Kristy Hoover's Blog

The Night I was Followed while Driving Home

This time of year always reminds me of a scary evening I had a few years ago.  I was driving home alone from a friend’s house at 2am – and I was being followed.

The car behind me got my attention because the driver was almost riding my bumper.  We were traveling on a five lane highway at 65 mph with plenty of room to spare.  I moved over a lane to avoid the driver, realizing that it was 2am on a holiday weekend and it was possibly a drunk driver.  The vehicle moved over in my lane, and I sped up to remain at a safe distance ahead of the car, but continued to keep an eye on it.  I switched lanes a few times and the vehicle behind me continued to stay on my trail.  I knew of an upcoming exit where there was no stop light and I had the opportunity to return to the highway without stopping if necessary.  Luckily, traffic was light, so I planned on darting over the 2 lanes to make the exit at the last second.  The other car darted over too. I sped up on the service road and returned back to the highway, the car followed.  It’s official, someone is trailing me and I have less than a quarter tank of gas.  I grabbed my cell phone and called my friend to let him know what was going on.   

Knowing the area well, I knew of a spot close by where the local police sit to radar speeding cars on the highway.  I floor it, hoping that if they were there, I’d grab their attention and get pulled over.  This time, there was no cop (there’s some irony for you).  I’m now headed to an area where there is little activity at night as it is mostly a corporate and freight area, and there is not a safe place to stop.  So I called 911 and informed the police what was going on.  I exited to take yet another highway and sped up again to see if I could lose my follower. The car disappears from my rear-view mirror.  I drove about a mile until I saw lights from a speeding car approach and there the car is again, back on my tail. The third highway had no traffic.  It’s just me, my follower, and the shadows of empty office buildings. 

For some reason, the vehicle moved over a lane.  I hit the brakes and the car went flying by.  I relayed the model, color, and license plate of the car to the police. But then, the driver hit the brakes too, so we were both sitting at a standstill in the middle of the highway.  The police informed me they were setting up a road block ahead and that I needed to proceed down the highway. I darted back into high gear as the car again followed.  Sure enough, a few miles ahead, there were about eight cop cars that jumped out from the darkness to pull the car over.  I was directed by one cop to a safe area around the corner while they checked the driver out.  Another officer brought me the driver’s license of my follower and asked if I knew the driver.  I did not.  The officers told me I could continue on my way and that they were going to retain the driver for questioning and possible testing for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  I drove home, but didn’t sleep a wink that night.

The reason I share this story is to hope you will consider these safety tips when traveling:

1. Keep your cell phone charged and within reach in case you need to make an emergency call.
2. Keep your gas tank at a safe fuel level and don’t drive on a near empty tank, especially at night.
3. Tell a friend that you will call or text them when you get home so they know you are home safe.
4. Call the police if you think you are being followed.  I told this story to a friend who said she never would have thought to call the police because she would be so panicked and freaked out.
5. Consider getting your windows tinted.  My front door windows didn’t have tint and I was driving with my hair in a high ponytail.  It was easy to see that I was a young woman driving alone.

Have you ever experienced something scary like this?  Do you have any additional tips to share?