Identifying Road Rage - US Concealed Carry

Introductionby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 1Situations That May Spark Road Rageby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 4Identifying Road Rageby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 8Communicationby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 9What Not To Doby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 10De-escalationby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 12Escapeby Patrick Kilchermann …… page 16Fighting From The Car I:Assessing the Situation and Accessing the Weaponby CR Williams …… page 19Fighting From The Car II:Taking the Fight Outsideby CR Williams …… page 25Copyright Delta Media, LLC – www.DeltaMediallc.com

INTRODUCTIONBy Patrick KilchermannWelcome to Road Rage 101. Please check your ego atthe door, and have a seat.We all get frustrated with being late because oftraffic, or almost being killed as a result of someone’scarelessness while driving. Still, it is not only ourresponsibility, but our duty keep a level head at alltimes- especially while driving.This is not a report about how to cure roadrage in oneself. As an armed citizen, I’m going toassume that you are as cool as a cucumber whilebehind the wheel. Along with the ability to shootsomeone, which carrying a gun grants, generallycomes an extreme desire to avoid having to do so.This is where the adage “an armed society is a politesociety” comes from.The purpose of the first section of this report,Avoidance, is to first help us armed citizens avoidtripping someone’s ‘road rage’ switch in the firstplace. If that fails, the second section, De-Escalation.Moving down the line, if you cannot douse the flamesof an active ‘road-rage’ situation, the third sectionwill tell you how to escape. And if all else fails, andyou are backed into a corner from which you cannotescape, and you are being faced with great bodilyharm, the final section details how to fight fromwithin and around your vehicle.First, a word of caution: I have found that it isextremely difficult for people to remain objectivewhen it comes to road rage- even from a third partyperspective. Even from the most sensible and levelheaded of people, I have heard the followingstatements:“I’m not being extreme, and I don’t have a temperthatguy simply shouldn’t have been on the road!”And…While a feat of engineering, planning, and the very definition ofefficiency, complex traffic systems can easily become the source ofstress for motorists.“I was driving perfectly fine, minding my ownbusiness- that guy had something wrong with him, Idid nothing to provoke him.”There are several problems with these statements.The first person lost his cool, plain and simple. Thathe doesn’t admit it makes it all the worse, but even ifhe had admitted it, he still lost his cool. And, asarmed citizens, we can NEVER lose our cool.Especially not while behind the wheel of a motorvehicle.Remember: Anger clouds the judgment, and ventingon the cause of your anger almost never makes thesituation better.The problem with the second statement is that thevictim is forgetting, or has never learned, one veryimportant lesson in human interactions: anotherwise sane person doesn’t fly off the handle forno reason. When is the last time you suddenlydecided to just tailgate someone, or flip them off, forno reason? Never?You would be correct if you said that people withroad rage generally over-react, but you would beincorrect if you said that you “did nothing to provoke1 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

them”. You may have no idea what you have done,you may have been perfectly within the law, and youmay have been completely safe in your action, butyou must remember this basic if/then truth aboutroad-rage:IF someone is upset with you, THEN you didsomething to cause that reaction.I’m not asking you to admit any fault- as 90% of thetime, the victim in a road-rage situation has no faultwhatsoever. By their very definition, people who getirate over another person’s driving are not rationalpeople- and so, thinking rational thoughts such as“all I did was change lanes- what’s wrong with that”are useless.I am asking you to recognize that road-rage doesn’tmaterialize out of thin air. If you cannot accept theabove if/then statement, then you stand no chance ofdeescalating a potentially costly, painful, andpossibly lethal situation.IF someone is upset with you, THEN you didsomething to cause that reaction.Roger? Okay, good… here we go.“Let he who is without guilttail the first gate…”When I first began driving, one of my old, highschool teachers said something that made awhole lot of sense.A friend of mine was complaining about a guywho had pulled out in front of him on his wayinto school, and how “stupid people” shouldn’tbe allowed to drive.Our teacher looked up at us and said, “Hey Jeff…you’re a Christian, aren’t you?”“Well, yeah..?”“Didn’t Jesus say that in order to be forgiven,you must be able to forgive others?”“I don’t know… probably….”“Probably?”“Yeah, I that sounds like something he wouldsay…”“Well, the next time that happens- and it will,often- just let it go. Then if you ever make amistake while driving, you will have a clearconscience.”2 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

SECTIONIAVOIDANCE3 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 1:Situations That May Spark Road RageBy Patrick KilchermannHow many times have you heard the term “an ounceof prevention is worth a pound of cure”? Too many, ifyou’re anything like me. But, as much as I hateclichés, like stereotypes, they are usually based ontruth. And this one about ‘prevention’ is dead on inthe case of road-rage.Any police officer will tell you that there exists adirect correlation between hot weather and bad stuffhappening. Domestic abuse, gang activity, andassaults all spike in the heat. Besides, nobody likesroasting inside a hot car while the sun beats down.Just as it’s far easier to keep weight off than to lose it,De-escalation is infinitely more difficult than simplyavoiding road-rage in the first place. Once in a stateof road-rage, it is difficult for the agitated person tocalm down. I’ve seen people maintain their angerafter a very slight misunderstanding or offense forhours. Ridiculous, I know, but just know that ifyou’re going to weigh any of the sections of thisreport more heavily than any others- let it be thissection on avoidance.With the proper knowledge of avoidance, the rest ofthis report becomes obsolete, which is our goal.The first step in avoiding road rage is, knowing whichsituations are most likely to provoke anger.Using logic and experience, I know that the followingfactors all increase road-rage substantially. Pardonany redundancies:-Hot weather-Slow or backed up traffic-Any and all construction zones-Waiting with no end in sight (a crowded post-eventparking lot that doesn’t appear to be emptying)-Being forced to stop at a location that is usuallyclear (active construction zones)-Being forced to drive slowly for no apparent reason(a construction zone where no workers are present).-Drivers talking on cell phones.Hot Weather4 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comEven the most patient man’s patience can be tested during aconstruction-related delay. Be extra vigilant in these situations. Asmart man in the pictured situation would ensure that he is in the farright-hand lane- which would allow for an escape.If you are stuck in a traffic jam or bumper-to-bumpersituation during record-breaking heat days, be extraalert for road-rage, and be extra cautious and extrareserved in your actions. Communicate with thedrivers around you (we’ll talk about this in amoment) before every action. Be extra weary ofpeople whose windows are down, as they most likelydo not have working air-conditioners, and willtherefore be most affected (and aggravated) by beingforced to wait in the heat.Also be weary of older, rougher-looking cars thatmay be prone to engine over-heating. While a healthycar can idle in 100-degree weather all day withoutoverheating, cars with poorly maintained coolingsystems depend strongly on airflow to cool theirengines. If someone is driving a poorly maintainedjunker, it’s probably because he can’t afford a nicercar, and he probably depends strongly on the vehicle.

