I'm on my way to work at a different office today. I merge onto the 22 hwy from the 5 freeway. The 22 has three lanes in both directions. As I merge onto the freeway, a big rig is in the middle lane. I decide to wait for him to pass me before getting into the other lane to pass him.
The rig is only about half way pass me before he puts on his blinkers. He starts to move over and I'm not even close to being clear of his truck. I'm thinking, Oh shit!!! He doesn't see me!!!! I drop the hammer as his truck is getting closer. My Mustang screams pass the guy's rig. He was so close that I thought for sure that he was going to clip my rear quarter panel. After I clear the truck, I look in my rear view mirror and I can see the astonishment in the guy's face. He was probably thinking, Where the hell did that Mustang come from?
It's a great day NOT to be hit by a 18 wheeler.

Now imagine the same scenario but riding a motorcycle instead of being in the Mustang.  This type of thing is almost a daily occurrence.  Sometimes drivers just see what they want to see.

I've found that in situations such as this, I trust my brakes more than the engine.

Just another beautiful day on Interstate 81 in southwest Virginia.

Yeah, in hind sight, I should of braked. I wasn't sure if there were other cars behind me. There were no cars in front of me. I kinda panic and just jumped on it. If I was in any other car besides my Mustang, I'd be road kill right now. GOD, I LOVE MY MUSTANG GT VERT!!!!

Obviously you don't drive a sports car.

Besides, how is the guy to know that he almost ran you over if you don't speed past him?

Michael

Hey, I can understand both sides, those thing's mirrors suck, you have to be almost telepathic to drive them safely.  I have also been on the receiving end.  
I am just glad nobody was hurt, and that experience will shake up his confidence which is a good thing, when you get cocky, you get in accidents.

Ice

IMO flooring it is the WRONG answer (but i have done it)  Now do the same scenario except the truck swerved over faster and you nailed the side of his truck- being that you just accelerated to 75-90 and your enging is reving at 5-6000 rpm- you just increased the energy by a shitpile that your poor mustang will have to absorb, where a simple braking would have worked so much better.

Most truck/small vehicle accidents are caused by the small vehicle.

I could never drive a big rig myself-cant see enough around me.

Well, I didn't exactly train for these things. I've taken tactical driving courses, but they didn't include big rig evasion tactics. Of course, I could of pass the truck and then turn my car side ways and grab the M-16 and hammered away until he stopped. But I think that's kinda over kill. [:D]

JOHN
Damn dude I know that area very well used to drive it all the time years ago now I stay away from there but still work in the area 91/57. gotta watch those rigs out there

I hear ya, bro. I don't know the area that well. I only go out there when there's a big meeting at that office. I didn't realize there were so many big rigs out there.

Looking back, this could of turned out really ugly. We were going over an over pass at the time. If he would of hit me, there would of been no where to go except over the rail. That would of SUCKED.

Ummm, yes, I do drive a sports car.  The advice to use brakes instead of gas is the CORRECT advice.

Compare rates of acceleration vs. rates of deceleration for almost any sports car and you will quickly see that braking is the correct approach.  Laws of inertia, conservation of energy, thermal dynamics and fluid dynamics all point to slowing the vehicle, not accelerating it.

Besides, let's just say the manuever still results in a collision, you just ADDED energy to the collision by accelerating, and if you are pressing on the gas as your last cognizant act, you will probably continue to accelerate after being knocked sensless!

Braking is your best choice.

If someone is behind you, then they are required by the law to maintain a SAFE following distance.  Therefore, when you jam on the brakes, in an emergency, they are REQUIRED to not hit you.

Brake and go right is the proper procedure for almost all highway dangers.

The law requires that vehicles maintain enough following distance such that a vehicle can fit between their own vehicle, and the one they are following in an emergency situtation.

Yes, I DO teach driver's education.  

TheRedGoat/Baphomet

I'd have to say it depends where you are.  I've used both Gas and brakes to get out the way of a potential accident.

I think most people fail to recognize the the stock brakes on '93 and earlier Mustangs just plain suck.

When I raced mine at Indianapolis Raceway park, I was almost always using the last turnoff of at the dragstrip.  The F-body guys were always commenting on it being the Mustang Only Turn around.

Sometimes it is easier to go from 60-80 than from 60 to zero.  My car does anyway.

Granted, if he started on the later half of the truck, yeah he prolly should a braked.  But if he had another Kenworth 20 feet behind him, braking would have probably killed him.

