Man jailed after McDonald's drive-thru row led to 'distressing' road rage pursuit
A bit of frustration on the road inevitably hits us all from time to time, but jailworthy road rage at a McDonald's drive-thru takes that a few steps further.
We get it, you're at McDonald's ordering your Big Mac or burger of choice and picking out the perfect McFlurry flavour, and sometimes things don't go your way, but for one hungry diner things went even worse.
A fallout at the UK's fast food chain's drive-thru escalated and has now seen someone jailed, and it all began in the queue to order a Maccies.
According to Nottinghamshire Police, Ravell Blair was 'holding up traffic at a Bulwell McDonald’s drive-thru for 15 minutes on 11 December 2022 whilst he complained to staff members.'
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Taking his time to air his grievances then caused traffic to build up behind his vehicle, which angered others waiting to order as they quickly grew impatient.
As the traffic increased, another driver approached Blair’s car and asked if he would move to a nearby bay to let the other customers past so they could order and go. Not an unreasonable request, and all seemed fine as Blair, 25, then parked in a nearby space as he'd been asked.
However, Blair then waited for the man who approached him to leave the car park in his car, before Blair decided to follow him - which is where his anger at being asked to move became apparent.
"The 25-year-old closely tailed the opposing van for over ten minutes from Leen Drive across Bulwell, revving his engine and making intimidating gestures through the window," police explained.
"At one point, Blair overtook the victim, harshly braking in an attempt to ram the vehicle."
During the incident, the passengers in the victim’s car were on the phone to Nottinghamshire Police officers, who directed them to safely park up at the local police station. After they pulled up at Bulwell Police Station, the offender attempted to make a getaway to avoid confrontation, but he was quickly tracked down.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday 23 September, Blair, of Goverton Square, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and was handed a jail sentence of 50 weeks. He was also given a 12-month driving disqualification, taking him off the road.
PC Charlotte Brooks, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "This bout of road rage demonstrated by Blair was completely unacceptable and put everyone else on the roads in danger. Thankfully for the offender, nobody was hurt as a result of his driving decisions that day.
“This was understandably a distressing incident for the victims, who were simply trying to diffuse a tense situation. We’re pleased to see Blair finally sentenced for his actions."
Niamh Spence