A couple of threads sounded familiar.

I am not the only one to have had a stranger try to open my vehicle's passenger door while I was stopped at a light.

My story:  I was in Santa Monica during the mid 1980's when it happened.  Heck it happened twice!  The first time, I looked over and a guy was approaching the truck. So, I told my buddy to lock his door.  Fortunately, he acted without question.  He did then looked up into the face of a strange guy reaching for the outside handle!  I, quickly, ran through that light.

I just read how something similar has happened in other states too.  

Is it a style of panhandling or crime?  

What are these idiots trying to do?

Are they seeking:
"spare change"?
robbery?
car jacking?
a lift?
someone to put them out of their misery?
or?

you have avoided a carjacking twice.

Probably doesn't happen as much in Texas.

I'd be shitting a brick if that happened.  Damn good way to get killed, opening people's doors.  Especially if they are pinned in by traffic...

I can [b]vividly[/b] remember when I was about 10 yrs old back in the 70s...While sitting in the back seat of my parents Bonneville stopped at a red light on the way home from Grandma's house, this 30 something, hippy looking dude who we had seen hitch-hiking (on the way [b]to[/b] Grandma's house)...walked up and [b]opened the rear passenger side door[/b] [shock]....
My dad (who is a fairly big guy) got out of the car, and walked around to where the hippie was.
Seeing my dad approaching...the scumbag starts going "Oh, sorry man...I,..I didnt mean anything"....My dad picked him up off the ground [b]by his head[/b]...and literally THREW him over a three foot tall fence that ran along the sidewalk.
My dad got back in the car (with me and mom staring in astonishment)...and drove away.

I never had it happen to me. But my dad once when he was in his 60's.

When my Mom told me the story I started out pissed off and then started laughing so hard I tears rolling down my cheeks, she had that way.

the short of it is:

At a red light He had a guy come out of the cross walk and to the drivers door and start pulling on the door handle, Dad yelled at the guy "if want something I have, you can have what's in this" the fell back into the other lane and bounced off the fender of car making a left turn and kept running.
Mom looked at Dad and told him "if you shot that thing in here you'd brake out ear drums and the window"
Dads reply was "well hell what do think it would have done to him" as was putting his colt Gov. back down at the side of his seat.

Back when I delivered pizzas, one of my fellow drivers was on a run.

About 2 hours after we all tried to call him and get ahold of him, I drove out to the last house to where he delivered the pizza. As I was about half way there, I saw a bunch of police cars, an ambulance, and a firetruck. In the middle was his vehicle, and a bunch of "crime scene" tape around the area. I thought "oh shit, something happened to him". After stopping and asking an officer what had happened, I was able to talk to him. He told me that some guy had walked up to his car at the stop light and got into his car passenger door, said "Fucking go or i'll kill you" and had a kitchen knife in his hand. "No problem" my friend said, reached underneath his seat, pulled out his 1911, and put 3 holes in this guy.

He ended up selling his car, and the DA for the county didn't bring up charges becuase it was justifiable homicide in a self defence situation.

Sure an glad I wasn't the one to take that run.

Happened to us as well... the ONE NIGHT my friend was driving MY CAR and I was in the passenger seat.. guy opens up the driver side door. Friend of mine was carrying and kinda made the guy understand..."Ummm you cant do that"



Oh and NO SHOTS FIRED.

This is my favorite part of good stories.

It happened to me too.

Well, my story isn't 1/2 as dramatic as the ones I just read, but something happened about a year ago...

It was December last year. My wife and I take her son to the airport so he could fly to see his dad for Christmas. We pull up to the parking area where there are the arms that go up when you pull the ticket. There are 2 geek kids standing there in some sort of uniform on that is 2 sizes too big for them... I was watching their actions and I KNEW one of them was going to open the door...I was waiting for him to ASK if he could. Nope! He just opened the door where my step son was sitting (He's 8 years old) and my step son got scared. I asked the kid in a harsh voice if he had permission to open the door for a search. He said he has to because of 9/11..I asked him again if he had permission...He said he had to look for bombs.. At which time I told him to close the door and ask for permission..He just shut it and waved us through...

This kid wouldn't know an explosive if it bit him in the a$$ and do you REALLY think some idiot with one is going to leave it out in the open? They don't check inside the baggage..Just the vehicles...

