How Bad Would You Feel?

[Homeboy981]

I was out for a top down drive enjoying the weather and I-75 had a large pile up. I decided not to sit in traffic and took the next exit.

This particular exit is 25mph limit and I rolled through it in third, looked in my rear view and there was a pickup truck "trying to hang". He had several close calls until too much poo-poo built up and he was shocked back into pickup truck reality.

I thought maybe I should slow down and let him collect himself...but I didn't I wrapped out third and rolled on fourth and saw him fade like an old girlfriend. If he would have gone down I know I would have felt bed but it was HIS CHOICE to go baking into the turn.

Question is….what would you do? You will not hear this story elsewhere as i do not want to appear as an A-hole driver. Is that fair or I am I "starting to change?"

Is there ANY WONDER why we have a bad rep then?

[Heiko]

That be like you trying to tow a 4000lb trailer down the highway - good luck with that - LMAO

Everyone on the road drives for themselves... you make decisions and you have to live with them... if someone pushes their car/truck past the limit of their vehicle or their owns capability that would be their problem (IMHO). Hopefully he learned an important lesson today, "pickup trucks aren't sports cars, and dont handle worth a crap"
I see lots of people with fancy SUV's etc that think they can drive them just like a sports car - Reality is that the laws of physics will prove them wrong eventually.

[fatmike]

too bad it wasn't a mini-van




/

[wvboxst3r]

Had a version of that not too long ago. Wreck and Google map headed off interstate. Road was a 50 mph and was just cruising at 65 or so. Had an older cavalier behind me, hit a 20 mph turn of course I just barely touched brake it was a long sharp sweeper and the cavalier could not hold the turn and went off into different here.

[shadrach74]

This happened to me years ago. I was driving a late 80s 318is on I70 in the rain when I noticed a young kid (never mind that I was only 19) in a K-Car sedan shadowing me at about 70mph. I braked and downshifted for a 25mph off ramp which I took at around 40mph. The K-Car understeered right into the grass and then the 25mph caution sign. I did feel bad. I stopped and helped him push his pranged K-Car back onto the road.

Neither of us said a word about the events that caused the accident...

[tony_fury]

Wouldn't feel bad at all..
The driver controls the horizontal & vertical behind the wheel...
"Do not attempt to adjust your set...."
One must know their limitation..

I was racing on the freeway many years ago, the driver in a brand new camero over steered and rolled his car...
While I felt bad for him, better him than me.. He was ok, but his car was trashed..:ah:

[Johnny Danger]

Anyone tailgates the Dangermobile, I hit the button that sprays down oil and tacks.

[Kenny Boxster]

Originally Posted by Heiko

I see lots of people with fancy SUV's etc that think they can drive them just like a sports car - Reality is that the laws of physics will prove them wrong eventually.

THIS. Reminds me of the time a couple months back when an Escalade nearly flipped over trying to make a sharp turn. I sometimes question what people are thinking at times.

[paintboy]

Darwin. It always comes back to Darwin.

[RandallNeighbour]

Homeboy981, your initial description wasn't all that descriptive. Did the truck driver lose control and slide off the road?

He should have known better.

However--and this is just me and my thinking and way of doing life--if I see someone following me in the boxster on the freeway and they're on H rated tires in a POS car I will slow down and pull to the center lane and let them pass and they usually blow by and then slow down.

Same goes with tailgaters who follow me through twisties. I will purposely slow down and let them pass.

Why? I dunno. I think it's because I feel I have some responsibility to keep others safe when I can, even if they are not using their common senses to figure out that basic physics come into play.

I'd rather save a life of someone acting foolishly behind me than watch them wreck. Sometimes it's not just automotive damage and wounded egos here, folks.

All this said, they are behind the wheel and making their own decisions. But I don't attempt to lead people into danger without common care for my fellow man.

[southernstar]

Randall, you ae not 'leading' them into danger unless it is someone you know who is following you to a specific location. Then and only then are you 'leading' someone; in that situation it is important to make sure that you are driving at a speed and in a way that will allow them to follow you easily and safely, taking into account the vehicle they are driving, their level of experience and their relative lack of knowledge of the roads you are travelling.

