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Ditto, but with certain conditions. In rural areas on lightly travelled back roads and with 4 snow tires and FWD. Find most drivers are more reasonable/sensible here in rural. When I go to suburban, big city areas in snow or on interstates while snowing, this is where I find the inconsiderates, especially the awd/4wd suv types who think their vehicle is invincible.
Many years ago, used to particpate on weekends in timed road rallies. Some were staged in winter and these were very enjoyable, especially those on twisty/hilly roads in Wisc. Had studded snow tires on RWD sporty cars and had no trouble controlling/stopping or tossing the car around on hard packed snow (not glazed). Never in accident on these events or went in ditch, off road. Know that studded tires chew up pavement and are now illegal here, but they sure were great.
Anyhow, I got out, assessed, and decided it would be a piece of cake to get strap-pulled out.... just needed another vehicle. But, time passed, and no other vehicles, plus no signs on the road to give me a good idea of where, exactly, I was. So, I decided that perhaps I could just back it out (worth a shot, anyway). Tried it, and the car would gain a few inches, but then it would slip and drop me right back in the hole. Just about this time, a big Dodge pickup comes down the same route I just came. The driver stops and says, "Looks like you did what I *thought* I was going to do!" Anyway, he unhooked his small trailer, latched up to my waiting tow strap, and a moment later I was back on the road.
Afterward, I thought about that Portland video and figured I might have done better just gunning the gas and seeing what happened! Hahah. :P
Those stock tires are just so bad. Seems almost criminal for the manufacturer to equip their vehicles with them. I got the '96 stuck a grand total of 3 times (other than my own driveway) in the 7 winters I drove it, and all three of those were diggable situations, so it was quite funny to me that I put this one in a ditch where there was no way out, except through intervention by another driver, less than 2 weeks in.
I have the dreaded Bridgestone Potenza RE92s on both of my Camrys. One came equipped that way. On the other, I bought a nice set of alloy wheels from an Avalon that happened to have the same tires.
Luckily, we don't seem to have real winter here anymore, with snow at least. The only snow event was one that occurred through the mountains of MD and WV on the way to my mother's place in Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Day in 2005. The car had no trouble then, even though some people had spun off I-68 onto the shoulder or median. I just kept going steadily at moderate speed.
And the wonderful thing about the adventure is that you and your son came out safe and sound. Its nice when people help people like the man in the Dodge.
I remember working the freeway in Danville Ca. one winter afternoon in the mid 1970s. I only saw this one time, but it began to snow on the freeway. (Yes it really snowed, but one one time.)
Granted it only snowed for about five minutes, however, as I sat on the side of the freeway, I watched five cars for about two times each, just spin 360 degrees and some hit the center divider, and some went down a gentle embankment next to ME! All in slow motion. No injuries but what a show.
Your adventure illustrated that you knew what to do as others such as the Dodge driver, knew what to do. However, the five drivers I met because I did the accident reports, all said they had never driven in snow.
I admire all the posters here that live in the snow country and relate their stories how they drive and stay safe in the snow.
The only other thing that comes to mind is driving in heavy rain over 63 mph which I did many times on the freeways. And I recollect chasing a car at close to 95 mph and just spinning around 360 before I slowed down enough to get control. That taught me to justs slow down and get there and not to arrive in pieces.
Hope all is well with evreyone and have a wonderful day.
jensad
Then on 405 I saw a Chevy Venture going about 45...in the left lane, with every other vehicle passing. I guess it's expected of that vehicle... Driver wasn't old either.
To finish the day off, at about 11pm I saw an old lady in a white Prius with no lights on. At least the car was a bright color, I guess.
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=traffic&id=4955224
I was EB on Highway 80, when I saw black clouds of smoke billowing in the distance. I went by the incident (in the WB direction), as at least one vehicle was fully engulfed in flames and still billowing black smoke clouds . The first responders (authorities) were not on the site when I passed in the #2 EB lane. There seemed to be a few civilian first responders parked on the sides of both the WB/EB side of the roads. Not only was this an EXTREME tragedy, but it tied up traffic for almost literally a day (8 hours). Our prayers are for those involved in this sad incident.
Terrible to hear that this incident claimed not only the people involved but also, in a way, so many passers-by.
I think the weirdest thing was the WB lane was someting like 6-12 feet higher than the EB lane (at first look), where/when I passed the incident. There was also the VERY heavy duty galvanized steel guard rail anchored to buried pressure treated square posts in the ground. I was puzzled by debris in the EB lanes.
