As a stupid teenager many years ago I damn near replicated the scenario shown on this link. It took me a bunch of years to embrace performance cars afterwards. Not the sort of deal one normally posts on a enthusiast site, but perhaps worth a look anyway:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvLaTupw-hk
You always have to be on your toes, and anticipating what stupid things other drivers will do. This same situation happened to me on the way to work this morning (and I was probably going a bit faster than I should have been), but I was looking ahead and already covering the brakes so it wasn't an issue. I just honked, slowed down and went around them.
Holy E36-M3! That was great/awful. Makes me want to add to my already vigilant driving habits.
When the kid in the back came into view I admittedly almost cried.
That has nothing to do with performance cars and everything to do with keeping your eyes up, situational awareness, and driving appropriately for the conditions.
All of these are easily learned at instructed performance driving schools, and are why I steadfastly maintain that education, practice and commitment to improvement are the the key components to safe driving.
I am terrified of being the guy on the straight section of road. If someone pulls out way too close in front of you there's nothing you can do, and I've had a few close calls that way, including in my Sammy which is hardly capable of exceeding the speed limits.
I agree about driving schools. When I'm fed a steady diet of track days and autocrosses, not only am I more aware when driving on the street, I drive slower.
I once had a youth group van cut into my path. I was looking into the bugged-out eyes of a dozen kids as my truck stopped about two feet from the centerpunch!
wow... thats deep. Sends chills down my back. I had an accident a several years ago w/ someone elses kids in my car. It was not my fault, but had I been driving alittle slower I may have had time to avoid it.
Now, that Im older and alot less invincible Ive become more situationally aware.
What a contrast to most American PSAs which are almost always hokey and/or melodramatic.
There's a similar PSA for motorcycle safety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMfk1msw9A This is the US version, I believe it was based on a similar PSA in the UK.
ebonyandivory wrote: Holy E36-M3! That was great/awful. Makes me want to add to my already vigilant driving habits. When the kid in the back came into view I admittedly almost cried.
++ a few billion!
That was ...
Always assume the other guy is an idiot. You won't be far from wrong and you won't be surprised.
Good commercial. They should play it often.
paulmpetrun wrote: When the kid in the back came into view I admittedly almost cried.
The kid is Damien Thorn. His father was just coming to terms with "what had to be done" and, well, you know how that always has to end.
Had a similar thing happen to me yesterday. Two teenagers in some sort of SUV made a U turn right in front of me. Luckily I saw them in time.
When I was in high school my buddy and me were cruising along in his '69 Chevy CST. Driving faster than he should have. An old dude pulled out from a stop sign and we t-boned him in his Dodge Dynasty. Fortunately the old man walked away, and my buddy and me suffered some minor cuts, bruises, and I had a mild concussion from punching out the windshield with my head.
I learned from it...Stuff happens fast. To this day when I approach any intersection, I instinctively cover the brake with my left foot and scan for possible escape routes. In the nearly 25 years since then I haven't had any accidents but it's one reason I refuse to drive when I'm really tired. You just lose that fraction of a second of reflex time that can make all the difference.
That commercial is very sobering. It happens way too often.
kreb wrote: I once had a youth group van cut into my path. I was looking into the bugged-out eyes of a dozen kids as my truck stopped about two feet from the centerpunch!
Church Vans, driven by somebody who has been trained to not fear death, and maintained on donations, by far the most dangerous thing you'll encounter on a road.
Oh dear lord. I thought I was past having panic attacks since the accident. But that last second in the vid... I was right back at the last second before my crash again. To the point where I could smell the airbag.
I've still got a long way to go.
Still, thanks for sharing, I think it makes a good point about situational awareness and leaving enough margin of error for all the other dumbasses out there.
In reply to EastCoastMojo:
I had a similar response. Brings back bad memories. It certainly makes us more aware of our driving habits.
brings back the memories of my crash … speed limit 45 .. I was doing 45 …
my light turns green while I'm still ~ 1/10 of a mile from it … I'm in the left lane, easing past a car in the rt lane … suddenly a car just drives through the cross traffic red light ….
hard on the brakes (skid marks ~20', so didn't slow all that much) couldn't go rt to dodge her, couldn't go left (on coming traffic) so ended up T-boning her
that was in '98 … I still cringe sometimes when I'm approaching an intersection and I see a car coming from the rt … for some reason not so bad if the car is coming from the left
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