Iin: fear of being followed while driving and car getting vandalized?
I am a 21 year old woman who lives in a relatively uncrowded area, and I have been driving for about 6 years. For the past few months or so, I have had a fear that I will anger someone while driving somehow and they will follow me. Especially when I am close to my destination, to the point where I'm paranoid they will follow me there and either try to remain unseen until the moment they threaten or hurt me when I get out of my car, or wait and vandalize my car when it's gone.
It gets to the point where I don't even use my horn when someone else drives erratically, badly cuts me off, backs up without looking, drives into my lane, etc. I don’t tailgate people even if they are going 10 mph under, but still follow a bit behind hoping they get an indication I want them to drive faster. Tonight I did just that and became very concerned that I thought I saw that same car following me down my neighborhood’s private dirt road.
My concerns about this probably started around a year ago, where some middle aged man deliberately and badly cut me off in a grocery store parking lot when he was supposed to stop at the end of his lane (it even said “STOP” in big white letters at the end of this lane) before crossing over my lane and onto the road I was on. I had to slam on my brakes and used my horn, and less than 2 minutes later he followed me to where I parked, repeatedly told me to “get a life” and called me “childish” and a “bitch.” He probably followed me there because he saw my university license plate and that I was a petite woman and that he would easily pose a threat to me.
If you have similar stories, please feel free to share them. I want to know it is normal to feel this way. This is really bothering me while I’m driving.