I later found out the Toyota Corolla that caused the accident was originally headed EB !!! Due to the force of the stored energy in the Corolla, it actually crossed over 3/4 lanes E/B and climbed UPHILL and ended 10-13 FEET up onto the WB section, where it was hit head on by a vehicle headed WB (I presume the #1 or fast lane!!??
It was confusing to look at the seemingly non sensical evidence.
:surprise:
That would be a real heart-stopper! Was this in heavy rain, as the previous sentence might indicate? I think it was, perhaps, last year that the City of Fairbanks finally opted to equip their patrol fleet with dedicated winter tires - prior to that, they ran all-seasons to save money. I have never run anything but all-seasons, but I choose tires that have good performance ratings on snow and ice. I cannot imagine trying to do a job like law enforcement without the best equipment possible, though. That would make it just that much tougher.
210delray - we ended up with a manual tranny 07 Subaru Outback. I would have preferred either an old one like our previous car, or a different make if going with something newer, but my wife was set on a Subaru. I am still a little frustrated about even having to find another car, so maybe when that finally passes I will be more satisfied with the replacement. I certainly need to get the RE92s off during our winter months (typically through about mid-April), but right now I literally cannot afford to do it. Just too many things hitting at once. At this point, I am planning/saving for a set of winter wheels and tires before September arrives (yes, can you believe it?! Winter conditions can and many times do arrive in September).
Luckily it's a 3 1/2 mile commute, but I can't wait to see what kind of lunatics are going to be out there tomorrow morning.
We were able to get around fine today in one of our Camrys. The main road was really backed up in the opposite direction, likely because of a crash that we couldn't see on the other side of the median.
Luckily, when we came home that way later, it was smooth sailing.
Also fortunately, I have a "reverse commute" (against the primary flow of traffic) to work, so I'm not anticipating much trouble tomorrow morning. The 2WD Frontier will stay parked until the roads are clear again.
luckily I didn't have to clean off my car this morning. I let my roommate borrow it yesterday to go to work, and he parks in a parking garage. By the time he left to come home it was just a light, icy drizzle. I was a bit worried with him parking on an icy driveway, but I didn't have any trouble. The Intrepid spun out a bit when taking off from traffic lights once or twice, but that was about it. And I didn't see anybody in the ditch, up in the trees, etc, so for the most part people were driving fairly sensibly I guess.
About the only other thing of note I saw was early this morning, one of my elderly neighbor's kids stopped by, to check on her I guess. When he left, he pulled out onto the street, spun out, and did a bit of a fishtail with his Dakota. Probably did it on purpose, though.
I think it's only supposed to get up to about 36 today, and then cold again tonight, so I'm sure there will be some icy patches again tomorrow morning.
I well remember that freeway as well as the equally tragic (maybe lethal would be a better term) Nimitz, with the double decks as both were the locus of almost continuous accidents almost every day/night.
God bless the wonderful people that stopped to help until medical/fire/police personnel could get to the scene. In my book they were the real heros!!
Good luck to all
jensad
Today I would label traveling 95 in the rain as INSANITY.
A fellow CHP moved to Fairbanks Alaska and was on the PD up in your country. Forgot his name, but he loved it up there and he never came back.
If I could convince my wife of 42 years to leave Ca. , I could live in Skagway. Love the country and love the people, but then I am first generation Norweigan.
Police equipment, jmo, was adequate for what I had to do. The tires were exceptionally good, but some of the cars were terrible. I am glad to see Fairbanks equip their cars with heavy duty tires for the locale you folks have up there.
Good luck to you and all others.
jensad
It is really too bad the so called "good samaritan" laws are so weak. Not only could/would "no good deed" go unpunished, but one could lose assets.
Some updated news from the local news organizations: from the get go there were/are indications alcohol/drugs and/or both were used by the dead teenage driver, who allegedly caused the tragedy.
One thing I do love about Subaru, though, is the road feel/feedback - something essentially missing from GM these days and highly stifled from the Fords I have "driven lately." :P Not to say that they cannot or do not handle well enough, but the driver sure does not get a good appreciation for it.
I have never been behind the wheel of a modern Dodge/Chrysler product, so could not comment there.