And, it would be incredibly irritating (to say theleast), if ‘a stupid construction worker holding afreaking stop sign’ “caused” his car to overheat andbreak down.Keep your windows up, your air conditionerpumping, and stay alert.Traffic BackupsYou don’t have to have a bad temper to understandhow frustrating it is to be in a hurry for anappointment (or work, or whatever) only to run intoheavy traffic. At that point, even sensible people getfrustrated.As with hot-weather, be extra reserved of even themost simple traffic maneuver- such as changinglanes. If someone is leaving space in front of theircar, unless they are signaling for you to merge into it,you should assume that the space is sacred to them.And, even though they don’t ‘own’ the road, merginginto their sacred, personal space can be considered aviolation of their space- a big no-no. Therefore,communicate, communicate, and communicate.(We’ll talk about communication shortly).Assume nothing, and especially if you are enteringthe roadway, do so as if you are a guest, and thedrivers already there are the owners. Adopting thismindset will change your approach on so manylevels, and you will be shocked at how much morepleasant of an experience you will have.directed at you- so proceed with caution and be onhigh alert for rage in construction zones.Waiting, Without Apparent ReasonLogically, delays are infinitely more tolerable if theperson waiting can see a justifiable reason beforehim as to why he is being forced to wait. Forexample, nobody honks their horn when they are 30yards from a three-car pileup that is covering bothlanes of freeway traffic, as police and medicalpersonnel rush to treat victims. In fact, I’d dare saymost people would forget about whatever it was thatthey were in a hurry for, and rush to the aid of theresponders.The other side of this coin is that people are infinitelyless tolerable of delays if they see no apparent reasonfor the delay. For example, the guy at the front of theline mentioned above would wait all day withpatience, while a guy stuck between two semi-trucksa mile back will have a much lower threshold ofagitation.Still, even a sensible person knows that IF traffic isnot moving, THEN there is a reason- and probably aGOOD reason at that. For some people though, andespecially those who “suffer from” (read choose tohave) road-rage, unless they can see why they arewaiting, there is NO good reason, and their angergrows and grows.Exhibit A….Construction ZonesThe rules of hot weather and especially trafficbackups obviously apply to construction zones, butan important fact to recognize is that a constructionzone is a much more frustrating kind of backup thansay, a traffic accident.The frustration of having to wait so that ‘your taxmoney can be dumped into a stupid road’ iscompounded by the unsympathetic faces of theconstruction workers. Even though the ‘rage’ may becreated by the construction zones and personnel, theslightest infringement may have all this anger5 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comA friend of mine has very little patience. I wasunlucky enough to be riding with him when wecame upon a construction zone, where one lanehad been closed, and traffic was being directedthrough the single open lane. In a simple twolaneroad, we would only have had to wait whilethe oncoming traffic cleared before it would havebeen our turn to go.But in this case, the road being worked on wentthrough the middle of a large town, which madethe way traffic was being directed appear illogical,and we had to wait for maybe 15 minutes.

