Watch on youtube.comIn college, my best friend and I had a summer job culling trees from a property 50kms (30miles) from the nearest hospital/ambulance station. We both got the job at the same time and worked there for almost 3 summers in a team of 5 guys. We were all very skilled with equipment and had been through extensive training. Two of the guys on the team were professional arborists. We had all the gear, but as anyone with professional experience with chainsaws will tell you, unpredictable accidents can happen.
On a late August morning we had just finished downing a 30 foot white pine and were in the process of removing the branches. My friend was working his way down the trunk when he hit a knot in an oddly formed branch and the chainsaw kicked and due to the admittedly awkward position he was in sliced into a seam between his chaps and his belt.
The blood started flowing immediately and everyone stopped. While the others stabilized him, I ran to get my car knowing in any case we'd have to drive. While trying to control the bleeding we loaded him into the back seat of my car and I started driving as fast as I could towards the nearest hospital. 10/50kms in we got cell coverage and arranged a place to meet the nearest ambulance. I knew we had to get him in fast as we were having trouble controlling the bleeding. When I reached a 4 lane highway I started going faster than I had ever driven before.
While in the middle of nowhere most people would see me coming and move to the right lane (slower traffic keeping right), but as we got closer to town we started coming across packs. It was 25/50kms to the hospital that we came across a white Nissan Altima and a Subaru Forester that blocked us in just like the OP likes to do. I can still remember the license plates of those to cars to this day. She was doing everything to ensure I didn't pass. She slowed up down from 90-75km/h (speed limit is 100km/h - ~60mph). We were stuck. It was this way for a solid 10minutes. It wasn't until we got to the next exit ramp that I was able to pass on the inside and get by. By this point most of our clothes had been used to help soak up the blood/applying pressure.
Frustrated one of the guys threw a T-shirt that was dripping in blood out the window as we passed and hung out to give them a wave. He, like all of us, was covered in blood. The blood soaked T-shirt landed midway up the hood of the white Altima leaving a streak as it slid/rolled up and over the windshield.
5kms (3 miles down the highway) we were joined by a highway patrol officer who matched our speed and helped to clear the way to the ambulance waiting a further 2 miles down the road. By that point the bleeding had slowed and my friend had a very weak pulse. The ambulance crew was ready and waiting and transferred him within seconds of our arrival. I jumped into the ambulance and we all took off. Sadly the friend died a few minutes later, 1km from the hospital.
My friends were at the side of the road explaining the situation to the police officer when the white Altima showed up. I wasn't there for this part, so I'm going by the stories they told me. Anyways, she stopped and approached the officer in such a way that she couldn't see the blood soaked guys. She was shouting about dangerous driving and going to kill someone, yadda yadda yadda. The officer brought her around to look at the inside of my car which was covered in blood, and then pointed to the other two guys from my crew who were covered in blood from head to toe. He explained there was a medical emergency and asked if what we had said about her impeding the flow of traffic was correct. He cited her for a number of things including unnecessarily slow driving and dangerous driving. While he was writing the ticket he was informed of the death of my friend in the ambulance. The guy stopped writing the ticket to come over and tell the guys what happened. He opted to not tell the lady in the Altima, but the other guys on the team sure let her know.
The guys got in the car and came to meet me at the hospital where we were going to meet with police to explain the situation. On the way they passed the Subaru Forester, which had been stopped by another officer.
Your best bet is to get out of the way if you can. While the driver behind you may just be an asshole, it may also be someone with a medical emergency; a partner in labour, a child having a diabetic attack, or a tree surgeon bleeding to death. In any case, letting them past you doesn't affect you in any way and may save a life. These scenarios aren't likely, but they also aren't impossible. It ultimately comes down to how you decide to process the situation. If you want to operate on the default mode of assuming you're right and everyone else is wrong, you're going to have a terrible time functioning in society. Lines, traffic, call centers, and dealing with big business or government will always seem tedious to you. On the other hand, if you can view the world from a more understanding perspective you'll be able to relax and stop being such a dick. Have a good life!