I get home and back into my parking space, and hear this creaking sound when I turn the wheel to the right. It's coming from the tire rubbing on the wheel well lining. A huge amount of profanity comes from my mouth. I get out and look, I crank the wheel with me outside the car...nothing sounds or looks bad. So I go down to my specialist mechanic, who is just a couple miles away. He looks it over and sees no damage, but suspects it might be misaligned now, as the front wheel looks like it is maybe 1mm further towards the front wheelarch than it should be. He pressed the wheel well lining up so it wouldn't rub. I take it on the highway at about 75-80 and it tracks straight as an arrow, no vibrations. So I don't know...but I will probably have it looked at anyway.
The CLS driver was SMOKING as she pulled out, and I suspect that was a key player in this...
And smoking in a car like that...another wonderful local Stepford wife in action.
I had all but forgotten about it, but yesterday while making a trip to the university I encountered a similar incident. I was waiting to make a left turn on a "yield on green." As the opposing traffic cleared and the light turned yellow, there was one Outback moving slowly in the right lane with blinker on, just about to move into the "turn only" lane. As the light was yellow and intersection clear, I proceeded to make the left turn. Wouldn't you know it, the Subaru, while moving slowly, apparently has no intention of stopping (even though the light is red now and the car is still not to the intersection). I hugged the median to the left as I entered the other roadway while the driver of that car got a clue just fast enough to hug the right and not T-bone me.
I guess the curse of the new car is true, huh? :mad:
And then you'll get that first new dent or ding in the new car...
I have the vague feeling that I told this story here already, but oh well.
That said, added safety also never hurts, and it would be good for Subaru to implement all these keep-your-car-on-the-intended-path gadgets eventually -- as long as they can all be turned OFF at the operator's discretion.
In the meantime, I'd rather take my AWD Subaru into bad weather than a 2WD car with electronic nannies, if I had to choose.
One needs to put these so called "safety features" in perspective if only because they are NOT designed to supercede the laws of physics, as sometimes OUR attitudes DO!!
This means in the practical, one has to (periodically) activate any and all those features to know the theoretical and practical limits.
So to me for example, I routinely get in and out of 4 DIFFERENT makes of 5 cars. (2 cars are similar)
Some are full time AWD.
3 have automatic tranmissions: 2 are three speed but two have overdrive, so is that in theory a 6 speed?
One is four speed with no overdrive. 2 have stick; one 5 speed, one 6 speed.
One is diesel. One takes supreme 3 take unleaded regular.
One you can turn on/off traction control this does not turn off stability control. Three are front engine, rear wheel drive; however 2 share front to rear traction depending on road conditions, 2 are front engine, front wheel drive. One has no air bags, some have front air bags, some have air bags all over the place. One you can turn off and on, TOO much to remember already.
I agree with that, nightvzn, as I have never been a fan of "electronic nannies." However, some advantages to them is that they can (depending on the implementation) do things that the driver cannot. For example, apply the brake on a single wheel. Even with ABS, brakes are applied to all wheels and so it is still dependent upon the ability of the driver to steer the vehicle appropriately. This is good, and yet it does act as a crutch. People who drive and only drive "nannied" cars are likely to be incapable of, say, hopping into a 1969 2wd Chevy pickup with old tires in the middle of winter and driving it on a moment's notice. No need to even be this extreme, but I think the case is made.
Indeed, some (most?) ESC is intrusive - some to the point that it will cause the vehicle to get stuck in a low-traction situation where the driver might otherwise be able to navigate it. Others are less intrusive unless the vehicle is out-of-square (understeer, oversteer, etc), but this certainly gets in the way of "play" activities! An "off" option is certainly in order here.
AWD will help you get there, but it will not help you stop. The reason that I brought up VDC is because, in this age of such emphasis on "safety ratings," not even offering a safety feature as optional on all or most models is not a good idea in terms of encouraging sales. If offered as optional, I would not opt for it (unless it would create an impasse with my wife), but I am sure there are many buyers out there who have either ESC or VDC on their list of "must haves."
My emphasis is more on mechanical features. FWIW, I love the limited slip rear axle on the '07 Outback - my '96 did not have this feature. In fact, I had never before driven any vehicle with this feature.
I am typically rather reluctant to have strictly cosmetic damage (especially to the exterior) repaired because the cynic in me knows that it will just end up damaged again. Major damage, yes, but a cosmetic dent, ding, scratch, etc... that is wear and tear. :P
I took my car in today...the alignment on the front wheel was off (I can never remember the specific terms), so they did an alignment...took it to a performance/racing shop recommended by the MB mechanic, I didn't even have to wait. They said there was no damage. So all is well, I got lucky I guess.
