Rod Knox…“most accidents are avoidable, even those that are someone else’s fault.”
You are right, but, there are still too many out there where the innocent party could do absolutely nothing to avoid a collision. Your point is well taken for many accidents though, as even better awareness and preparation on the part of the innocent in multicar crashes, could have reduced the severity. I hate to say it, but speed contributes to crashes when even traveling the speed limit may be too fast for an inexperienced driver in many conditions. I have always recommended too that regardless of the poor economics, it’s still worthwhile trading for a newer car you don’t technically need just for the newer safety features. Too many of us think we are invincible just because we haven’t had an accident when in reality, we may have just been lucky and never known it.
Bacause…
Like in military combat, to the foot soldier or in this case the driver, there seems to be no logic as to who gets it and who doesn’t. Sometimes, “I did everything right” still isn’t enough.
There are people out there who I call “Chronic Brakers” they’re constantly hitting the brakes and if you’re not extra vigilant and you’re unfortunant enough to get behind one of those idiots you’ll end up hitting them…I’m not saying the person who made this post does that, but I figured I’d mention it.
A freightliner from the early 60s required pulling the trailer brake chain and holding enough pressure on the chain to keep the trailer in line behind the tractor when applying the foot brake to stop the tractor. It gave a whole new meaning to paying attention to traffic. Maybe that lesson has stuck with me all these years.
but often today, my efforts to keep a comfortable space between me and the traffic ahead allows the Nuvolaris room to jump in and feel they are “winning” the race. I must be content to make it home each day without a wreck and not be concerned that some others took the lead and beat me 5 minutes.
One thing the cops will tell you about bright lights is that drunks make a beeline for them. That’s one reason traffic stops are so dangerous - all those flashy police car lights and the drunk aims straight at them, and if the cop is standing outside talking to the speeder, he gets hit. So increasing lighting won’t necessarily help. Keep your head on a swivel and know what everyone around you is doing so that you can see when some idiot is about to hit you, and already know where your escape routes are.
As Rod Knox mentioned, I too keep a good 2 car length distance between myself and the driver in front of me and occasionally I get some moron deciding to close the gap by pulling in front of me! I hate it when people do that! Anyway, about 3 years ago I was involved in an accident because someone about 3 cars ahead of me decided that instead of driving through a yellow light, he decided to slam on the brakes and of course it started a chain reaction and since I was the last one to approach the intersection, guess what? I rearended a Ford Expedition in my old 1999 Chevy malibu…The ford only had scratch in its bumper and I totally destroyed my front bumper and bent my hood up a bit and lost a headlight…luckily my airbags didn’t deploy otherwise my insurance company probably would’ve totaled my car and sent me a $1300 check in the mail because that’s all my car was worth. Luckily my old malibu didn’t sustain any frame damage either. And I was the only person injured too. Messed my shoulder up! But 18 months later I ended up buying a new car anway and now I’m extra careful.
In Missouri the drivers handbook wants drivers to use the 3 second rule, but when I first began driving the rule was one car length per 10 MPH. This would be full size cars, 20 feet long, so at 60 MPH you were supposed to leave 120 feet between you and the vehicle ahead of you. With the 3 second rule you are going 88 feet per second at 60 MPH, therefore you should be leaving 264 feet between yours and the vehicle ahead of you. Of course the law also states that they speed limit is 70 on our interstates and nobody bothers staying at or below that magic number either. Lets face it, people, if you`re going 72 MPH you are a criminal no matter how you slice it. The same can be said for cutting in ahead of cars leaving proper distance ahead of themselves.
For those who don’t understand Rod Knox’s reference to “the Nuvolaris”, please allow me to explain. Tazio Nuvolari was the “superstar” of racing car drivers in the 1930s, usually piloting Alfas–IIRC.
He took on the mighty Mercedes and Auto Union racing teams, and frequently won.
I read his autobiography when I was a teenager, and it really impressed me with its details about the cars fielded by the various racing teams at the time. One of the most interesting factoids had to do with the Auto Union cars. They had massive, heavy rear engines, and the incredible weight bias toward the rear (coupled with the somewhat primitive suspensions of the day) made them prone to EXTREME oversteer–to the point where the death rate in those Auto Union race cars became appallingly high.
As a result of the number of crashes and deaths, Auto Union began hiring former motorcycle race drivers to pilot their cars. It seems that race drivers who had been trained with the “normal” front engine race cars couldn’t seem to master the dynamics of those rear-engine machines, and when AU began with drivers who could be trained from the get-go with those big rear-engined cars, the death rate for drivers dropped considerably.
Auto Union was the conglomerate that included Horch (the favorite parade car of the Nazis), Audi, DKW, and Wanderer. Later, when the other marques disappeared from the scene, Audi adopted the 4-ring emblem of Auto Union, which had symbolized the “union” of the formerly separate Horch, Audi, DKW, and Wanderer makes.
Cool,
I had no idea about the Nuvolaris reference.
Now I do.
thanks.
Just today we had an incedent where I called out ‘‘that’s how you get slammed in the a–, you dipwad’’.
Saying this out loud to my 12teen year old daughter as we talk about driving issues even now.
There are so many different events that I encounter each day that fall in this category of drivers causing their own rear-enders that I can’t even remember and list them all.
But so much of the rear end collisions are actually the fault of the forward vehicle’s oddball actions.
Take notice everyday and try to apply your comments about those drivers to your own driving.
If you keep your distance and pay attention, there is no such thing as “rear end collisions (being) actually the fault of the forward vehicle’s oddball actions”. What happened to the concept of defensive driving? Drive as is anyone might do some oddball thing.
And if some ‘Nuvolari’ drives into the space - drop back some more. You’re still going forward. Truly.
To Dagosa (and anyone buying a huge trailer hitch to deter tailgaters):
The big trailer hitch is an interesting idea, and it may work, but puh-leez remove the extender while in a side-to-side or parallel parking area (especially if you have a long vehicle). Two days ago I was in a garage where a huge extended size truck had such a hitch, and its rear end (with the hitch) was sticking out well over a foot beyond the parking spot. This made it challenging for other people to navigate in the small parking garage, it could be dangerous to pedestrians (especailly after dark), and people who don’t see the hitch could impale the front of their car when they parallel park. I am sure you would not want to cause this.
To Muminutah: Glad you came out of all these without any physical damage. This apparently non-random situation is well within the limits of statistical probability, and could be that it has nothing to do with your driving or your car’s mechanical condition, although it wouldn’t hurt to evaluate your driving patterns. I would suggest attending a good professionally-taught driving school, which is an excellent idea anyway (it doesn’t have to be a super expensive racing school – you might talk with some car clubs, local police, or look in the phone directory). I did this 30 years ago with a car club, it was fun, and I still remember the lessons. It might even lower your insurance rates, too.
Or maybe a BIG bumper sticker that says “Hit Me Easy – I’m Transporting Skunks.”