By Glenn Mollette

Everyone who has watched the news has seen the SUV being attacked by a gang of motorcyclists in Manhattan. We watched a husband, wife and baby surrounded by terror whose lives were seemingly going to end right before our eyes.

Most of us have imagined ourselves in a similar scenario and played out in our minds how we might react.

Such a scenario happened to my wife several years ago as she was traveling on Interstate 75 south of Cincinnati. A group of motorcyclists surrounded her car. Several got in front of her with several others to the side and others behind her car. As the cyclists in front of her drove slower and slower it was obvious to her they were trying to force her to pull off to the side of the road. Gripped with fear she motioned that she was moving forward and floored the accelerator. Fortunately for the cyclists in front of her they had a moment of rational thinking and got out of her way as she sped forward at 85 to 90 mph to get away from them.

The highway is no place for games, rage or acts of violence. Cyclists, truckers and automobile drivers should be courteous and share the road. We are all paying taxes on America\’s highways and all should be respectful of each other.

In the days ahead we will hear from the driver and wife of the SUV. I would have called 911.  Even today, not everyone has a cell phone.   In such cases we all need one to call for help. More and more phones today are capable of taking pictures and videotaping. When you are afraid for your life you do not always have time to be a photographer but criminals and bullies do not want to be photographed. Without the videotape airing across the nation who knows how this story might have been spun.

Finally, what if the family could have pulled a handgun out of the glove box? NYC law makes that very difficult in comparison to most of our country.  However, residents of NYC should make every effort to achieve a legal permit and push every day for second amendment rights. What man or woman would not have begun firing the moment the window of that SUV was crashed? I would have fired away to protect my family if I had a gun. 

Obviously, the cyclists could have been armed as well and thus several people could have ended up dead. This brings us back to the extreme necessity that we must all utilize respect and common sense as we travel our highways. There is zero need for violence. We need to be grateful for freedom and the privilege to drive and chill out.

Give people some room. Don\’t ride people\’s bumpers. Don\’t cut people off. Do not use hand gestures with people as this only escalates driving tension. Do not harass people. Do not stop your car to get into a yelling match with someone.

There have been moments that all of us have felt like other motorists on the highway were jerks. Pursuing an altercation leads to nowhere. Try to keep your cool and drive responsibly.

And, in case such a scenario happens to you that happened to the Manhattan family remember your Second Amendment rights. 

The views expressed in this article are the author\’s own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Of Earth\’s editorial policy.