Then, about 5 minutes later, I had a close call with a sportbike making an abrupt U-turn on a busy 4 lane 40mph road. Fun!
That's the truth!! My 7 month old truck has a broken windshield (cracked all the way across) and a broken driver's side foglight. Eventually I'll fix the foglight, but have to find some sort of coating or something to put over the foglights. They are way too fragile. The windshield, well, when it annoys me enough I'll fix it!
Oddly enough, even though I had 21 noticeable chips in my windshield, it was still the original for the car.... with 220,000 miles! :P Now I am in for it with my new one, though. Sheesh, after that statement, I will not be surprised if a moose hops on my hood in the morning. :surprise:
Oddly enough, even though I had 21 noticeable chips in my windshield, it was still the original for the car.... with 220,000 miles! Now I am in for it with my new one, though. Sheesh, after that statement, I will not be surprised if a moose hops on my hood in the morning.
LOL, I'll be ready with the trailer......well, at least in spirit. Went to pick it up today and something happened to the wiring, no lights, no brakes, nothing. They are going to try to fix it, ugh.
As for the crack, its right in the middle, so yeah, it bugs me. If it was down low I wouldn't care, but it isn't. Our 97 F-250 has a few chips, but no cracks, figures!
I'm off to Anchorage tomorrow, again. My favorite thing to do!! Can't ya tell??
Then I was driving the company Kia Sedona yesterday with a pedal-type parking brake, and it uses a dash-mounted release instead of the stepping on the pedal itself to release it like in my car.
I made it to work with no mishaps or near-misses this morning. Maybe this luck will continue if I do not let my guard down.
Sorry to hear about the trailer. I hope it was not a dedicated trip for the trailer as it is quite frustrating to make such a long trip just to have to turn around and do it again.
I like the drive to Anchorage, but not quite enough to do it as often as you! My next time down will be, likely, May when I go to pick up the '76 Ford. I plan to flat bed it back to Fairbanks, probably with a U-haul trailer if I can find one.
Oh, and while I am thinking about it, if you happen to know anyone who is looking for "temporary shelter" while building this summer or who wants great components (fridge, stove, etc) from an old '69 Banner camper, I am looking to get rid of mine and am willing to transport it - note though, that it is *not* usable on-truck due to some structural issues (does not affect stationary stability).
I didn't see who was behind the wheel, just kept going full striding, coughing from the fumes.
Well, apparently my coughing really pissed off the driver, because a block later, I hear the clattering of the beater and someone yelling muffled obscenities. It's the Mercedes revver -- an older gent whose general appearance perfectly matched the condition of his car. He's giving me the old one-finger howdy.
Without breaking stride, I shrug as if to say, "I have no idea what your problem is." This seems to enrage him even more. While traveling at idle speed down, he starts fumbling with the passenger-side window and attempting to take a picture of me with his cell phone all at the same time. I smile.
At the next block, there's a four-way stop. While continuing to yell and snap photos, he sort of edges the car toward me as if to cut me off. I slide around him easily, back on to the sidewalk for another round of screaming and threatening and yelling.
One more block to go! I usually cut through a gas station parking lot to get to my subway entrance. The enraged engine abuser actually pulls into the lot and attempts to cut me off. I quickly break direction, circle around his back bumper and walk up right next to the driver's side door. This quiets the screaming and yelling. I then hit the stairs and two-step up to the platform without looking back.
The funny thing is that this person had an extremely easy-to-remember vanity tag (handicapped, no less), and his behavior was the last thing you'd expect out of someone with this particular plate.
After talking with some coworkers and my wife, all of whom said they would have either physically confronted the guy and/or called 911, I decided to call my local precinct and discuss it with them. After all, while I had the guy's plate and a general notion of where he lived, the guy also can probably safely assume I'm a daily commuter and he knows my route. I told them the plate number and they laughed and said that this nut is, in classic cop parlance, "known to the department" but has been all bark so far.
Great way to start the day.
I'll take a gander that his license plate said something like "RELAXX."
I made it to work with no mishaps or near-misses this morning. Maybe this luck will continue if I do not let my guard down.
Sorry to hear about the trailer. I hope it was not a dedicated trip for the trailer as it is quite frustrating to make such a long trip just to have to turn around and do it again.
