a sobering read

[Veloce]

This is a sobering reminder to all of us to be aware of what we are doing at all times.
Monday returning from work an idiot turned right into the road i was in (waiting to turn into the road he came from). I was in the right turn lane rolling up to 2 stationary cars. The driver gunned his 323i E30 Bimmer hard coming round the corner. He oversteered dramatically and I could see him aimed head on at me as the driver. He over corrected and I ended up with his right rear wheel / guard in the front corner of my wife's CRV after mounting and crossing over the median strip. Now undriveable.
Fool had only had it a few days and i guess didn't know how much those trailing arm rear ends can wag a bit.

[Steampunk]

It's a well-written article by an intelligent person.
Stories like that should be shared around.
Regardless if it's fiction or non-fiction (I think it's non-fiction), nothing is exaggerated, and it gives real food for thought of the consequences of your actions.

Thanks for that Al.

[Caffeine]

On at least 5 occasions every time I go out for a drive, some hottie gets all uptight if I want to change lanes. You know the type, the person that will immediately accelerate as hard as they can, as soon as your blinker goes on, so they can close the gap.

Because those few seconds are so damned important...

As some of you know, I had a car accident a few years ago, in which my passenger was killed. Although I don't remember the accident, the investigating police officer told me that I had been travelling at 60km/hr, round a 45km/hr marked corner, on a dry road, in a 100km/hr zone. Some gravel had washed out onto the road. My left rear wheel hit the gravel, and in less than a second, I had oversteered into a tree and killed my best mate. Consider that, had I been travelling at the speed limit (which the car was more than capable of doing), the time between gravel and impact would have been less than 1/2 a second. How quick are your reflexes?

It's something that you never forget, and it can happen at any time, anywhere. I've been to many many track days (the corner onto the back straight at wakefield is a carbon copy of the corner on which I crashed) and I know the limits of my car. I stay very very clear of them and always keep a huge margin in reserve. It's still perfectly possible to go out for a relaxing, enjoyable drive without approaching or exceeding the limits of the car or yourself.

It's also why I don't go on many organised drives anymore. Too many times I have been confronted with someone, often a member of this forum, taking stupid risks when driving, and also often taking away or reducing the margins of safety I have left for myself. The road simply isn't the place for it.

[99MXV]

It might be time some people changed their usernames based on bragging about past exploits on the road too..

Seems whats written here could very well be used in court................... YIKES

[Moto]

The article sounds very American but the pictures show a RHD Integra, something doesn't seem right?

[Guran]

An excellent article that definitely made me think. I've been on many weekend drives, and organised several myself. Definitely something to think about here. I've found from 20 odd years of driving that under most circumstances, it's usually safe to take a corner above the advisory speed (below the speed limit), but add some rain, loose gravel, black ice or a diesel spill, and that same corner suddenly becomes treacherous at even the advisory speed. It's a tricky thing to judge. The lesson is that public roads should never be taken at 10/10ths (which I never do) ... always keep something in reserve, especially if you can't see around a corner. That approach has worked for me so far.

BTW, the article is obviously from an author in England, judging from the right-hand-drive car, miles, B roads, and towns like Carlisle, Durham, Penrith and the Lake District.

[Boags]

I was 4th car on the scene to a fatal crash on the D'Aguilar Hwy yesterday after the club run.

We were 5 kms from Blackbutt and I had to drive back up the range to get reception and call 000. 2 cars hit head on and end up oblique taking up all of the two lane road. A Hilux towing trail bikes was obviously up the bum of the car in the accident, so they ploughed into the drivers side door of the car coming the other way. When we got there all I could see was the view of a Commodore Ute 4' shorter than it should be and shaped like a banana. I just said to the co-pilot (luckily, I wasn't with my fiance, I was with a mate) "He's dead. He's got to be dead."

It reminded me that you can be the best driver in the world, but some knobhead pulls out into you/falls asleep/isn't paying attention and swerves into you, there's very little you could do.

I do know that if those boys towing the trail bikes were leaving a little more room and were paying better attention, that crash would not have been fatal.

I just have to keep reminding myself, "I'm not immortal, I'm not immortal."

[hks_kansei]

I think we've all had our own little scares to calm us down.

I had one incident where I thought I was doing a safe speed, but the road was wet and maybe had oil or something? (still not 100%) but I understeered and ended up in someone's front yard.

the other thing that made the main difference to my driving style was driving at a track day, I had a few spins on the day, which werent too firghtening, however it showed how easy it can all go wrong, and I remember thinking "gee, on the track there's plenty of runoff, on the street there would be a tree right there waiting for me"


so yeah, I have calmed down a lot on the roads and keep my stupidity to safe areas like Deca's Skidpan and racetracks.

[Disco]

Since the link on the first page is broken I thought I'd post the correct one which includes his prison diary for those interested (and the forum has undergone some changes) http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/to ... nmt=Prison

[Doug Danger]

Being a young driver of 17 and highly inexperienced in most respects, reading this article and reading Caffiene's comment is extremely sobering and confronting.

I know I'm not the best driver in the world, not invincible and all those other stereotypes people associate kids around 17 and 18 years old with.
However... Knowing all of this doesn't stop those times when you want to push the car a little harder/faster and more and more out of your comfort zone.

It is an excellent reminder of that whenever we are on the roads we are putting ourselves in positions where we are responsible not only for our own lives but for the lives of others and that in a matter of seconds we could be responsible for unleashing absolute devastation.

Considering this while driving spiritedly it is a very sobering fact.

Doug

[Okibi]

At least you have some experience doug, my son is 16 and learning to drive, he keeps telling us (and his mates) that's he's a good driver ... but we haven't even started to teach him how to park.

... and more and more out of your comfort zone..

One the road once you're out of your comfort zone you've gone too far, the road is no place to push the limits, that one time you find them could kill yourself or others.

It only takes on decent spin at the race track to realise just how little control you have when things turn pear shaped and just how far your car will travel out of control.

[Doug Danger]

I agree completely, the road is no place to push the limits. However, it still doesn't stop those niggling temptations of wanting to.

ps. I hope your son isn't learning to park in the 5

[Range Runner]

Although it's about motorbikes, I think this ad makes a good point about why it's best to leave the real fast stuff for the track.

[deviant]

The article sounds very American but the pictures show a RHD Integra, something doesn't seem right?

Eh As mentioned above, he is talking about UK place names & road's. The A86 is a road that runs from one side of the UK through the Midlands Via Penrith in Cumbria. He's driving a RHD Integra so what's American about it?

I am a regular on the forum and have been a member for some time.

The story is very very real and yes it is in the UK.