it a few times and Canberra drivers will soon get the message.

Valid point…. I see more Police doing radar sped testing on my way to work at 3am weekdays, then i do during normal work hours..

Its not rocket science, the ACT in general is severely lacking in Traffic Patrol Cars, Get more police presence out on the roads to hopefully remove idiots like this from our roads. Sit by the side of the road and start ticketing people for traffic offences such as the right hand lane hogger who pulls into the right hand lane and then goes slower than the traffic he has pulled out to overtake. Erindale Drive at the roadworks, park a Police car at the bottom of the hill now and again, and ticket those that come hurtling down the hill in the left turn lane only, passing stationary traffic in the right hand lane and then barge there way across at the last moment. Do it a few times and Canberra drivers will soon get the message.

Could the OP please PM me, I’d like to confirm something about the vehicle in question regarding a similar experience with a vehicle that sounds fairly close.

You could check the ACTION bus timetables to ascertain if there were any buses in the area or perhaps in Fyshwick or Narrabundah at the time or just before. If there were, ACTION can identify any buses in those areas and the police can request a copy of the camera footage from the buses. All ACTION buses have a camera aiming down each side and one pointing out of the front windscreen. They may be able to identify some potential suspects that way???

justin heywood9:48 am 22 Sep 14

I hope the site mods check the veracity of this story (as far as can be checked).

As Astrjojax pointed out, there was this strikingly similar story from some time ago;

http://the-riotact.com/road-rage-attack-information-wanted/45602

and this other one, again involving an ‘electric’ coloured car behaving outrageously,

http://the-riotact.com/unbelievable-drivers/76829/comment-page-2#comments

magiccar9 said :

lucifuge said :

I think you are correct on the dash cams. Sad necessity, but its the world we live in.

I can’t remember exactly about performance enhancements suggesting the type of car, but got impression it was more than the standard utes. If I had to guess I’d say something like 2002/2003 R8 Maloo. But it was very electric blue in colour and sounded like a V8.

Which is it, a Holden or Ford? In your initial post you say Ford, now you say Maloo. If the only thing you’re certain about was the colour I’d assume it was a Ford, based on (to the best of my knowledge) Holden not making their utes in electric blue. I’ve only seen Ford’s in this colour.

Holden do a colour called Voodoo Blue, which is available on utes. Holden drivers hate being told how good their dirty Holden looks in Ford Blue 🙂

So what do we know:
1. Late model Ford or Holden ute.
2. ‘Electric blue’ in colour.
3. Has a hard lid on the tray, probably with a spoiler on it as well.
4. Ute is likely to have damage to drivers side, possibly with white paint still on it.
5. The driver has serious anger problems.

If I see anything like it, I will be sure to pass on the details. Now go out and get yourself a dash cam.

Alexandra Craig8:51 am 22 Sep 14

lucifuge said :

Were not sure if it was a Ford or Holden, I’m not up on those cars; I can only guess, but it was definitely electric blue and a powerful Aussie ute.

We did report to police and filed an online report.

Glad you reported it to the police. Chances are they probably know of this guy. Is there still blue paint on your car? Can they take a swab of it for evidence?

Were not sure if it was a Ford or Holden, I’m not up on those cars; I can only guess, but it was definitely electric blue and a powerful Aussie ute.

We did report to police and filed an online report.

Maybe contact the police and see if the Prison has high res camera’s directed at the road? Make the report, and they might be able to get the number plate from footage.

Contact the police. Give them as much information as you have. Chances are the car travels that road frequently and they may just keep a car waiting around there over the next few days to watch for him.

I’ve heard of it happening before in situations like this where they were unable to get the plates the first time, and the car was easy to distinguish. You can also try posting on facebook groups like Tyson’s.

I’m glad you’re both ok!

Did you report this to Police?

I can’t help but be reminded of this epic thread from The RiotACT vault:
http://the-riotact.com/road-rage-attack-information-wanted/45602

lucifuge said :

I think you are correct on the dash cams. Sad necessity, but its the world we live in.

I can’t remember exactly about performance enhancements suggesting the type of car, but got impression it was more than the standard utes. If I had to guess I’d say something like 2002/2003 R8 Maloo. But it was very electric blue in colour and sounded like a V8.

Which is it, a Holden or Ford? In your initial post you say Ford, now you say Maloo. If the only thing you’re certain about was the colour I’d assume it was a Ford, based on (to the best of my knowledge) Holden not making their utes in electric blue. I’ve only seen Ford’s in this colour.

I think you are correct on the dash cams. Sad necessity, but its the world we live in.

I can’t remember exactly about performance enhancements suggesting the type of car, but got impression it was more than the standard utes. If I had to guess I’d say something like 2002/2003 R8 Maloo. But it was very electric blue in colour and sounded like a V8.

Antagonist said :

Two words: Dash cam. With the increasing incidence of stupidity and anger on Canberra roads, we have them in both of the family cars.

Just out of interest, were you able to see if the bonnet had the distinctive hump of some high performance models? Or if the hardcover on the tray also had a hump (raised at the cabin end of the ute, sloping downwards back towards the spoiler) or was it a flat cover flush with the top of the tray?

As I said it was approx 1km before the AMC, where it is 100kph.

Genie said :

missknowitall said :

I passed and saw the two cars stopped. Not sure about this incident as you do say you were going 100km/hr but I drive this way twice daily, the amount of times I have to get in the left lane to overtake someone doing 80km or less is ridiculous and extremely frustrating.

Correct me if wrong but isn’t the stretch of road they’re referring to only 80km ? Around the AMC intersection is def 80km

Two words: Dash cam. With the increasing incidence of stupidity and anger on Canberra roads, we have them in both of the family cars.

Just out of interest, were you able to see if the bonnet had the distinctive hump of some high performance models? Or if the hardcover on the tray also had a hump (raised at the cabin end of the ute, sloping downwards back towards the spoiler) or was it a flat cover flush with the top of the tray?

If i ever see someone tailgating or driving like a idiot near me, the first thing i do is read the number plate and repeat it a few times. If i need to recall it, I’ll at least have a good chance of doing so.
I have noticed i get more road rage while on my motorcycle P’s than in a car and i pretty much drive the same way! This is where i think the reliance of speed cameras is to the detriment of everything else. Too few cops on the road these days IMO.

missknowitall said :

I passed and saw the two cars stopped. Not sure about this incident as you do say you were going 100km/hr but I drive this way twice daily, the amount of times I have to get in the left lane to overtake someone doing 80km or less is ridiculous and extremely frustrating.

Correct me if wrong but isn’t the stretch of road they’re referring to only 80km ? Around the AMC intersection is def 80km

justin heywood8:53 am 21 Sep 14

missknowitall said :

…..the amount of times I have to get in the left lane to overtake someone doing 80km or less is ridiculous and extremely frustrating.

I know satire/sarcasm is hard to convey on a blog post. At least I’m hoping that’s what it was.

Even if the OP was going 20km/h, the nut job in the ute is at fault.

missknowitall8:15 am 21 Sep 14

I passed and saw the two cars stopped. Not sure about this incident as you do say you were going 100km/hr but I drive this way twice daily, the amount of times I have to get in the left lane to overtake someone doing 80km or less is ridiculous and extremely frustrating.

Sorry to hear about your horrible experience! Had an almost indenticle incident in the same spot a few years back, that stretch must bring out the loonies.

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