I disagree (in my opinion)...exiting your vehicle would have been and could be construed as escalating the situation...rolling down the window and telling the guy to back off was the trigger point...further aggression or advancement on his vehicle then would have been the aggressive attacker and saved him...getting out of the car would have been seen as you stepping up to the challenge. Plus in case of emergency...a quick shift and a flooring of the gas pedal puts much more distance between an attacker and you...even if you had to shove his vehicle out of the way. A vehicle is by far cover...but it beats standing out in the open.The Annoyed Man wrote:Steve, I'm glad that everything worked out OK in the end that you neither got hurt, nor had to shoot someone. I suspect you probably handled it as well as you could, given the circumstances.
Normally I wouldn't advocate leaving your car, but I toss this out there as an idea... If you had left your car, it would have A) given you some tactical maneuvering room; and B) drawn the other guy's attention away from your car (with your wife and child inside), and toward you, in case he was armed. At that point, you could give some pretty aggressive body language - hand on gun, etc. - and convince him to back off.
Analyzing it from my inexperienced viewpoint, the car affords you and your family some protection, but not nearly enough. On the downside, being trapped inside the car limits your ability to get to your gun, to draw it, and to aim and fire it without obstructions like steering wheel and windshield in the way. OTH, if you exit the vehicle but keep behind the cover of the open door, you still have some protection, you have increased mobility options, and you can always jump back into the car if you have to.
I am curious as to what some of our more tactically experienced members like Excaliber or others would say.
I am glad it all worked out and the situation defused itself...fortunate for that guy he knew not to advance on a vehicle after initiating a confrontation...doing so can and usually ends badly