A group of cars would pass, and then there wouldbe a full minute of nothing, all while the flagger infront of us looked bored holding a walkie-talkie inone hand, and a “STOP” sign in the other.This in-action caused great frustration on the partof the guy I was riding with, but it was a greatlearning experience for my level-headed self.After the first couple minutes of waiting, whereno cars appeared to be coming, the driver merelygrumbled to himself and threw his car into parkand killed the engine. Then came the first wave ofcars, where he said “finally!”, started the car, putit back into gear, and waited. The cars cleared,but still the flagger held fast.After 30 seconds of this, the driver yelled out hisopen window, “What’s the hold up!?”. Theconstruction worker (the poor guy) obviouslybecame instantly worried, and I could tell hedidn’t deal with too many irate people. The driver(who was second in line), acted like he was goingto just start driving anyway, and pulled halfwayaround the car in front of him.Just as I was about to intervene with a “Dude,chill out!”, he thought better of running the stopsignand stopped pulling forward, leaving usawkwardly sideways (there were a couple dozenpeople behind us).He then tapped on his horn a few times, and outof pure embarrassment, I began trying to think ofsomething to say that wouldn’t set this guy off.Luckily for me, he turned to me with an agitatedlook and said “doesn’t this s--- just piss youoff??”. “Honestly? No, it doesn’t.” I said.“What?! Why not?” It was as if he had justthought I didn’t understand the tragedy of thesituation- of having to wait for 15 minutes duringan overall hour drive home.“Well, for one thing, we’re not in that big of ahurry,” (we had just returned from fishing), “buteveryone else is waiting too, and besides- if theyare telling us to stop, there must be a goodreason.”Obviously, my argument was dead on, and eventhough the realization that I was looking down athim made the driver calm down a lot, he was stillvery angry by the time we were able to go, andinsisted on making direct eye contact with everyconstruction worker that we passed. I happen toknow this person well enough to know that hadany of them met his stare in a “what??” fashion,he would have stopped the car and tried to pick afight. Needless to say, that was the last time Irode with him.Being Forced to Drive SlowlyTo the person prone to ‘road rage’, having to driveslowly is only slightly less angering than having towait at a stand-still. In fact, in the case of the “slowdriver”, it may be worse- because at least with thetraffic backup, there is usually no specific person totake ones anger out on.Having to follow a slow driver isn’t an issue unlessthe opportunity to pass is not present. If there is abottle-neck, and the person behind you appears to beagitated at the speed that you are travelling, youmight want to consider just speeding up. While youhave the right to drive any speed you want (withinthe law), you also have the duty to not do things thatmay provoke an attack. Again- YOU are right, andHE is wrong. HE is being a big jerk. But… you are themore reasonable person here, and it’s your duty totake command of the situation.In this situation, do what you can to simply blend inwith the flow of the traffic. If given the opportunity,let them go by you! It may even mean as much aspulling over. It’s definitely not a dignified thing to do,but it sure beats getting into a fist-fight, or muchworse.6 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Being on your cell phoneI can honestly say that I am almost exactly ascompetent (in good weather) while ON my cell phoneas I am while off. I’m not bragging, because I trulythink most people are- most armed citizens, anyway,which includes you. It’s just that I’ve had a lot ofpractice, and I have good judgment. If talking on mycell phone made me inattentive, or if theconversation is too demanding, I simply hang up.Still, if you commit a ‘driving sin’ (respective to theangry person) while on your phone, you will causemuch more anger in him than had you done the samething while off your cell phone. This is largely due tothe fact that there’s a stigma that drivers who talk ontheir cell phones are bad drivers, who don’t payattention.It’s obviously better to be able to focus 100% of yourattention to driving, but if you must talk on your cellphone, be extra attentive to the drivers around you.Being forced to drive slowly- behind a slow-moving vehicle, forexample- can bring the worst out of people who “suffer from” (read:choose to have) road rage.7 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 2:Identifying Road RageBy Patrick KilchermannRoad rage is not hard to identify, but it is importantthat you do.If someone has been trying to merge in front of youfor 300 yards, and you were focused on your cellphoneconversation, and they are running out oflane- you are as much at fault for his anger towardyou as he is. We must therefore always be alert forsymptoms of road-rage, especially so in the ‘highrisk’ situations mentioned in the previous chapter.Being careful not to appear aggressive or challenging,keep an eye on those around you, via mirrors andwindows. Know exactly where all the cars around youare, and who is trying to do what- whether it’s changelanes, enter or exit the freeway, back-up, pullforward, or go around you. Nothing is morefrustrating to an agitated driver than another driverwho appears ‘oblivious’ to his or her surroundings.Know what to look for, and catch road-rage early on,when it’s still just mere ‘frustration’.and signify impatience even further) as possible- thiswould be the next level of aggressiveness. Next, theperson may begin to weave in and out of the lane, asif to say “I REALLY want to go around you” (to put itnicely). Now they are angry. Finally, they maygesture toward you, appear to be yelling, honk, orflash their lights. At this point, you will be lucky ifthey are satisfied with simply passing you, instead oftrying to retaliate in some way.That is yet another reason why it’s vital to catchroad-rage early on. If someone is riding your tail,either speed up, or let them by. It’s not your job tomake sure that anybody else obeys the speed limit,except for you. Get their plate number as they passand report them to 9-1-1 if you feel that they areviolating others safety- but don’t try to enforce anylaws on your own.I once witnessed two Toyota Priuses driving side byside at 60mph down a two-lane freeway, in anapparent attempt to save the planet from globalwarming by keeping people below 60mph. This typeof vigilantism is what gets people killed… so don’t doit.In summary- try to identify signs of road-rage inmotorists around you early on, and do whatever youcan to avoid being targeted, whether it’s realizingyour “mistake” and correcting your behavior, orsimply removing yourself from the situationaltogether.It’s easy to zone out when stuck in traffic- but it’s important that youkeep track of the moods and actions of the drivers around you. Roadrage is MUCH easier to avoid than it is to deal with.For example, a person riding close behind you isfrustrated. The next step is to ride as far to your left(to see around you, intimidate you, challenge you,8 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 3:CommunicationBy Patrick KilchermannCommunication plays a huge role in avoiding manytypes of road rage. Not only that, but traffic wouldgenerally flow much better if everybodycommunicated with those around them.The most rudimentary, universal, and thereforenecessary forms of communication you have while onthe road are your blinkers and brake lights. We useour blinkers to communicate the directions which wewant to travel horizontally, and we use our brakelights to signify that our vertical speed is changing.One of the best ways I’ve found to both get people todo what you want (ie, let you merge in) whiledisarming their resistance to assume you’re being, isto turn and make eye contact while smiling.Now you may be thinking: I’ve always heard thatyou should avoid eye contact at all costs. Well, that’strue- but it doesn’t apply until after you’ve upsetsomeone.Now mind you, don’t stare or make prolonged eyecontact, but instead smile and glance. Instead ofsignaling your intention and then executing, askpermission. If they speed up and block you, well,slow down and try the person behind them.If they let you in, be gentle in your movements.Sporadic and sudden jerky movements are morelikely to set people off than slow, fluid motions. And,after you merge in, give the thumbs up or a nicewave. If your entry was polite, there is no way theywill be able to misinterpret the gesture as a challengeor accusation, as we’ll talk about in the next chapter:What Not To Do.The point is, if you show the person that you areanother thoughtful, kind human being who isinterested in their well-being, safety, and schedule(instead of some mindless, inanimate object seekingonly what’s in your best interest), they are much lesslikely to take out any rage on you.Something else to note, is that if you drive a largevehicle like a truck or SUV, you must be particularlycourteous when maneuvering, for these two reasons:One, your actions within a bigger vehicle will notonly SEEM more intruding, but also, some folks whodrive smaller cars will be expecting you to be a big,inconsiderate jerk. The irony is of course, as a “bigoffroad-SUV driver” myself, I have been cut off farmore times by small cars than by fellow “big vehicle”motorists.Adapt Your Communication.Profile the driver you need to communicate with:What does their vehicle and dress say about them? Ifit’s an immaculate 80s Ford pickup, and the driver isan older gentleman wearing sun-glasses and acowboy hat, a polite nod and wave may be the bestway to communicate to them, as they probablyalready know your intentions- to merge in front ofthem, for example. If it’s a person wearing a suit,driving a BMW, and talking on a cell phone, theymay not know what you want to do. In this case, youmay want to, for example, point to the space in frontof them, and give the thumbs up, as if to say “Hey, doyou mind if I squeeze in there?”If someone already looks agitated, simply don’t try tocommunicate with, or interrupt their intended pathin anyway. Merge in behind them if you can. There’ssimply no sense. There are far too many patientdrivers out there who would be happy to let you in ifyou only acknowledge them before hand.Someone who is angry is very likely to interpret anysignal with a bad attitude.9 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 4:What Not To DoBy Patrick KilchermannI’d like to preface this chapter with this: BECAREFUL when on the road. You never knowwhat kind of day someone is having, or what kind ofperson they are. They may be an exhaustedaccountant who just had a bad day at work, they maybe a jumpy addict in a hurry to deliver the 35 poundsof drugs in their trunk to their boss who may fire himif he’s late, or they may even have just killed theirfamily and are now fleeing. You seriously neverknow.I’m not suggesting that we go around assuming thevery worst about people- after all, 99.5% of peopleare excellent people who just want to get to wherethey are going. All I’m saying is to treat every personwith extreme caution.area. If you feel the need to apologize, then you havedone something worthy of apologizing for… and ifthis is the case, then you probably are better off justignoring the person and exiting the scene in anattempt to de-escalate the situation entirely.However, there are times when it is permissible toapologize, but ONLY if there is absolutely no chanceof a miscommunication. Your body language wouldhave to be the very definition of submission, which isvery difficult to accomplish if you can’t speak tosomeone, and they can only see the op ¼ of yourbody. Better off to simply avoid the negativesituations altogether.Never act within your vehicle, any way which youwouldn’t be willing to act without a steel cageprotecting you.Never make any gesture, ever, except when thankingsomeone or asking permission to perform an action(like merging). Any gesture made in reaction to aconfusing or aggravating situation will beinterpreted negatively by the other party. Simplydon’t do it.A lady on our forum once wondered at why the driverof a truck got angry at her for blocking his path downa narrow parking lot lane. After they met head on,she shook her head and put her arms up, as if to say“What’s going on?” She was going the right way, andhe was going the wrong way. See- even though shewas perfectly correct, her gesture offended the pickupdriver. In this situation, you should just pull offinto a parking spot, OR back out. Just avoid thesituation all together, even if it’s at an inconvenienceto you.The ONLY exception to this that I would permitwould be in apologizing, but even this is a very grayReacting to an aggressive driver is the stupidest thing you can do.It goes without saying: If someone offends you on theroad…LET IT GO! If someone cuts you off or whatever,don’t take it personal. Don’t honk. Don’t wave. Don’tput your arms up in resignation or exhaustion. Don’tride their bumper for the next three miles. Just backoff, reclaim your safety zone/personal space, andcontinue on your way.10 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

