Fordnatics List Archive

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Mail From: "Fontana Peter" <(email redacted)>

> I have been following this thread with great interest since I
> always drive slowly, and impatient drivers keep offering to rearend
> me. (I find that slow, gentle driving keeps my aging Crown Victoria
> running longer, and helps to prevent breakdowns in odd places).
I'm sure you're considerate enough to leave the passing lane to those of us
who are too tightly strung to share your discipline.

> But I wonder about the pulling to the side in a panic stop.
> It sounds more like loss of directional control to me. I would
> imagine that trying to pull to the side in a panic stop without ABS
> would induce a skid like you see in the movies.
I make a habit of this, and it has saved my neck from SERIOUS harm twice in
just the last 6 months.

The last time, I was traveling in the passing lane of a 3 lane interstate at
about 65 mph in a fairly tight know of trafffic - the woman at the head of
this line was driving a fairly new Maxima, apparent aggrivated the gentleman
behind her in a '93 Taurus wagon wished to go faster, so she slowed to about
60 and tightened us all up for a sec. I was behind him in my (wince) '86
LeBaron GTS (with Dunlop D40M2's) and the guy behind me had a late 80's
vintage Corolla.

Well Ms. Maxima saw a 6' length of 1" PVC pipe across the high lane and nailed
the brakes BIG TIME. Mr. Taurus had ABS almost did the impossible - he just
barely touched her back bumper with this license plate - ever so delicately
folding the corner, but that's it. I did my best
panic-lock-a-little-ease-up-steer-oh-shit and instinctively hugged the left
extreme of the lane. I stopped about 2 feet short of the back of the Taurus,
about 1 foot from the left guard rail, and pretty straight. Mr. Corolla
locked them up big time and slid in right next to me and was actually about 1
foot ahead of me. His right side was still to the left of the lane marker.
You should have seen the look on his face (I bet it matched mine pretty well)!
Of course there was the obligitory swerving of the middle lane folks as they
paniced - 2 follow-on accidents almost happened.

Now Ms. Friggin' Genuius whips the wheels hard right and obliviously jumps
across 2 busy lanes of traffic - causing more problems. She stops in the
breakdown lane, and Mr. Taurus and I fall in behind at the next opportunity.
The Corolla just started back up and kept going. I asked Ms. G. if she
thought 6' of 1" pipe was worth her life, and she replied quite angrily that
it could have been metal. So what?! I'm sure she'll do it again.

The Taurus dude marveled at how he didn't hit her, and I wondered how I didn't
hit him. Good tires, I said.

I've seen more than a few other drivers do this - and have heard other relate
stories of how it saved their ass. I had a friend dive right from the right
lane and had the tractor-trailer behind him crush the car in front of him - he
was fine.

In the typical Boston traffic up here, you can be assured of 2 things:
everybody is following everybody else too closely, and the fool behind you
will lock them up.