Author Topic: Almost got me a new hood ornament today... (Read 2372 times)

280plus · « **on:** January 15, 2007, 10:05:19 AM »

I don't know what it is about the weather today, it's on;y been raining and in the 30s but there's been a lot of people sliding around out there. So I'm headed down the road ~70 mph in the E-250 when the SUV a couple cars ahead starts to do the flip flop across all lanes. She must have locked the brakes up cause she could NOT get it straightened back out. So while I'm watching this I suddenly realize the car in front of ME is locking them up. WHOA!! So I hits the brakes for all I'm worth and while the ABS is keeping me straight it is NOT stopping me fast enough and I'm now resigned to the fact that I'm going to hit this person from the rear, although not very hard. Closer and closer the rear bumper got until I just KNEW we was about to make contact but lo and behold we both stopped before that happened. I couldn't have been more than an inch behind this car when all was said and done. It was so close that when I got out to check on the spin out people I glanced at my bumper to see if there wasn't a scuff mark or something cause I just couldn't BELIEVE we didn't make contact. Anyhoo, the spin out people were ok, my heart stopped pounding and off I went VERY happy that I didn't have to meet anyone by "accident" today! grin

Sindawe · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2007, 10:08:11 AM »

Why on earth were you driving 70 mph in slick conditions? shocked

Some people.... rolleyes

Ain't ABS wonderful? Even if it does feel weird when it kicks in.

280plus · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2007, 10:13:48 AM »

Quote

Why on earth were you driving 70 mph in slick conditions?

Cause everybody else was? grin

Brad Johnson · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2007, 10:17:28 AM »

Quote from: 280plus on January 15, 2007, 09:13:48 AM

Quote

Why on earth were you driving 70 mph in slick conditions?

Cause everybody else was? grin

[mother's voice] "So if everyone else jumped off a cliff...?" [/mother's voice]

Brad

280plus · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2007, 10:47:32 AM »

I guess so, ma...

cheesy

gunsmith · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2007, 03:53:24 PM »

it's ok to drive fast but in slick conditions leave a lot more room for a cushion to stop.
I drive very fast but even in dry conditions I have a few car lenghts in front @ 70 mph

Iain · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2007, 04:03:47 PM »

Ideally there'd be plenty of space between vehicles at 70mph in the wet.

A friend called me recently to say she'd been in a similar situation, 70mph wet and the car in front was braking hard. She actually ended up worse than that car, the brakes locked (no ABS) and she slewed across two lanes of traffic before hitting the central barrier. Car was a write off, but no-one else hit them and they were ok.

ABS is great fun when it kicks in. I want to try steering with it in action some time.

Preacherman · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2007, 04:28:41 PM »

Very few people in America seem to know the "2-second rule", common overseas. It says that there should always be at least a 2-second gap between you and vehicles in front of you, irrespective of your speed. You achieve this by watching the vehicle ahead of you as it passes a given point on the road, and count "One thousand and one, one thousand and two". Your vehicle shouldn't pass the same point before you reach that spot.

Of course, there are any number of motorists who'll try to cut into the "convenient" open space between you and the guy in front. I get around this by traveling marginally slower than the traffic - that way, the gap always opens up again. In slippery conditions, I'll often add another half-second to the gap.

This practice has saved my bacon at least half-a-dozen times when traffic ahead of me had to slam on the anchors. I have plenty of room to stop. (Of course, one time I got clobbered from behind by someone who was too close to me - but that's why my towing hitch is always inserted. My vehicle's damage was minimal, his was baaaaad!)

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #8 on:** January 15, 2007, 04:48:57 PM »

My wife thinks I'm a nag and an old codger because I follow the "2-second rule", and go with an even longer interval when road conditions deteriorate.

