Road rage incident has left me questioning zed ownership... :/

[Silverzedtom]

Can see both the pros and cons of reporting it. I like the idea of the Sh*thead being taken out by a bigger Sh*thead though.

I can't be arsed with d1ckheads on the road, I tend to leave them to it. Having a bit of fun with a like minded petrol head from the lights on a dual carriageway is one thing but there is a time and a place.

With regards to you questioning Zed ownership why let them win. You cave and get rid of something that you adore, your hobby and what you work for and you may as well go and find Mr Merc and tell him that he's better than you. Im sure we are all still in complete shock with what went on last night but its the same mindset:

The second you change in fear of someone else is the second they win.

[ranski]

Why would you not report it? Next time the old Dutch granny that pisses him off may not be so lucky.

I think the police force have enough on their plate, than finding some chump who's been waving an airsoft gun around.

It's an offence in the UK (fake / Air Gun / real ) and treated seriously. So probably is in the Netherlands.

Yep I know. I'm an airsofter. But that's not my point

[Marlon]

What a s**t experience - not sure what I'd do in your position - probably take it no further and put it behind me. Don't think it was your Zed that made him stupid though

[andy.c]

Chris have a spliff and a waffle or a bong and a pancake that will chill you out,

for what its worth proper gangsters dont go flashing shooters about probably just
some plastic gangster thinks hes big one day he'll upset a proper one and get whats coming
Karmas a bitch when it bites back

Alternatively call the old bill from a phone box dont give your name or address and tell them you seen this goon
In his merc screaming in arabic waving a handgun about, he might get a shock about 3/4 in the morning when a
load of armed old bill wake him up with a machine guns in his face

[john-e89]

An unnerving experience I'm sure Chris, it wasn't the Zed, pond scum will do it no matter what you're driving. Let it pass over you, not overly likely to happen again and without any dashcam footage etc, I wouldn't have thought there's much plod can do.

Try to forget it mate, not easy I know, as said already this lump of dogshit will pick on somebody bigger and with a proper weapon one day.

[sticky]

Had that in Den Haag couple of times, I know my life is not like yours but my answer was "pull over c**t" and they usually be gone. One was a bit more like he wants a go but no, soon as I pull over he"s off doing the large gobby crap and away. I know You live there and I also did for a while but they do have some seriously extreme gobshites over there, mostly from the like of what you describe. Not like there"s a lack of them here, sadly

[ronk]

It wasn't the Dutch Ronnie Pickering ?

[andy.c]

It wasn't the Dutch Ronnie Pickering ?

maybe thats who chris should have said he was you dont want to mess with the ronnie pickerings of the world

[MACK]

Sounds like you typical plastic gangsta, the real ones dont start waving guns about, not even in Manchester/Salford! Not sure why your questioning your zed ownership though. Surely this incident would have gone pretty much the same way regardless of what you were driving. In fact driving something like a Citreon C3 might have made him worse, as in his head he's been "boxed in by a sh1tty C3!"
Sounds like the stress of reporting it and any ensuing process isn't worth the minor slap this guy would get at best. At the end of the day it will be your word against his etc. One question, do they read your address out in court over there? They dont over here as a witness.

[enzed4]

Still in lane 2 I pull up along side the merc to be met with a torrent of abuse for not getting out of his way. I respond by asking him why he's 'racing towards a f*cking red light?' to which he responded by launching into a full-on and very intimidating tirade of name calling and threats. He's obviously a tad irritated at being held up by dozy drivers and red lights and I really ought to have known better perhaps.

Engaging with him was the only mistake. These 'people' thrive on conflict, they love it. He clearly believed you and your learner driver 'mate' were deliberately doing a rolling roadblock on him, and nothing will convince him otherwise. Thus, in his mind he is the victim in this and you deserved everything you got (again, his world view, not mine).
As to whether you should report a weapon that you thought was a gun (but are you 100% sure), that's more tricky because as you say, you could get caught up in something that gets bigger than you want, but if you don't, who knows what he'll do to the next driver who gets on the wrong side of him....
Shame you didn't get the licence plate - you could report him to the police anonymously and say you're sure he had drugs in the car (and not the kind that Dutch Police probably smoke themselves). Judging by your description of him, and his car, he probably is a drug dealer and they might get lucky by stopping/searching him

[Chris_D]

Gaah, 3am and sure enough ima havin a restless night.
Resorting to a piriton tablet and a cuppa and catching up on this thread.
Thanks for all suggestions etc. And yep, with the benefit of hindsight theres lots of choices that i perhaps should/shouldnt have made in this situation!

However, i dont think i'm going to report it. It may well prove to be a disbenfit if he learns my address somehow and comes looking for revenge.
Id prefer to try and just rise above it and move on tbh.
As to the reasoning why this happened in the first place i'm putting it down to the fact that dutchies seem to have an inbuilt mentality of wanting to get ahead of you for any reason...and even it seems if you end up meeting them at the next set of red lights! Bonkers.
I've experienced it multiple times and the motorways are worst with people overtaking, pulling in front just to slow down again! You end up leapfrogging because if you try to maintain a constant speed as i do then you end up appearing to them as though ur playing the same game. Maddening.

The zed seems to pre-empt or solicit those situations more than any other car ive driven in holland. Hence, questioning ownership.
But those of you whove suggested are right; why should i let their jealousy/resentment/pointless competitiveness determine my own outlook on my car?

[ben g]

Why would you not report it? Next time the old Dutch granny that pisses him off may not be so lucky.

I think the police force have enough on their plate, than finding some chump who's been waving an airsoft gun around.

That kind of attitude is the reason why so many of these idiots are able to carry on with their abusive ways.

[TitanTim]

Always best to ignore people on the road these days, get a dash cam and if anything should happen send it to the police

I think anything with guns whether real or fake would be treated very seriously especially in the current climate. Personally I would report it.

Tim.

[greg1953]

I'd bet my pension the local plod will know exactly who he is.

[MACK]

Gaah, 3am and sure enough ima havin a restless night.
Resorting to a piriton tablet and a cuppa and catching up on this thread.
Thanks for all suggestions etc. And yep, with the benefit of hindsight theres lots of choices that i perhaps should/shouldnt have made in this situation!

However, i dont think i'm going to report it. It may well prove to be a disbenfit if he learns my address somehow and comes looking for revenge.
Id prefer to try and just rise above it and move on tbh.
As to the reasoning why this happened in the first place i'm putting it down to the fact that dutchies seem to have an inbuilt mentality of wanting to get ahead of you for any reason...and even it seems if you end up meeting them at the next set of red lights! Bonkers.
I've experienced it multiple times and the motorways are worst with people overtaking, pulling in front just to slow down again! You end up leapfrogging because if you try to maintain a constant speed as i do then you end up appearing to them as though ur playing the same game. Maddening.

The zed seems to pre-empt or solicit those situations more than any other car ive driven in holland. Hence, questioning ownership.
But those of you whove suggested are right; why should i let their jealousy/resentment/pointless competitiveness determine my own outlook on my car?

Good on you Chris, dont let the b@stards beat you down!
I haven't experienced anyone on the road treating me differently since I got the zed, but I have noticed this in the past. When I look out the window at the zed I see a circa £5k nice car. But one of my neighbours, says nothing but hello when I've had a variety of £50-60k+ (on demo) through work outside the house, 2 seater vert and its "oh that's nice, can you leave that on my drive!" Does make me chuckle when its probably worth less than his Focus, folks perceptions of cars can be very strange!