SECTION IIDe-escalation11 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 1:De-escalationBy Patrick KilchermannOops. You’ve upset someone on the road. You’re noteven sure how you’ve done it, but it’s a big guy, andhe’s on your bumper, and he appears to be cussingup a storm, staring right at your rear-view mirror.To make matters worse, you’re in the middle lane oftraffic, stopped at a red light- and the car in front ofyou is oblivious to the situation, and isn’t budging.Depending on your personality, this may beincredibly difficult for you- but you must positionyourself to be as submissive as possible. Unless thatis, you want to get into a fight. If you do, roll yourwindow down and tell him what a freak he is forbeing so upset, and tell him to get back in his vehicle.Better yet- step out of your car and get in his face.That’s sure to get you all the fight you want.What do you do?First, you have to think about your own safety.Without moving around drastically, and appearing tochallenge the agitated driver, make sure all yourwindows are up and that your doors are locked. Keepyour head turned straight as if you don’t even knowthe guy exists, but keep staring, out of the corner ofyour eye, at the threat. (At this point we can call hima threat).If he opens his door, you must plan an escape, andget ready for a confrontation. Your safety has to beyour number one concern.If the guy behind you is like 99% of road-ragers,however, just don’t do anything to further provokehim, and the creep will just keep venting to the onlyperson who really cares- himself.Keep your hands on your wheel… keep your headstraight… and sit low in your seat. You should beokay.This is one of the worst case scenarios. The only waythis scenario could get worse is if he does get out, andcomes to your window hooting and hollering. Believeme, it happens. The only way it could get worse thanthat, is if there are more than one of them. Gulp.So what if he does come to the window?If you’re in a situation where it is impossible to pass, and the driverbehind you is becoming visibly frustrated that they can’t go faster,consider pulling over to let them by. Just be careful not to appear tobe challenging them to pull over with you… The goal would be to pullover BEFORE they want to fight you.My point is this- If someone is standing outside yourwindow screaming at you, they are not in their rightmind.For example, a USCCA member once posted on theforum about how he was enjoying his drive homefrom work, snacking on some sunflower seeds, andzoned completely out in condition white waiting for ared light to turn green. When out of nowhere, thisred-faced irate guy appeared just outside his driver’swindow, yelling: “WHO THE H--- DO YOU THINKYOU ARE? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST THROWYOUR S--- OUT YOUR WINDOW??” That’s whenthe light turned green, and the guy floored it. He12 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

watched the guy calmly walk back to his vehicle, getin, and drive away.The nut-job had seen the USCCA member flickingsunflower seeds out his window (harmless), and hadsomehow worked himself into an almost cross-eyed,rageful state over it. Unbelievable. Now, had themember been paying attention, he may have had alittle more warning that the guy behind him wasfurious, and he certainly would have been able to seehim coming up to his window, and prepared.Irrational AngerAnger is weird, and it doesn’t make sense. I also havedealt with this level of, what I consider, almosttemporary insanity- though it wasn’t while driving. Iwas fifteen, bow hunting for whitetail bucks on oneof my dad’s friend’s properties. My dad had warnedme that the guy who owned the adjacent field was alittle nuts, but I happened to know that he had apretty good job, and a nice house, and my dad evenpointed him out once at a restaurant, joking andlaughing with his friends over coffee- so how weirdcould he be?Well, I found out, first hand. This big guy (well over 6foot tall) walked calmly down his fence-row all theway to my tree stand (I was about 25 feet up in theair, wearing head to toe camo-painted face and all).He approached me so calmly that I was sure he didn’tknow I was there. He walked down the fence rowuntil he was about as close to my tree as he could get(I was about 15 yards away from the fence row), andsuddenly looked up at me with the most scary face Ihave ever seen. I seriously thought he wanted to killme. His simply looking up at me caused me to jumpabout three inches off my seat! He proceeded tostand and yell at me- scream, rather- about how he issick and tired of people hunting on his land, shootinghis deer, and he’s had it, and blah blah blah.It taught me one thing above all, though: Angrypeople make zero sense. There is no reasoning withthem. If someone is at your window yelling at you,explaining to them that sunflower seeds are harmlesswill do you no good- just get the heck out of there. Ifyou are boxed in, roll your window up, and don’teven look at the person. Just look straight forward,and prepare to defend yourself if the person startsbeating on your window. If you’re not boxed in, justmake sure nobody is coming, and just drive away.Brandishing to Prevent an AssaultIf someone is irate with you and starts walking up toyour vehicle, there is the ever-looming temptation tohave your handgun ‘coincidentally’ on your lap. Ihave read of several accounts where a guy did justthat, and the person, upon reaching the window andseeing the gun, turned around and ran back to theirtruck.I would like to go on record recommending that youDON’T do this. Here’s why:First of all: it may get you killed. In this person’stwisted mind, they already think you have wrongedthem in a big, big way. What if they happen to becarrying? Do you remember the driver in thebeginning of this book, who I was riding with at theconstruction flagging? He was licensed to carryconcealed, and was indeed carrying at the time.Imagine this police report: “Uh, yeah officer, it wasjust like I said. This guy ahead of me was drivinglike a maniac- I thought he was going to killsomeone! So when he finally stopped, I got out andwalked up- I was going to tell him that he reallyneeds to slow down, or else he’s going to hurt somepoor little kid! And when I got there, he was readyfor me- pointing a gun and everything! So whatcould I do? I had no choice but to fire in selfdefense…”Long story short: my dad heard the yelling andshowed up out of nowhere… and in one of the mostproud moments of my life, routed the big guy andhad him booking back toward his house.13 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comSecondly, because you could get in BIG trouble withthe law. What if this guy has already called the copsto report littering? He walks up to your window, seesthe gun, runs back to his truck. You leave- as far asyou know, he was going to kick your butt, so in yourmind, you just prevented a big mess. Well, you are