I asked a very nice lady cop inside the airport as to why the kids can get away with it and cops can't without a warrant..She said she wondered the same thing and laughed when I told her what the guy said about bombs...She said it's all a show to make the public feel good.

I told her I was going to write the airport and tell them they are violating civil rights by not asking permission and might be headed for a law suit. There wasn't a sign saying the vehicle was going to be searched or that if I have a problem with it, I could have opted to park in one of their open economy lots... There wasn't an egress for such actions either without going through the parking structure..

Anyway, that's my long boring story about someone opening my car door... And yes, I was armed. (I wasn't going through security which is still legal here)

It happened to me in Texas a few years back. The kicker? I was a Police Officer, in uniform, on the way to work. Homeless guy opened my door at a stoplight and started yelling.

What sucked is that it was raining, and I couldn't get to my sidearm or OC because of the raincoat and seatbelt. The light changed and I drove off. Makes you think about making sure that you can get to all of your important gear. always.

Same thing happened on duty a few months later (I was in a marked patrol car). That homeless guy saw the wrong end of my sidearm and got put on the ground. He turned out to be a sex offender we had been looking for and a "violent deported felon" (an illegal immigrant who has been specifically deported before for getting convicted of serious wrongdoing; arrest immediately and send back home).

Bottom line is to maintain situational awareness and make sure you can access you lethal and non-lethal weapons while seated in your car.

This is why I always carry a gun with me. But anyways. Next door to my Grandma and Grandpa there is an old man. He can hardly move as it is with out struggle. But the guy went out to get in his car Started it and just about that time two people ran over from accross the street pulled him out of the car and beat the shit out of him. They almost killed him. And then stole his car. My grandpa happened to go out to get the paper and saw him laying on the Ground, unconcious. I have absolutely no respect for people that can do that to someone. Eventually they found his car in the lake about three blocks from the house. They had quite the party in it though. Found to keg shells and multible needles.

KC

Many years ago my dad had a GMC Jimmy. It was early in the morning.  Probably just about daybreak. He drove over to a city near here and was stopped at a red light. When he was stopping he looked over to his right and saw a man standing on the corner reading a newspaper.  Well my dad looked back at the light to make sure it hadn't changed, then looked back over to the corner and the man was gone!  So he looked in his right side mirror and saw the guy duck down by the rear corner panel then disappear.  Still looking at the side mirror my dad then hit the door locks button and the guy stands ups right in front of the passenger door, jumps back, then runs away.  My dad said he was glad everything turned out ok.  My dad carries a vietnam era M-16 bayonet in his console (which was stolen later when some punks broke into his truck).  

After my dad told me this story I won't drive anything without automatic locks.

Smalls
LCpl of Marines

GOOD JOB DAD!!! WOOHOO!!
AB

My Pop was driving his pickup in Houston back in '77 when this happened to him.  He was stopped at a red light when this guy came up and tapped a knife on the driver's side window.  Well, my dad, being the nice guy he is, opened the door.  I mean he REALLY opened the door.  Knocked the guy flat on his butt.  As the would-be assailant tried to get up, he opened the door again, right into the guys head.  Long story short, he disarmed the unconscious attacker and flagged down a cop.  Don't mess with my Pops!  Since then he has carried his dad's WWII navy colt.  

Thats why we have door locks and guns.  If one doesn't stop them, the other one will.  Wasn't it New Orleans that encouraged citizens to shoot carjackers and about a month later they were almost non-existent?

They are looking to see if you have any grains![:\]

You know...230 grain .45 ACP's![pistol]

BigDozer66

IIRC, a few years ago, Louisiana did make it justifiable to shoot a carjacker.  And it did drastically reduce carjackings.  Go figure.

But....But.....guns CAUSE crime, not prevent it.  You should just let them have the car.  A car isn't worth a life....cant.....keep....DUh....mode....up......::URP::  [puke]
I need to wash my mouth out with PGA now.  'scuse me.


GO NEW ORLEANS!!!!!

Happened to me once many years ago.  A guy opened my passenger door, while I was at a stop light, and started to lean in towards me.  I started to reach for a pistol I had in a pocket on the car door.  He saw me reaching for something and assumed the worst.  He reared back and said "sorry, I was just trying to make a buck" as he held up his window washing supplies.  I told him he needed to find a safer way of making a living.  He walked off and disappeared into some bushes.  I drove off, learning to check my doors more often.  Karl.