I had an hour long drive home from a flight, mostly on an interstate through countryside in the dark. I typically drive 5 mph over the speed limit, but I'll often speed up when passing other cars. Most cars were driving a little slower and no one was in the left lane, so I got in the left lane to pass them slowly (I sped up a little). Eventually, a car flashed its brights at me from a distance behind me. I responded by speeding up a bit more (to about 8-9 mph over the speed limit), and looking for a gap in the right lane.

I soon found a small gap, where I pulled into that lane to give him a brief opportunity to pass me, but I reentered the left lane because I reached the end of that gap before he even caught up with me. When he caught up, he flashed me multiple times, as I was looking for another gap in the right lane.

When I found a longer gap, I pulled into the right lane again, and he passed me. As he passed, I looked at him to judge him, which he hard countered by flipping me off.

I might have overreacted, because he had the gall to flash his brights repeatedly AND flip me off, even though I was trying to be accommodating. I thought he felt entitled to have the passing lane to himself. After he passed, I left my brights on a for a few seconds to push back against his behavior (I figured it was justified, since he flashed me repeatedly). He responded by break checking me.

At that point, I gave up because I felt that he was playing a game of chicken at dangerous speeds. I saw/memorized his license plate in case he escalated further, but he soon took his exit. I regretted using my brights, and it was kind of a wakeup call about how dangerous people can be on the road.

AITA for getting in his way / responding with my brights? Is there any safe / appropriate way to push back against bad behavior on the road, or is no response the best response?