Then there is the fact that it was just another reason to stand on it.

I absolutely agree with you. BUT, in a very streeful situation when you're about to get hit. There were only two choices: hit the gas or hit the brakes. I did what came to me first: hit the gas. I didn't have time to comtemplate the laws of acceleration vs. rates of deceleration. I gambled and got lucky.
I know that the law requires people to maintain a SAFE distance from each other, but how many times have you heard of a massive pile up because people DIDN'T maintain a safe distance?

To determine how long it will take you to stop assuming a constant rate of deceleration, you need only divide your starting velocity (in fps) by your rate of deceleration.

60 MPH = 88 fps. (fps=1.467 * MPH). If your deceleration rate is 20 fpsps, then stopping time = 88/20 = 4.4 seconds. Since there is a 1 second delay in hitting your brakes (recognition and reaction time), the total time to stop is 5.4 seconds.

To determine how far you will travel while braking you take 1/2 the starting velocity and multiply the result by the stopping time (ie, you calculate your average speed and multiply by how long you are moving.)

So you can be completely stopped in 5.4 seconds on average.

You Instantly decrease your rate of travel by 20 fps, meaning, in the first second you are able to decrease your speed enough such that you will safely clear the back of the truck.

TheRedGoat/Baphomet


Man, I hate quoting myself.

There in lies the dilemma. To the right is the rail. We were on an over pass. I would of been crushed either way. I took my chances with my car's acceleration.

I had a similar situation happen to me while on I-90 to wisconsin from chicago.  It was a shitty day out, raining like absolute hell, and I was driving about 55 next to a truck, around a pretty decent turn.  Well, I see the blinkers go on, say a few 4 letter words, and see a guy right on my ass.  I was about half way up the truck at the time, and he started closing in, so I dropped it to second gear and floored it.  I was so scared I didnt let off the gas until I was doing about 95 mph at which point I had shifted to third.  Luckily, the shifting had become second nature and I did it instinctively.  Ironically, taking my foot off the gas or even easing up on it took me a while to think about.  Amazing what the body can do.

The car behind me got sent into the cement divider.

I made the "wrong" decision, but it turned out for the best...well for my part atleast.

dude, yore still alive, thats good enough for me.

hopefully there wasn't anyone behind you, but if there had been he would have been crushed.

TINS (this is no...)

On the way back from dinner tonight, the person with whom I had chosen to carpool tried to enter the freeway with an 18-wheeler on his left rear quarter panel.

The guy tried to accelerate to get in front of the truck.  We didn't make it, had to hit the shoulder, and the truck moved over!

Life immitating art, I guess.

As for the "I hit the gas, and it worked!" argument, all things are possible.  I have heard amazing stories of people surviving car accidents after being ejected during a roll over.  "If I had stayed in the car, I would have died!"

Sure, sure...  it happens.  We all get lucky, once or twice. I still wear my seat belt.

However, the math, laws of physics, and the nature of us all tends to eliminate luck over time.

You should ALWAYS THINK NEGATIVE when driving a vehicle.

Saying that, and I promise I am not harping on any one, a near collision like this is a failure on each person's part for not anticipating, planning, and preparing for these events.

I teach Driver's Education, and I still find myself driving with one finger, daydreaming behind the wheel and exceeding safe speeds at night, etc.  I am no saint.

Don't let luck make you complacent.  I KNOW that you think you have made the right decision when you survive a near accident.  However, the fact that you are in a near accident proves you were not doing your job in the first place.

This post is not directed at anyone.  This is just a basic lecture from a guy who has seen far too many dumb excuses for life threatening misakes.  A guy who has seen too many stupid, lame, excuses for unsafe driving, poor decision making, and lucky breaks that almost got someone killed.

Spend some time in a car all day with teeenagers who are learning to drive and you wil understand basic, primal fear of imminent death and dismemberment.

Fear is a powerful motivator.

I know these same teens, and thier unsafe parents who told them crazy/mythical things about driving are on the road with me everyday.  Heck they SCARED ME when I sat in teh car with them and had BRAKE that could be used to STOP them!  Now I have NO CONTROL over their hairbrained decision making skills!

Driving is the single most dangerous thing each of us encounters in our daily routine.  

Imagine the others drivers are either:

1.  Drunk
2.  Stoned
3.  Stupid

Take you pick, and plan accordingly.  You will seldom underestimate their next unsafe/dangerous/moronic act of with this logic.

TheRedGoat/Baphomet