Why should we lower our driving speeds so as to reach the level of the lowest common demonimator? Very few cars are capable of cornering and braking as well as our cars - that is one of the reasons most of us bought them. I do not tail gate cars that are holding me up; by the same token I don't worry about pulling away from cars that cannot safely keep pace with me.

If I saw a car behind me fly off the road I would no doubt stop and, if I could do so in safety (and that would not include backing-up on an off-ramp), I would return and offer assistance. If I could not do so in safety, I would likely call 911. I would not, however, feel any responsibilty for nor guilt about their incompetence.

Brad

[AndyA6]

If somebody is trying to follow me, that driver's choice.

I would never "push" anybody, though.

[Beelzy]

Argh.....people do that ALL the time where I live.

It's almost not funny anymore watching some fool try to fly into a Diminishing Radius Curve while
trying to keep up. The fools.

[RandallNeighbour]

Brad, I see your point, and I know if some ignorant idiot is following my line and speed in a truck or base Mustang for that matter it's his responsibility if he can't keep his vehicle on the road.

But like I said above, if I look in my rear view mirror and I see he's doing something stupid that might just put him in harm's way, I feel some responsibility to help him avoid it.

Kinda like warning a child not to touch a hot stove that you yourself are working on. You know what you're doing, they do not. You care about the child and his safety, so you warn him.

Just because I don't know the person behind me does not mean I should not care about their safety. You all may feel differently, but concern for one's fellow man, smart or foolish, is something you'll never regret doing.

[Homeboy981]

O.K. I can see I am not the only one that has felt bad for the common man in a common car. The Box IS safer at higher speeds than most are at or below the speed limit. This thing handles like a bike….but if I were to follow a crotchrocket deep into a turn, I would test the laws of physics and become like the truck we are speaking of!

Just to clarify….he DID NOT WRECK! He slid off the road onto the shoulder. I watched the truck sway and then almost tip over, he corrected and slid. Then, much to my surprise….he collected himself and sped up again, like he was on fire (most likely to salvage what was left of his ego). I could NOT have stopped on the cloverleaf but would have gone around or called 911 if I had seen a cloud or worse - NOT SEEN him at all.

My wife explained it as the "Corvette Effect". People are trying to show off and write checks their talent cannot cash! Sorry about using the "C" word, it was my wife's description. I was in my work truck yesterday and caught myself speeding up around a yellow vette too, so maybe it is something we just need to be aware of.

Be Well and Be Safe but not necessarily slow.

[husker boxster]

Every morning I take a cloverleaf exit on my way to work. It brings me great joy when no one is in front of me as I enter the turn. It's even more fun if someone is trying to hang with me coming off the interstate.

As Clint Eastwood said, "A man's gotta know his own limitations".

[jb92563]

I typically take a non competitive posture while driving by leaving a few car lengths ahead of me and just taking it easy and letting the zoomers do what they want.

When they see that I will not come out and play they settle down, and the ones that don't are having emotional problems and go vent their problems else where.

However sometimes I feel the need for speed and make a short burst to get ahead of the sloppy drivers/texters etc and get out front of the group to be safer and 9 out of 10 times someone jumps in behind and tries to hang.

If I lead a hanger-on into something beyond what their car is capable of I may feel a little bad, but on the other hand that is driver education, and in the worst case scenario Darwinism at work.

I'd be more concerned about any other innocent folks that may be faced with the aftermath of the hanger-on loosing control.

Maybe we need a warning sticker on our popup spoiler "Pursue at your own Risk"

[Snowman]

I'm not responsible for, nor feel any obligation toward, other people's driving choices. If someone wants to pace me and they end up crashing - they made that decision - not me.

[Homeboy981]

Originally Posted by jb92563

...Maybe we need a warning sticker on our popup spoiler "Pursue at your own Risk"

I have posted "See Ya!" on the spolier, guess they cannot take a hint.

Me to wife, :Honey, we are going to need a bigger spolier"….Anyone want to lend me a whale tail?