The sad thing about ABS brakes is that it gives folks a sense of false security compared to older braking systems, in that they can drive faster and closer to other cars, thinking the ABS brakes will keep them out of trouble. rolleyes

Good point on the trailer hitch, Preacherman. Some riceboy rear-ended me in his ground-effects Honda tubthumper last year, and took the ball and receiver squarely in his radiator by way of the extra fiberglass ground effects. There wasn't so much as a scratch on my truck. He tried to get into my face and demand my insurance pay for his damages until the responding police officer reminded him that he was at fault. Wink

Sindawe · « **Reply #9 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:01:08 PM »

I've used that 2-second and/or the 1 car lenth/10 mph rule when drive since I first started driving. Used to bug some of my friends to no end when I drove (which I usually did since they'd lost their licenses for some reason or another).

"Dude, can't you go any faster? Look at all that space between you and car ahead of us. You drive like my Grandma!"

"F-you you hoser! Just for that, I'll park a billion miles away when we get there and make you walk the Bataan Death March."

I still follow those rules, but now they understand why I do it.

Trailer hitch...Hmmm...I wonder if I could get one for my Sentra. I HATE tailgaters with a passion.

280plus · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:15:47 PM »

Never heard of the "2 second rule" before. We were taught 1 car length for every 10 MPH. My problem wasn't really following distance, I always leave room and I had taken my foot off the gas as soon as I saw the trouble starting. The problem was I was so busy watching the SUV spinning willy nilly all over the road that I hadn't noticed the car in front of me locking them up. There really wasn't a need for them to do that either, they would have been OK just easing off the gas, they panicked and didn't give a second thought to anything that might be behind them. When I DID notice the bumper in front of me rapidly growing larger it was apparently JUST in time cause I had about an inch to spare, if that. I STILL can't believe I didn't so much as tap their bumper, it was that close. shocked

I'm not that crazy about ABS myself. Yes it keeps you going straight but it also increases your stopping distance. In the old days with a situation like I was in I would have locked them up and turned it sideways if necessary. It wouldn't have been the first time. You can't execute that kind of manuver with ABS, it won't let you.

cosine · « **Reply #11 on:** January 15, 2007, 05:27:52 PM »

I like to use the two-second rule in conjunction with every ten MPH I'm traveling.

I do drive like an old lady, and I'm proud of it! grin

(And yes, it's saved me at least twice already, even though I've only had my license for six months.)

mfree · « **Reply #12 on:** January 15, 2007, 09:15:22 PM »

ABS. I won't have it in my cars, but on my little sonoma... light truck with skinny tires, let's say it comes in handy every so often.

Gewehr98 · « **Reply #13 on:** January 15, 2007, 09:36:50 PM »

The Chevy S-10/GMC Sonoma/Isuzu Hombre ABS is kinda scary when it engages. I ditched my S-10's skinny factory B-traction rated Uniroyal Tiger Paws a while ago, it now wears wide alloy Corvette C3 rims and 60-series Dayton Daytonas, part of my upgrading the truck with the ZQ8 package from the Extreme series trucks. My wife was driving my S-10 the other day when somebody almost t-boned her at an intersection. She hit the brakes as hard as she could, and she said the truck felt like the front end was juddering and pulsing out of control. That's the ABS, definitely not the most refined version on the market! cheesy

280plus · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2007, 01:03:21 AM »

Yea, I have a spot here in the road just where I turn onto my street and the front right hits a dip and unloads as I hit the brakes for the turn. The ABS almost ALWAYS chatters right there and makes the steering wheel jerk too. Scared the crap outta me the first few times it happened.

peteinct · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2007, 01:09:29 AM »

Here in CT you can't leave space between cars because if you do some one else just moves right in there! My driving skills have deteriorated just from living here. I think there is something in the water that makes people forget that there is such a thing as a turn signal and drive in the left lane at 55 mph.

pete

Iain · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2007, 01:16:37 AM »

The way I was taught to observe the two second rule was to note when the car in front passed a certain point and then recite 'only a fool breaks the two second rule'.

