As motorists, it’s likely that at some point, we have all dealt with road rage.
From vulgar language to physical altercations, it would seem as though road rage is so deeply ingrained in many societies that its almost become the norm to find people at each other’s throats when driving. ARRIVE ALIVE describes road rage as “an incident in which an angry or impatient motorist or passenger intentionally injures or kills another motorist, passenger or pedestrian, or attempts or threatens to injure or kill another motorist, passenger or pedestrian.”
A video published on the YouTube channel “Wham Baam Teslacam” replaying footage taken from a Tesla Model 3 shows a Tesla owner who was in the process of leaving a parking lot when a driver in a lifted Ford bakkie began yelling at and insulting the Tesla driver. Immediately after insulting the Tesla driver, a passenger in another bakkie threw something at the car. The driver quickly took off but was then pursued by two or more bakkies. A twenty-minute long chase ensued with multiple objects repeatedly thrown at the Tesla.
Through traffic and across parking lots, the pursuers were unrelenting in the undeserved harassment of the unfortunate Tesla driver. When the situation began escalating and the driver grew more and more fearful about what could happen, he called the police. Expecting protection and assistance the Tesla driver informed a 911 operator about the drivers that had been following and harassing him. Unfortunately, the 911 operator was unwilling to assist the distressed driver and kept asking if the situation was really urgent enough to warrant dispatching police…
After desperately trying to shake the enraged drivers, the Model 3 driver managed to evade the pursuers. Arriving at a police station, the driver was offered very little assistance but reluctantly the officers helped file a report. The driver said that officers came to his home to review the footage but has not received any further assistance. Take a look at the video below.
Words: Ryan de Villiers