pulled over a two miles down the road, and cops withguns drawn make you get out of the car, lay on theground, and surrender your weapon. After all- whatthey heard over their radio was that “a guy waslittering, and when a witness went to say somethingto him, he pulled a gun.” Maybe you go to jail, maybeyou don’t. Even if you don’t spend time in theslammer, do you like being pulled drug out of yourvehicle?Nah- keep your gun ready, but keep it concealed.Dial 9-1-1?Remember- 95% of road-rage never leaves the ‘verbalventing’ stage. But stay alert, and track the person inyour mind out of the corner of your eye. Be preparedfor ANYTHING. I have heard of a guy intentionallyrear-ending someone who pulled out in front of him.It totaled his new Dodge Ram pickup, and the guycouldn’t explain his stupid action. He said it justinfuriated him so badly that this car would pull out infront of him so closely, that he just felt like teachingthem a lesson. He went to jail, but had the persondriving been hurt, it would have been prison.Remember: Speak softly and carry a big stick.If someone approaches your car yelling, you mightwant to get 9-1-1 on the phone. It may prove to beboth a deterrent to violence from the threat, and itwill also immediately brand you as “the victim” in theeyes of law enforcement.What about on the road?If you make someone mad by doing something whilecruising down the freeway at 70mph, your optionsare limitless. Just remove yourself from the situation,either by taking the next exit and giving the guy 5 or10 minutes to put some serious space between thetwo of you, or just slow down and let him by. (Youcan speed up as well, if you’d like, but be warned thatsome people consider speeding up to be a sign ofaggression).Fender-benders can spark road-rage, especially since they are usuallythe result of one driver failing to yield to the other.Humbly apologize if you can, but remain in your locked car, on thephone with a 9-1-1 dispatcher, if you must.Until you can remove yourself from thepresence of the angry person…Since you can’t apologize while going down the road,just do your best to restore respect and goodmanners to the situation as quickly as possible. Don’tdo anything that would appear to be a challenge oract of aggression, and don’t make eye contact withthe person. You will only validate his anger in doingso. If he’s already irate, just let him remain irate.Don’t try to apologize or make him see that you didnothing wrong.Stay ready…14 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

SECTION IIIESCAPE15 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Chapter 1:EscapeBy Patrick KilchermannNow let’s say that the situation is beyond deescalation.You’ve managed to trip someone intosuch an extreme state of road rage that they justaren’t going to let this one go. They simply MUST gettheir hands on you and give you a lesson in drivingetiquette according to their standards.Not good.Yes, you could show them your gun and hope itscares them away. I once heard a story of an old ladywho pulled into a left-turn lane, forcing a truck whowas trying to smoke it up through the lane to makethe green left-turn arrow to lock his brakes up, barelyavoiding rear-ending her. The pickup driver was soupset by this, that he jumped out of his truck andstarted running toward the old lady’s car (who hadstopped out of fright). He was almost to her car,shouting “I’m gunna beat you’re a--!” when sheraised a little revolver from her purse. The guy did anabout-face, dropped to his hands and knees, andscampered all the way back to his pickup.And besides- your vehicle presents you with manydozen avenues of escape in most situations- so with alittle resourcefulness, there is little need to brandishyour gun anyway.For example, here are some situations with someoptions that can be used as avenues of escape. In allthe following situations, you should call 9-1-1 andreport the maniac as soon as safely possible.An important note about this story is that the personwho brandishes the gun is an old lady. There exists aterm called “disparity of force”, and it measures aperson’s ability to inflict pain and suffering ontoanother person. A young or middle-aged manrunning to an old lady (she was around 80) shoutingthat he is going to ‘beat her a--‘ would in most places,constitute a deadly threat. Now, if you’re 45, and a 35year old is running toward your car shouting thesame thing, you may not be treated so favorably incourt if it comes up later that you brandished yourpistol, which caused the other person to draw a gun(or even just attack you). You would have provokedthe attack, at that point.So, again, I don’t suggest brandishing for effect. Ifyou are in fear for your life or of great bodily harm,you must defend your life. But if you’re not, you haveno right to deploy your weapon.Unless they are using their vehicle as a weapon, an irate driver whoremains in his vehicle is not looking for a fight. Keep an eye on themthough- if they step out of their car, they probably are.16 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

While at a red light…If someone starts beating on your window at a redlight,just make sure it’s safe, and run it. If it’s a verybusy intersection, lay on your horn, and do what youcan to merge into traffic. Most likely, someone willmake room if they see that a crazy dude is attackingyou.If you are boxed in at a normal two-lane road’s redlight (or stop sign), hopefully you’ve left enoughroom in front of your car to allow for you to turn yourvehicle onto the shoulder and escape that way. Justbe sure to watch for pedestrians, bikers, and othermotorists as you make your escape. Also, be mindfulof potential obstacles that may disable your vehiclesuchas a fire hydrant or too steep a curb.Now what if you’re sandwiched in at red-light, inbetween two rows of immobile traffic? There’s noeasy answer for this one, and that is why I’m going totell you to NEVER let this happen. The middle-laneis for sheep- Sheepdogs stick to outside lanes andleave avenues of escape in all situations! But, let’sjust pretend that you slipped into condition white,and are boxed in with some lunatic banging on yourwindow with visions of tearing you a new onedancing over his head…Instead, I recommend that you try to put as manycars between him and you as possible- slow down,merge- do what you have to do without jeopardizingyour safety or that of others to just distance yourselffrom them. Try to sneak onto an exit ramp whilemaking him remain on the free way- try anythingthat will get you away from him. If you caused him tobecome upset, then by leaving you will do as much asyou can to restore sanity to the situation.Something to keep in mind…With the trend of many to drive trucks and SUVs,what we have is a group of people with someseriously capable vehicles. You may have oneyourself: a Jeep, Hummer, Explorer, Tahoe orSuburban, 4-Runner, or Land Rover. If you do, donot underestimate these machines. You would besurprised at how much power they have, and howmany places they can go. In an emergency, you maybe able to take a median, jump a curb, or cross aditch- all places that a car wouldn’t be able to followyou through. Just be careful- if someone wants tohurt you, and you get your truck stuck… you’re introuble.In reality, all you can do here is lay on your horn toattract other motorists attention, and dial 9-1-1. Youcan shout, “I’m calling the police” if you want- it mayrestore some of his judgment, or it may not. Ifnothing else succeeds, you may be left with resortingto defending yourself. If that is the case, it’s a shame,because a little bit of preparation (stay out of themiddle lane) would have prevented you from gettinginto the situation.While on the road…If you’re cruising along at a good speed, but someoneis keeping up with you and shouting his head off,demanding that you pull over, just keep driving. Idon’t suggest that you try to out-run the lunatic, asthis is unsafe, illegal, and seen as an aggressive act,and may only get you in deeper.17 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