Firethorn · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2007, 01:52:38 AM »

Quote from: Gewehr98 on January 15, 2007, 03:48:57 PM

Good point on the trailer hitch, Preacherman. Some riceboy rear-ended me in his ground-effects Honda tubthumper last year, and took the ball and receiver squarely in his radiator by way of the extra fiberglass ground effects. There wasn't so much as a scratch on my truck. He tried to get into my face and demand my insurance pay for his damages until the responding police officer reminded him that he was at fault. Wink

Given that many riceboys spend all their money on fancy fiberglass, loud mufflers*, and 'lowered' suspensions, they frequently carry liability only, and would have an impossible time to get any of the companies to cover the fiberglass anyways.

*To the point that some of them are rated to be louder than a straight pipe.

Art Eatman · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2007, 05:56:54 AM »

Well, one test being worth a thousand expert opinions, there is faster stopping if the tires aren't locked up and skidding. The best braking occurs with "Incipient Lockup". That's why ABS was developed. You can check with any engineering college's professor who teaches a course in Dynamics.

The homo sap 0.2-second time lag between the brain saying, "Do it," and the finger or foot beginning a motion means that if the first car in a common freeway "train" jams on the brakes, it is inevitable that #7 will hit #8. (From a study by the Society of Automotive Engineers, back in the 1960s.)

Getting away from snow/ice: The least liklihood of fender-bending is when you drive about six to eight percent faster than median traffic speed. Not "the fastest", but the median. There is a good reason for this. Highway traffic tends to run in clumps. If you run a bit faster, you're only dealing with one car at a time as you pass, with you making all decisions for action. Once past th clump, you're all alone--which is the safest condition. You have free space until you catch up with the next clump.

If you're running at the median speed, you're in a clump, relying on all those other people for constant correctness in decision-making. If you're running slower, you're relying on them to make correct decisions as they take action to pass you.

Art

lee n. field · « **Reply #19 on:** January 16, 2007, 07:24:31 AM »

Quote

Cause everybody else was?

That's called a 30 car pileup.

I was in one once. A lot of bent metal, but noone hurt, because we were all doing about 15mph down the very icy highway. Someone at the front of the chain lost it. It was like large scale bumpercars for half a minute of so.

Quote

"Dude, can't you go any faster? Look at all that space between you and car ahead of us. You drive like my Grandma!"

I don't care if they're "getting away". I want lots of room in front of me. At my age, I've had a few scares when the brakes didn't stop me as hard or fast as I thought they were going to.

Yeah, I've been known to drive 75. On an empty, dry, straight highway, in the daytime. Gravel roads or wet conditions, no way.

mfree · « **Reply #20 on:** January 16, 2007, 10:04:23 AM »

"The Chevy S-10/GMC Sonoma/Isuzu Hombre ABS is kinda scary when it engages."

What, like there's something wrong when your truck, under heavy braking, suddenly goes *PhWWAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW* and shakes the brake pedal so hard your toes are numb when you let off? :-D

BrokenPaw · « **Reply #21 on:** January 16, 2007, 10:46:56 AM »

Quote from: Preacherman

(Of course, one time I got clobbered from behind by someone who was too close to me - but that's why my towing hitch is always inserted. My vehicle's damage was minimal, his was baaaaad!)

I'll second that! I got rear-ended in my Dodge Dakota a couple years back. Damage to my truck was: the right end of my bumper was bent down a bit.

Damage to the other guy's Honda Civic was: Bumper, fender, left headlight, and radiator were a total loss. $2300 total damage.

Damage to the other guy's karmic balance was: It wasn't actually his car, it was his friend's dad's car, that he'd ~~borrowed~~ stolen through subterfuge. Also he didn't have insurance. Also he had his underage girlfriend in the car with him when she was supposed to be in school. Oops.

-BP

Matthew Carberry · « **Reply #22 on:** January 16, 2007, 11:09:35 AM »

Quote from: Brad Johnson

[mother's voice] "So if everyone else jumped off a cliff...?" [/mother's voice]

Sure, if I could go last.

Woo Hoo! {thump}

Matthew Carberry · « **Reply #23 on:** January 16, 2007, 11:15:18 AM »

[mom voice]Remember son, always leave the minimum arming distance of your munitions between you and the vehicle in front of you.[/mom voice]

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Author Topic: Almost got me a new hood ornament today... (Read 2372 times)