Anti-War Car Rammed by Angry Driver

Daniel Burton, a 25-year old UC Berkeley alumhus in Computer Science, had been driving his old Volvo, adorned with anti-war posters slowly down Market St. towards Powell when he was rammed from behind by an angry driver. As he tried to turn right to pick up his friend, he was continuously blocked by pedestrians crossing in front of him. A Muni pedestrian island blocked the cars behind him from chaning lanes. After two signal changes, the driver behind him, who had been yelling, "Come on move your car!" became agitated and rammed the Volvo with full force on the gas pedal.

Mr. Burton at that point put the car into park and got out. He requested that the driver give him his name and address, since an car "accident" had just happened. The driver, who had previously been full of macho energy, now looked scared. Mr. Burton took down his license plate number, California 4XCC394. The driver proclaimed "It's a rental car."

Mr. Burton says that he will report the accident to the DMV, but hasn't decided whether to report the incident to the police (since intentionally ramming a car is a crime). He is struggling with the moral issues of using the police to achieve his goals.

"Next time something like this happens, I will try to place the driver under citizen's arrest," he says. "It just slipped my mind this time."

His advice to anyone else who has something like this happen to them: "Once someone purposefully attacks you or your vehicle, even with a car, it is perfectly legal to say, 'I am placing you under citizen's arrest,' and then you can lay hands on them. If you feel up to it, go ahead and do so. You can carry pepper spray to use in self-defense also, and once they try to punch you, it is legal to use it on them. Always use caution though. Only fight back and try to apprehend the person if you feel safe doing so."

Daniel Burton can be reached here.