I'm trying to find a short story, I think by Philip Josè Farmer, about the danger of freeway driving. The title is something like what I have above. A hitchiker pulls a gun on a driver and demands to be taken someplace; the driver speeds up, jumps lanes, and totally overwhelms the gunman. At the end he says "he only had a gun. I had a car. Much more dangerous."
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2I believe you are looking for "The Deadlier Weapon" by Larry Nivencybernetic.nomad– cybernetic.nomad2025-08-29 15:15:04 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 15:15
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6–1 I’m voting to close this question because it does not appear to be about a work of science fictionLexible– Lexible2025-08-29 16:58:16 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 16:58
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1 Answer
Almost certainly The Deadlier Weapon by Larry Niven
The driver picks up a hitchhiker, who threatens him with a knife. He replies by threatening to smash the passenger side of the car into the side of a bridge. He forces the hitchhiker to drop his knife out of the car window, then abandons him on the highway median. When reporting the incident to police and asking them to go rescue the guy from highway traffic, he says the thing you quoted.
I could legitimately tell Carla that the hitchhiker had never had a chance. It would reassure her, and it was true. I'd been better armed from the beginning. He'd had nothing but a knife. I had had a car. Much deadlier.
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3Interestingly, this might be Larry Niven’s only short story that is not science fiction. It’s entirely plausible modern fiction. I can’t recall any other story he wrote with no science fiction elements whatsoever; if there are any, there are very few. (Nonfiction essays don’t count.)Dan Efran– Dan Efran2025-08-29 15:38:04 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 15:38
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1@DanEfran It's one of only two non-genre stories of his listen in the ISFDB, the other being "$16,400"cybernetic.nomad– cybernetic.nomad2025-08-29 15:46:33 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 15:46
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1I recall the story pretty well; even the punchline is familiar. But authors tend to be deemphasized -- how many movies do people love but have no idea who wrote the screenplay or the original story? They know the stars, sometimes the director.releseabe– releseabe2025-08-29 15:47:52 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 15:47
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1I've taken the liberty of adding in a quote from the short storyValorum– Valorum2025-08-29 16:56:16 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 16:56
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@cybernetic.nomad Oh yes, that’s the other one.Dan Efran– Dan Efran2025-08-29 21:46:29 +00:00Commented Aug 29, 2025 at 21:46