SECTION IVFIGHTING TOLIVE18 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

You've done all you could to avoid it; you've done allyou could to defuse it; you've done all you could toescape it; you've called for help.But nothing has worked, the help isn't there yet, andyou're trapped. Now you must fight.This article assumes that you are stopped and thevehicle you're in is unable to move. If you're stilldriving, you'd do best to fight with the vehicle itself;also, if you can move the vehicle to ram or run overor threaten that action successfully, try that first.There are other sources of how best to do that. Thescope of this article is limited to the situation whereit has turned from a car-fight into a gun-fight.First, the mindset.Understand one thing: At the point where the threatof physical violence against you and yours becomesmore than shouted words, stop thinking about RoadRage and start thinking about it becoming a fight.The line may be fuzzy, but if you listen to your 'gut',that sense of real threat we all have to some degree,you will probably make the right assessment at theright time. If it's an overt physical act--the carswerves toward you, the man gets out of his truckwith a tire iron, you see a gun through their window--right there, right then, stop thinking about anythingbut that the fight is on, and start fighting back.Also, understand the laws as they apply toemployment of lethal force and self-defense in anyarea you're driving in regularly. (And if possible, anyarea you drive in, period.) In most areas, the use ofthe car to move you or hurt you will be considered alethal force assault, allowing use of the same level offorce in your response. Do not rely on a genericviewpoint, however: Check your local laws to be sure.Now, some considerations about the fight.You have to decide quickly whether you and yoursshould stay inside the car or not. There seem to me tobe few situations where sitting inside the car, even19 | P ageFighting From The Car I:Assessing the Situation& Accessing the WeaponBy CR WilliamsCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comwith a gun, would be a good idea. You are too muchthe sitting duck in there, and the side-window safetyglass isn't going to discourage even a bare-fistedattack, much less a baseball bat. You can lean awaysome, you can crawl around some, but not easily andnot fast enough, and if they get the door open eventhat won't be enough to keep them off of you. And ifthey have a gun, well...the term 'fish in a barrel' maycome to mind, except that it will be easier for them toshoot you in the car than the imagined fish in themetaphorical barrel.If you can get out of the car, though, you have moreoptions. You can evade; you may be able to evenescape the fight completely. You can maneuver to putthe 'cover' parts of the car between you and ashooting threat, or you can move to cover orconcealment nearby. If it does become a close-infight, you can use your entire body to fight withinstead of just the upper part. By pulling away andleaving them the car, there is also the possibility thatthey will take their anger out on unfeeling plastic andmetal instead of flesh and bone. There are morepossibilities to you outside the vehicle thaninside it.There is one judgment call you will have to make inyour decision, however. If the attacker is notadvancing or obviously attacking, you exiting yourvehicle might be taken as a challenge and trigger anassault. You will have to decide at that moment andwith that person or persons facing you whether ornot you should get out at a particular time. Also,consider going across your car and out the passengerdoor instead of the driver's door to get more distanceand cover between you and the (potential) attack.And if you do get out, move quickly back and awayfrom the other person if they have not startedforward yet. Show empty hands if you feel safe doingso at that moment, and continue with attempts at deescalationas you move to put your car between youand the angry one. Do this both as a last attempt tokeep things from getting out of hand, and becauseyou don't know who is watching or videotaping theencounter. In this day and age, it is important notjust to be defensive, but to be seen being defensive,

so that you can survive and win not just the fight thatmay be at hand but also the investigation that willfollow its ending.There are, of course, exceptions to the idea of alwaysmoving away. If the attack is already underway,counterattacking may be the best defense at themoment. Also, aggressive action in the developingstages of an attack might convince the aggressor tostop his action early, before damage is done to eitherside. Finally, if you have others in the car, you mightdecide to speak or act aggressively in order to focusthe aggressor's attention on you so that the otherscan get out of the vehicle and away from anythingthat might develop. Keep in mind that you need to beable to articulate, to describe to investigators, yourreasons for pre-empting or taking certain kinds ofcounter-action. This is another reason to familiarizeyourself with the laws in your area.I'm going to show you two methods for getting yourweapon into action now. To keep it as brief aspossible, the descriptions assume a right-handshooter with handgun carried at the hip betweenthree and five o'clock. The methods here will workwith other carry positions with some adjustment.Left-handed shooters might best be served bylearning to transfer to and shoot with their righthand from the driver's side.Both access methods start the same way by swingingboth knees as far over to the left as possible. This willclear your legs for the draw and move the holsteredweapon around where it will be easier to get to.Let's talk about accessing the weapon now.There are three ways that most people carry personalfirearms when they're in the car. One is in the sameposition they always carry on their body. A second isto remove the carry weapon whenever they get in andplace it somewhere within reach in the vehicle. Thethird is to have a separate weapon that is alwayscarried in the car.If you move the gun off-body or keep a separate onein the vehicle, let me offer a caution aboutplacement. Simply putting it in a glove compartmentor center console compartment may not be the bestidea. If not in a holster, there is a risk that somethingout of everything that ends up finding a home inthose places will work its way into the trigger guardand making an unplanned shot happen. That risk issmall but should be considered. More likely is that agun, holstered or not, will move around as you drivearound which means that access will not beconsistent. You'll have to hunt a little at the verymoment when you don't need to be wasting time.Some method of securing the weapon in one positionin one orientation is therefore recommended.Figure 1 - Strong side under cover, start of access". CAPTION: This ishow it's going to begin, with the handgun under cover and, perhapsthe seat belt still on. Practice with things 'in the open' for a whilefirst, but remember that, sooner or later, you will need to train likeyou live.If you take the gun off-body when you're in thevehicle, some means of securing it in a consistentposition is a good idea. Note: It might not be legal inyour state or area to have the gun in sight like this.Check your local laws to be sure.20 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

