Like many people on this and other auto-themed forums, I enjoy driving through the local mountain roads. And like many of us, I never seriously considered the consequences of something going wrong. While not especially serious (no injuries), a recent event serves to remind me that we all drive street cars--not racing cars--and we drive them on public roads--not race tracks.

I won't go into detail of the incident, but will say that this was a talented driver in a well-prepared car, driving on a not-very-challenging road at a not-especially-fast speed. Nevertheless it still could have ended disastrously, and it made me stop to consider what could have happened if it had occurred with someone driving faster or on a less-forgiving stretch of road: A situation many of us may be familiar with.

It reminded me, and I want to remind you all, that nobody ever has an accident and says "I saw it coming from a mile away." The story is always, "I don't know what happened, it happened so fast."

No matter how well you drive, no matter how capable your car, you are not driving in a controlled environment. In a blink of an eye, things can--and do--go wrong. Things that you cannot predict. Things that most certainly can happen to you. Things that you can only prepare for by thinking before you motor. Please remember that as you head to the Dragon, or Vegas, or the Mountains, or your favorite on-ramp.

I now will step down from my soapbox, and return you to your regularly scheduled forum. Thanks for reading.

 

At least give us some details!

Yes though, I've been on quite a few runs on the street that had me thinking to myself "Do these guys even have a clue what would happen if they hit someone, or overcooked a turn?"

Oh, and some people do drive full track prepared cars on the street.

 

I'll relate my "almost"...

I was driving my Volvo C70 along Hwy 1 in California near Big Sur. As you drive north there is a stretch of road that rises, falls, then curves sharply left at the bottom. To your right is the mountain and to your left is the cliff. I was blowing off some steam, driving too fast, and as the car came over the rise and into the turn it was almost over. As I turned hard left I was in serious trouble. I managed to brake enough while avoiding a skid. While nothing happened, the car could have easily slammed in to the mountain and then bounced across traffic and down the cliff. It's moments like that when you realize how close you came to saying "it all happened so fast..." or worse, never saying anything again. I am less than a week from taking delivery on my first MCS and I hope to never put myself in that position again. This is a great thread that makes us realize how focused and careful we should be.

 

yep that's a serious piece of road. glad you kept it together. thanks for the post.

 

Same respect needs to be taken on club tours also.

My MG club had a near double fatality on a tour once, and the neighboring Jensen-Healey club DID have a fatality. Both on mountain type roads.

 

Thanks for posting your experiences. I'm sorry to hear about the deaths. Let's hope they can serve as a reminder to us, and potentially save some lives.

 

Yep, we are all guilty of driving poorly. Some just don't deal with the consequences as much as others do. I hate driving on the public road for just that uncertainty. Mr. Honda Civic with the cooling tower for an exhaust pipe always freaks me out.

 

Sorry to stereotype

 

".....And it can happen to you. And then it can happen to you again. "

Steve McQueen in LeMans

 

yeah, dont do that

 

Like I said, we are all guilty. Even the mini drivers. My stereotyping was completely unintentional I assure you. It's just that some drivers tend to be more dangerous than others, especially on the public road.

 

forgive me?

 

we have monthly Vespa rides here in the Northern CA Bay Area, and recently while taking our normally non-eventful Vespa rides, an unfortunate incident happened to one of our riders. He was riding in his lane, not going fast and just cruising along a slow pace through some mountain roads. A car coming the other direction didn't respect the double yellow middle line and slammed head on in to the Vespa. While the Vespa rider didn't die, he was seriously injured and won't be able to work for long time.

Sure, there is more danger to your body while driving a motorcycle/scooter than when driving a Mini, but you don't want to be that person who hits some poor guy on a motorcycle/vespa.. or any other vehicle or tree or anything.

Have fun, but be safe!

 

alright... but just this one time

 

thanks

 

I am from the Monterey/Big Sur area, that is an awesome road . What you did in that Volvo was great. We just test drove a 2008 C70 convertible, with the 18" wheels, and they are not very sporty handling cars. Not knocking Volvo, but it ain't a BMW. It was super nice looking, Red/white leather, but to floaty for me.

 

I used to fly with an R&D outfit. A cardinal rule is to work up to any maneuver. I suppose it isn't the ultimate in excitement, but it makes the excitement available over and over, again.

 

I have 'Down Sized' 3x from a Full Size Pickup to a Dodge Durango and now to a MINI (keeping the Durango). In my 7+ years of experience at driving these larger vehicle I have always tested their drivability to a certain extent. So that I am comfortable with how they would handle in an emergency situation, ie. Hard Braking, Skidding, and Cornering (all on local roads). I have been put in situations where I have had to use at least one of these, and not in a good way. Never has an accident occured, but I have come closer than I would like to admit. I am well aware of my surroundings when I am behind the wheel, I wish I could say that for other drivers. While being behind the wheel of our 9 Day Old MINI "Molly" I am still getting used to how she handles, I will not be testing the extremes in her for quite some time, but I am more aware of the OTHER drivers now that I can see the grills of their vehicles much closer than I would like and have ever experienced.

 

But...but...those grills are just smiles. Just see them as cartoon characters in a Disney movie. And it doesn't hurt when they try to merge with your baby. What's all this about preparedness?

In fact, I'm in your camp.