TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

For the complete lack of new threads, I thought I'd post up my driving experience last night. I know it looks long, but reads fast-- Got 5th grade reading level?

I had to go down to my apartment at college, 110miles south of my stomping grounds to drop off my dope *** new ikea furniture (www.ikea.com), futon frame, mattress, slipcover, chair, ottoman, a couple lamps, microwave, and a few other odds and ends... Nope, didnt fit in the coupe, son hada barrow mommies 94 camry wagon.

I had been sick the day before, so much that I was in bed for 14 or 15 hours straight mostly sleeping. Some 24 hour bug or something like that. Dropped it off, set it up with my buddy that had come down with me... and I was asking him if he just wanted to crash here for the night, and we can head up in the morning, being it was already midnight, and its a 2 hour drive. Of course he wants to go home, I don’t blame him though.

So were driving, cruising along at about, I don’t know... speedlimit +5 or 10mph. I'm fvcking tired, pull over at this rest stop. Get out and take a ****, check out the vending machine- at which point I noticed a rickety van parked next to us that wasn’t there before. I didn’t have enough money for skiddles and went back to the car, at which point grimy dude in rickety van leans out his window and tells me about him being low on fuel, and his kids in the back, going up to Seattle, looking for his gf at rest stops (hoe??). I'm like sorry bro, we aint even got **** on a pack of skiddles. Dude creped me out... Felt like I was about to get mugged or shot if my buddy wasn’t there.

We moved on. Kept driving... passing a shitload of cops... one accident on the side of the road (1am) with a taxi and some crap car. Big whoop. I always say, I guess we know where the cops are, and proceed to drive a little faster. Bamb... another cop on the side of the road up ahead with its lights off... another one on the left shoulder waiting, and another further up on the overpass. Wow... never been like this before, I hardly ever see one cop on the 2 hr drive back this late.

So heres the big deal... where I almost died, where we both almost died.

Were still driving and pass this cluster of about 20 semis all drafting behind one another. Keep driving, past most of them, except for two in the distance. Orange sign, "road work ahead," and in the far distance I see in the far left lane (of three lanes going north) one of those flashing signs going ">..>>..>>>" You know what I mean. So I move over one, and I'm coming up on this white lancer/ impalla looking thing that’s driving probably, speed limit -5 or 10, so I slow down... and I'm about 4 seconds behind him, double the legal suggestion of 2 seconds. Left lane merges to center lane via about a billion reflective orange barrels. Yeah okay... still behind this altezza impala looking thing that’s clogging **** up. Two semis on its right.

I see another sign ">..>>...>>>" Thinking, thats weird, I just saw one... maybe they decided to set the barrels up in reverse order or something... while I'm going through this thought process, I notice the Impala is in blind spot of the trucker, who’s brake lights flash, I notice the barrels blocking off the left lane are merging the center lane to the right lane, semi on the side of me- I slam on my breaks. I check my mirrors and see the semi fly past me, he must of swerved anticipating I would be coming over because I saw the trailer skid out a foot to the right side, over the white line. I check my mirrors, and pull the car on the blocked off side of the barrels. Several semis fly past.

What the fvck what that about?!! I thought, replaying the scenario in my head. Fvcking unexpected. I couldn’t see around the car in front of me, which was clogging up the lane, which is why I couldn’t see the barrels merging, and which is why the second arrow sign didn’t make any sense.

I checked my mirrors for some more final destination ****, checked the opening before the line of semis headed my way, and pull back into traffic and get up to speed. Deep breath. Wow.

Now seriously- we got this digital billboards up and down the highway that warn you of road hazards like traffic or construction ahead. Why wasn’t one of those on? Why didn’t they set one of those flashing signs to say, "Traffic reduced to one lane!" Why did that altezza lancer impala looking thing speed up and get out of the truckers blind spot, and into the right lane?

**** man. I got back at maybe just after 2am and crashed. Woke up not too long ago and that’s all I've been able to thing about.

9 cops in 100 miles shoulda been able to get a hold of a sign, or set the digital billboard to warn drivers.

20/20 hindsight.

Some tips all drivers should know to save lives:
1) Follow only so close you can see around the vehicle in front of you!!
2) Use caution in construction zones
3) Don’t drive in the trucks blind spot
4) Read the road ahead of you
5) Slower traffic keep right, pass left.
6) Don’t drive at night if you suck at driving.

sl33pyriceboi

iTrader: (3)

7) watch out for us bikers...

sniperscout

iTrader: (8)

dont drive like idiots down the center line and in and out of the shoulders

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

#9 don't street race

LT2004ever

iTrader: (2)

man thats crazy... and u were right about it being a fast read

mani_is_kool

hahah that was a nice comeback !!! hahahah


BTW Triz, I know how u feel man .. Specially after recovering after an illness a normal persons mind is already tired enough and drained to think straight. One more thing that u shud keep in mind specially while driving behind OLD FOLKS on the highway is that ... If there in the Blind spot of some semi... U stay away from both of em.. coz the reason is that a similar thing happened with me. When the semi switched to the lane of a grandma driving in his blindspot >>> she normally enterred in my lane .. sending me ... U know where ................. off the shoulder on the grass

Alpha 5

iTrader: (8)

Why did it go from #7 to #9. What happened to the 8? What 8 not good enough for this thread? Well 7+9=16 and 16 is 8 twice. SO HA.

sniperscout

iTrader: (8)

well it is something that really pisses me off. I feel like hitting those people just because they are being morons. Or like in stopped traffic on the freeway and a motorcycles is driving down the shoulder, i feel like opening up my door just as they are about to pass me. I need to call my insurance and find out who would be at fault here.

jamis33

what a coincidence i too almost died except i was in my civic. Yesterday i was driving home the back way along a real curvy road thats never busy and speed limit is 80km i figured wut the hell i'll give my tein flex a run for their money and both they and i got it. I was drivin the whole time takin corners at like 85-90kmh so within the legal limit. It felt awesome. Anyways everything is goin great till i go into the final corner a rounded out left turn on this road i move to the right of my lane in anticipation for a huge turn. I turn left all of the sudden i see there is lots of gravel and other $hit on the road. i hit the brakes to slow down to maybve 75ish but in the process because im turning left my whole back end spins around and im about to go off the road into a corn field. I counter steer right to keep myself on the road and do a 360 (maybe like 270) before coming to a stop in the middle of the road. Not a scratch on me or my car but one of my sensors went off puttin me in safe mode. The car is fine now i think. CEL went off. Im pretty sure if i didnt have my tein flex coilovers my car woulda gone off the road or hit something or rolled. Im pretty sure dampachi saved my life. Also let me remind you that im not usually an agressive driver and ive only had my license for 6ish months. I think i was pretty damn lucky. And whoever got all that **** on the road needs to die. I was barely speeding it was just a bad combination. Thank god im a decent driver. i know ur supposed to turn into the skid blah blah blah but i didnt wanna toast my car in a corn field.

BestWheelDeals

#6 Don't drive at night UNLESS YOU HAVE TO. Visibility is reduced by more than 85% at night, and so is your reaction time.... I bet next time when you ask your Buddy if he just wants to crash for the night, he'll be the first to pull out the sleeping bag. Thanks for sharing.

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

^ LOL, fahreals. Dude was pratically asleep when it happened, so I dont know if he learned anything.

Man, I hope your around a few months from now on this site. I think I might pick up some rims from you one day. Got thoes rim weights up yet, or has it not been a week yet?