Chattanooga Pulse

2 Responses to “The List: The Top 9 Ways To Drive Safer”

1. The Phantom Phlier says:

   November 6, 2009 at 3:43 am

   Ok, so you are of the opinion that 2 seconds behind the auto in front of you at 85mph is the same safety factor 2 seconds gives you at 30?
   At 85mph, unless you are following a pace car, 2 seconds isn’t going to work out for you should the driver ahead of you suddenly slams on the brakes as he hits the stopped traffic two cars ahead of him.
   One second per 10mph is much better, it actually helps traffic’s flow if drivers keep a safe following distance.
   The guy driving 85mph is going to drop his speed to about 58mph as he tops a hill, or goes over an underpass, he might wait till he is almost radar bait to engage the binders, but when he does that, if you were 8.5 seconds behind him, you’d have the initial 3 seconds it takes you to react to his brake lights, if they are working, and four seconds to smoothly brake or just take you’d foot off the accelerator and coast because it’s going to take him 3 seconds to begin to accelerate if there isn’t a Law Enforcement Officer sitting in the median, or off to the right, funny how he’s almost invisible pulled off the shoulder about three feet, you see, if the L.E.O. is pulled off far enough the guy in front of you is going to jump his Lambourgini Diablo up to about 75 before he sees what was lurking where the guard rails hid him so well.
   Anyway, if you saw him come off his brakes you’d slam you’r foot to the floor trying to show the guy in the Lambo how easy it is for a six year old oriental pickup truck to give him a “run for his money.”
   You ever see how fast a Lambourgini with a talented driver can go from 58 to 75? He just barely nudges his accelerator and he’s there.
   The only thing that is more awe inspiring than seeing how fast a skilled driver in a Diablo or an Enzo (Ferraris are pretty quick too huh?)can get through three gears and be moving 175mph or 180mph (cruise speed), is how fast those dual disc brakes on all corners with the huge double calipers,with the the ABS system and the soft compound gatorbacks can reduce speed on the blacktop. They can go from 0 to 150 in under six seconds, and they can get from 100 or so to 55 faster than you can look up from texting you’r BFFL, which may not be all that long if you really try that 2 second rule.
   BTW, that cruise control is not you’r friend. You need to be engaged in driving you’r automobile, if you can’t maintain a steady speed on a hill maybe it’s time you had a mechanic have a look.
   Of course if you are playing routine traffic jam like a guy I used to know you are changing lanes three at a time and six inches of whatever poor fool is ahead of you. My ex-friend told me about a 19 car pileup the cops “framed him for” after the guy in front of him hit the brakes and he flew across the median after slamming into the first car, hit a couple more cars over there, somebody’s mom died, so did somebody’s grampa, and somebody else’s sister won’t be coming home.
   He told me about this about six months before he ran over a young lady jogging on the access road when he had to hit the ditch to stay off the diesel truck in front of him.
   He picked me up at my office one afternoon to give me a ride to the airport, I’d told him I didn’t mind taking a cab, but he insisted that it’d be nice to visit since I wouldn’t be home for some months. I kept telling him to stop swerving and driving like a maniac.
   Finally traffic caused us to come to a complete stop. I hit him just in front of his right ear with a stiff left after I reached my right hand over, switched the car off and threw the keys out the window. I grabbed my luggage and waded through the sea of motionless motorcars, and started over toward the bar that looked like a nice place to wait for a cab. In ten minutes I was being chauffered by an older gent who didn’t get on the freeway at all, and made it to the airport much faster than my ex friend (who lived out by the airport) would have made it…the old guy knew his cross town route, and he didn’t know the depth of my appreciation for the smooth efficiency with which he drove his Checker…I tipped him about 60 bux, just handed him a hundred and said thank you for a very comfortable ride.
   I usually don’t sucker punch people, but it sure felt good to punch that sucker.
   2 seconds huh?
   Well that’s better than my ex friends 2 feet off the bumper of the person he seemed to think got in front of him just to make him slow down.
   Why in the world do people drive like they hate each other?
   BTW, that’d be me in the black Diablo, going about 5mph over the speed limit, listening to some nice sounds as I make my way past whatever city I hit traffic at on my way through, yup, I let people change lanes, merge, and don’t try to push the guy in front of me, I don’t hate folks for having to share the road with me. Somebody loves everybody, and I’d never be the fool that took that away.
   Put a little love in you’r heart before you put the gas in you’r vehicle, you’d be surprised how nice it feels, takes the stress right out of the traffic jam.
2. Andrew Lohr says:

   November 6, 2009 at 6:23 am

   On #2, use cruise control, note that you should NOT use it in the rain or on wet surfaces; it can make tires that are slipping spin faster, which then throw your car out of control when the tires get a grip again.