ing the gun to bear on someone approaching thedriver's door.Figure 2 - Get the legs over to the left as far as you can to clear theweapon and avoid sweeping on the draw.Figure 4 - The most common method is to put your weapon againstthe steering wheel...Clear your covering like you always do and acquirethe master grip.Figure 5 - ...and, keeping it in contact with the wheel...Figure 3 - Get the covering clear and get the master grip.This is where the two methods begin to differ. Themost common method demonstrated is to put theweapon in contact with the steering wheel and slideit over the wheel until you 'break' off the left side toYou can, if you need to, break away from the steeringwheel contact if you need to make a shot sooner inanother direction once you start to clear thedashboard area.21 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Figure 6 - ..."ride" it all the way around to the driver's side."If the attack is underway and lethal force is involved(tire tool, baseball bat, blades or axes, and especiallyguns in the hands of the attacker(s)) do not hesitateto put a round through the windshield. The closeryou let them get to you, the more trapped andvulnerable you will be inside the car even with a gunin your hand. The money you save on windshieldrepairs is not worth the loss of your life.Figure 9 - Otherwise, you're now ready to fire.One of the drawbacks to this access/ready method isthat going over the steering wheel puts the gun intoview from outside. Another method of in-the-caraccess suggested by Rob Pincus (Owner of the I.C.E.Training Institute and developer of the CombatFocus Shooting Program.) allows a more covertaccess and ready positioning.Figure 8 - If they're already close to the door, don't waste timegetting the gun upright. Be prepared to trigger shots at any point theweapon clears the door.Figure 7 - Once the gun is clear of the holster, instead of going overthe steering wheel...22 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comPincus' method involves 'sliding' the gun horizontallyover your legs, between your thighs and the bottomof the steering wheel.

left hand to keep positive control on the seatbelt andget it over and out of your way so that you can eitherleave the vehicle or move around inside of it fasterand easier.Figure 10 - ...go between the bottom of the steering wheel and thetop of your thighs."The advantage with this method is that you can keepthe gun out of sight longer. This allows you to havethe weapon ready for immediate use, it gives you anelement of surprise to an attacker outside, and itavoids a possible legal charge of 'brandishing' orthreatening with the weapon when you did not meanto.Figure 12 - With all of the motors and side reinforcement and, lately,airbag mechanisms that are in the door, shooting through one isgoing to be chancey at best. Take that chance only if it appearsabsolutely necessary to do so.Figure 11 - This method does not allow for a fast shot through thefront like the other method, but it keeps the weapon out of sightlonger, which may be advantageous.With both of these access methods, the left hand willdrop down and disengage the seat belt while the righthand moves the gun over to firing position. Use the23 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comFigure 13 - Instead, clear the door and shoot through the window.

Some other things to keep in mind:Expect the side and rear window glass to shatterwhen hit by bullets. It may not shatter completely,but it will shatter. The front window glass, alaminate, will not shatter but the 'starring' effect willinhibit vision around the bullet hole(s). Also, expectthe front window glass to deflect the bullet as it goesthrough--up if firing from the inside, down if firingfrom the outside into the vehicle. The angle will varyaccording to the angle of the windshield. You canadjust for this by either firing somewhat lower fromthe inside than normal, or aiming a bit higher iffiring into the vehicle through the front. Also, theround will suffer less deflection if you can put themuzzle close to the windshield before you make theshot.And expect the shot from inside the vehicle to beLOUD. Auditory exclusion will definitely be yourfriend, but it could still be distracting anddisorienting nonetheless. And expect physicaldamage to the eardrums and inner ear area. If youever have to shoot from a vehicle, or indoors for thatmatter (and maybe any time you have to defendyourself), request to be taken to an ER so that you(and everybody else in the vehicle at the time) can bechecked for ear damage. There are some treatmentsthat will reduce the damage and subsequent loss ofhearing, but they are most effective only if they canbe administered within a short time of the incident.The 'Golden Hour' applies to more than traumaticinjuries; go and get checked.While fighting from inside the (stalled or blocked)car or truck may be necessary at times, it is not thepreferred choice. In case you are left without choice,look at some of these concepts and methods to helpyou win the fight.Now, let's look at taking the fight outside. On to PartII:24 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Fighting From The Car II:Taking the Fight OutsideBy CR WilliamsIn Part I of this particular exploration of the fight, welooked at some ideas for what to do if a) the car wasstalled or blocked so that you couldn't use it toescape and b) you needed to access and maybe usethe handgun from inside the vehicle.want to avoid. Don't hand your attacker any points.Put the foot up and control the door.We also said that it was preferable to get outside ofthe vehicle if you were forced to fight, and that if youcould not use the car to get away, it is usuallyadvisable to get away from the car. So let's look at theidea of getting out of and fighting around the vehiclenow.To establish the 'ground rules', let's say that you havesome time and space to exit, you may come underpressure as you exit, and that you're as sure as youcan be that this is legally (according to your ownstate and local laws) a lethal-force situation.One of the first questions to answer is: If you havenot already drawn your gun, should you do it before,during, or after the exit from the car?The simple answer is that if possible, get out of thecar first. That way you can use both hands to undothe latches and pull yourself around and control thedoor. Once you're clear you can make the normaldraw-to-ready that you're accustomed to instead ofgoing through the mild contortions required of adraw inside the passenger compartment. There willbe in general fewer things you have to do that you'renot used to doing, allowing you to get out quicklywhile keeping attention on the developing threat(s)outside.Figure 14 - Train yourself to be your own doorstop. Don't give theattacker any hits they don't earn on you.If you have already drawn you can, if necessary,bring the gun to bear just before or as you're gettingout. With either your foot still on the door or placingit down, you can either 'roll' partway out to fire likeyou do from behind cover (if you're a right-handedshooter; left-handers can modify their techniqueaccordingly), or you can transfer the gun to your lefthand and shoot with it through the 'V' of the doorframe and the car frame.If you have the gun in hand already, do not reholster.Use the left hand to undo the seatbelt andwork the door-latch and keep control of the weaponwhere it belongs.A note about the door: You'll be under stress and theadrenalin will be flowing. Train yourself to put a footon the door as you open it. Otherwise, there is achance that the force of your push will make itbounce back into you as you're getting out, maybehard enough to take you out of the fight completely,but at least for a few vital seconds. And the damagedone, even if relatively minor, is damage that you25 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.comFigure 15 - With the door blocked open, either 'roll out' to come onlinefor a shot...