I like the drive to Anchorage, but not quite enough to do it as often as you! My next time down will be, likely, May when I go to pick up the '76 Ford. I plan to flat bed it back to Fairbanks, probably with a U-haul trailer if I can find one.
Oh, and while I am thinking about it, if you happen to know anyone who is looking for "temporary shelter" while building this summer or who wants great components (fridge, stove, etc) from an old '69 Banner camper, I am looking to get rid of mine and am willing to transport it - note though, that it is *not* usable on-truck due to some structural issues (does not affect stationary stability).
Glad you made it to work ok, lol. No, it wasn't a dedicated trip for the trailer, my truck had to go to Gene's for some warranty stuff. I just figured I'd pick the trailer up and show it to the guy who wants to buy it. Course that didn't work. I'm hoping to have it sold here in the next month, seems kind of silly to keep it since it sits 90% of the year.
I'll mention the camper to my little brother, he's looking for parts for his 69 Cascade. Not sure what he needs though.
So, what happened with the 96 Subaru?
Collectively, we are an incredibly small subset of people, so if we have come across such an array of experiences in the past month, can you imagine what is really going on out there?! :surprise: :sick:
Ended up not being able to find the title, so had to get a replacement for it yesterday at DMV. I plan to take it to the tow shop tomorrow and sign it over. It will be good to be rid of it, all things considered.
The trooper did locate the other vehicle based on my physical description of it, but was not able to pursue it much due to the lack of evidence other than the crash. The other driver did admit to swerving into the left lane "in an attempt to prevent me from passing," so the trooper ended up citing both drivers for "exercise due care to prevent a collision." I talked with the trooper for more than two hours, total, about this and have come to the conclusion that the trooper came up with the best solution given the evidence at hand. I am, however, a little miffed about him citing me since, while I concede that there were other options to take that night, I worked pretty darned hard to avoid a collision with that truck and ended up losing my own vehicle as a result.
The trooper did locate the other vehicle based on my physical description of it, but was not able to pursue it much due to the lack of evidence other than the crash. The other driver did admit to swerving into the left lane "in an attempt to prevent me from passing," so the trooper ended up citing both drivers for "exercise due care to prevent a collision." I talked with the trooper for more than two hours, total, about this and have come to the conclusion that the trooper came up with the best solution given the evidence at hand. I am, however, a little miffed about him citing me since, while I concede that there were other options to take that night, I worked pretty darned hard to avoid a collision with that truck and ended up losing my own vehicle as a result.
Sounds about right, well, at least the other guy got cited too. What goes around comes around, so he'll get his. That's really more than I thought the troopers would do, I figured they'd just cite you and move on not worrying about the other guy. Too bad your insurance company wouldn't do anything and just left you holding the bag. :sick:
Anyway, I went after that driver cleared through, and the driver behind me was able to get straightened out and came on through behind me.
How long have a I had this car now? 3 weeks? :sick:
Man, you need to stay home!! The roads are too dangerous for you! LOL
On another note, I got pulled over by a trooper last night. I was 1/2 mile from the house, headed home with a load of firewood. Hubby was in the lead truck with the dump trailer, he just went on home.
Of course it would be the day I was driving the Ford (a moving violation in its own right) and it would have a headlight out. That's the reason I got stopped! Although I think the trooper was looking for more than that, i.e. drunk drivers maybe. Naturally I didn't have my driver's license with me and of course I didn't have my insurance id card for that truck. He let me off with a warning about the headlight and my license, but I got a correctable ticket for no proof of insurance. I finally got home about 15 minutes after hubby *grumble*. I have to go to the court house or the troopers tomorrow to get the ticket fixed, ugh. :sick:
That was too funny!!
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
The road ends at a stop light and we both turn left onto a wide 4 lane road going through some wide open areas. SL here is 45 MPH I turn get into the right lane and settle in at 50 MPH and that Lexus SUV falls way behind me. :confuse:
I turn right 3 miles down the road with the Lexus way, way behind me. This road is two lanes winding with a 35 MPH SL, I settle in at 40 MPH. Sure enough that Lexus makes the same turn and races up to me rather quickly and takes a position just a little to close to my rear end.
Well this road ends at a stop light and we both turn left onto a wide open 4 lane road with a 45 MPH SL. Guess what? I settle in at 50 MPH the lexus just falls way behind me. :confuse:
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D