sometimes without being conscious of it, to answerthat question. Assuming that you decide to use thevehicle in the fight--and at this point let's specify thatit's a gunfight all around now--the question becomeshow best to use that vehicle for cover, concealment,defense, and counter-offense. To help answer THATquestion, you need to know more about what on yourcar is most likely to stop a bullet."Engine block and wheels," you answer, "Everybodyknows that."Yes, they do. But do they know exactly how muchspace that really is? On their car or truck?Figure 16 - ...or you can transfer to the left hand and take it that way.It is simply not advisable to try and get out of the carand draw the gun at the same time. This is not to saythat there are situations where you have no choicebut to try, just that if you do have a choice, choose todo one or the other in sequence, not both things atthe same time. Under the stress of a threat to life andwithin the small space filled with obstacles that willdefine your passenger compartment in a fight, thereare just too many otherwise simple, sequential stepsthat can get mixed up or interrupted or blocked tomake it anything but a last-resort kind of effort onyour part. Clauswitz said, "In war, the simplestthings become difficult." Unless you have to, don't bethe one to try and prove him wrong. One thing at atime.Once you're out of the car, with or without weapon inhand, another question needs to be answered: Staywith the car or leave it?The answer to that question will change with thesituation, but here are some questions that may helpin the decision: Is there a building or buildings thatyou can get to quickly? Other people that you can goto? Is there anything within a short distance (keepingin mind the possibility that the aggressor mightchase you) that is better for cover and defense thanthe vehicle? Is there a chance of flagging someonedown to help you escape? (Unlikely, especially ifguns are in sight, but possible.) Are the police on theway? (You'll want to be close to the area when theyget here if possible.) Is there other cover andconcealment you can use to escape completelynearby? What is the aggressor doing? What andwhere is the threat and how is it developing?Next time you have reason to go under the hood ofyour vehicle, take a few seconds to look at the enginecompartment and ask yourself how much in thereyou could depend on to stop a bullet.Figure 17 - Not nearly as much true cover in here as you mightexpect.Be conservative in your answer, and take intoaccount that the guy expressing his anger about yourdriving may have a rifle or shotgun in his car or truckto express it with more forcefully. Under thosecircumstances, there may be a lot of things in theengine compartment that will probably stop a pistoland maybe some rifle bullets. But what you want toconsider is not 'probably'; you need to know what the'depend-on' cover is going to be. And that area islikely to be smaller than you think.That's just some of what you will be processing,26 | PageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Looking at it from the outside:Figure 18 – The shaded areas contain less “count on it” bulletstopping material than you might think: What if you were crouchedback here and under fire?I am being conservative in my own estimation, true.But would you rather be conservative, or wounded?Real cars do not soak up gunfire like they do in themovies.One thing to consider if you ever have to take coveraround the front or front-side of your vehicle is,where is the battery? You don't want to be near a carbattery that takes a bullet--another reason todistance yourself properly from any cover you takearound the car.Figure 19 - Sure it's better from the side. It will never be enough ifthey're shooting at you, though.Figure 20 - From the back, cover areas are the same as from the frontThe hazard is greater with vehicles like this Jeep, butkeep in mind the threat of a low round ricochetingunderneath the car and hitting you.Another factor is the materials used to build your carand its engine. Aluminum engine blocks and framesand fiberglass or composite bodies and frameworkwill not be as helpful to you as good steel would be.Now that you've identified the most dependablecover, how do you use it?Three constants I've identified about the use of coverare: Distance - back off from the cover; Don't BeConsistent - don't pop or roll out from cover in thesame place for every shot; Lead With The Weapon -even if you're looking and not shooting, have the gunbetween you and the threat ready to shoot every timeyou 'unmask'.The rule of thumb is to keep about six feet at leastbetween you and your cover. This is so that ricochetsoff the cover don't turn into hits on you as you'reshooting back. This habit has to be a trained one--weall want to get close to solid things that keep us safe.A fast way to get at least three or four feet of spacebetween you and any cover you'll be shooting backfrom is to get in the habit of putting your hand out tothe cover as you take position. With the arm straightout and you turned partly to the side, you willautomatically get up to four feet of the space that isrecommended you have. The automatic reach-andtouchis easier to train yourself to do under stressthan any mental measurement you would otherwisehave to make.27 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

To Lead With The Weapon is to make sure that, untilthe fight is over, the muzzle of your gun is alwaysbetween you and the attack. By leading with theweapon, you are ready to take any opportunity tostop the attack and end the fight that you get. Thatincludes times when you are only looking, searching,or evaluating the situation. Until the fight is over,and until everybody that was fighting knows it's over,you remain ready to fire. Make the gun your ThirdEye, so that where the head turns and where the eyeslook, you can shoot if you need to.Figure 22 - To help you avoid crowding cover, make it a habit to'reach out and touch' the cover to distance yourself and reduce thechance of a ricochet hitting you.When looking or shooting from behind cover,remember that the sights and the muzzle are not onthe same line. This is more obvious with some rifles,notably military-patterned ones, than it is withpistols and revolvers, but it is true with handguns tooand you need to be aware of this. If you have onlygone so far out up or out that the sights are only justcresting the line of cover, you will almost certainly hityour own cover if you take the shot.Don't shoot back from the same place twice in a row.Make yourself work this way when you train. Pop up,fire a round or a burst, shift over, do it again. Rollout, fire, roll in, go up or down, do it again. Makeyourself do it when you're not under stress so thatyou will be more likely to do it when you are. Go up,go sideways, and, with a vehicle, consider goingdown as well. A number of fights have been wonwhen the attacker lost a foot or an ankle by gunshot.Figure 23 - Here, the sights may be on the target, but the shot will beon the hood if you take it.Work with your own weapon to know just how faryou need to come up or out to hit your target and notyour car.Figure 21 - High, Low, In-Between: Don't turn down any opportunityfor a fight-ending shot.28 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Figure 24 - Now it's high enough to take the shot you need.Dealing with a Road Rage incident that turns into afight, or with any fight that starts with you in or nearyour vehicle, is in a fundamental sense no differentthan dealing with any other kind of incident thatturns into a fight. You still need the samefundamentals, the same basic tools, and the samedetermination to survive and overcome, that youneed standing up and in the open. Still, the presenceof the car, the truck, the van, or other vehicle andyour sitting position inside of it makes it a differentenvironment and changes the 'terrain' enough thatyou do need some tools and techniques adaptedspecifically for that environment. I hope in these twopresentations that I have been able to give you atleast some of the additional tools that will help youwin the fight if it comes to you.More than that, I hope you will never have to worryabout using them.29 | P ageCopyright Delta Media, LLC - www.DeltaMediallc.com

Ihopeyouenjoyedthisreport!ThisreportisFREEtoalUSCCAmembers,alongwithmany,manyothers.Herearesomeexamples.GotoUSConcealedCary.comtojoinandgetaccesstoalofourspecialreports!