Hello. Going to work today I was just cruising like usual, ~45-50mph...no big deal. Well, some guy in a Dodge truck decided he would pull out in front of me. I guess he didn't see me....Anyway, he pulled out in front of me and I slammed on the brakes, lots of tire squeal, it was crazy! A witness said I came within 2" of hitting him. I reckon I stopped from ~50mph in ~30-40ft, which I think is AMAZING. Stock MINI brakes.....they saved my MINI from being mashed to pieces...

I was soooo scared.....especially since we are having a big MINI meet on Saturday! I can't imagine someone would mash my MINI! I just can't get over it...

-Cody

 

That sounds terrible.

It would have been really terrible if you missed a meet because of some a-hole! I would be soo mad if that happened to me.

Glad to hear your ok!

 

Ditto - glad you avoided hitting this guy.

Danger is frequently only just a bad decision away!

 

AHHH, I still cannot believe someone almost hit my MINI....unbelievable...Glad he didn't, cuz there would have been a LOT of cursing and yelling on my part....

-Cody

 

Bastards.... that totally sucks. I've had many near hit occasions and I've had my MINI for less than a month. I'm convinced I'm invisible... I think as soon as I get in Mrs. Skurvy, she turns from black to chameleon...

 

Yea...I guess non-MINI owners have a hard time seeing us...though it seems I'm ALWAYS able to spot a MINI, even if it's in oncoming traffic 2-3 lanes away!

-Cody

 

It's also the MY BIG TRUCK/SUV syndrome. My car is bigger, so you'd better watch out for me, because I'm not looking out for you.

 

I definitely hate when that happens. That is usually when you see me skirting around the idiot 5 seconds later. Only a couple weeks after I got my mini I was run off the road by a big truck. I was forced onto the shoulder and almost into the guardrail (we were going about 60). I hit the horn so hard that I actually bent the mini emblem in the middle of the wheel Needless to say, after that my heart was in my throat for about 10 minutes. A couple weeks after that I got rear-ended while i was stopped, the idiot wasn't paying attention and had to pay for a new bumper, not the same though cause she will never have her original bumper.

 

Yea....there is a reason why Germany's roads are safer than American roads...they have strict rules and they enforce them. I wonder if he/she was messing around with a gadget or something....possibly eating food, drinking some pop, etc....or just blatently doesn't like to watch when they pull out infront of traffic.....

Why are there more deaths and accident's on any given major US Highway then the Autobahn......hrmmm. I wonder why....
-Cody

 

Yup, I see it all the time. Reminds me of driving in Riyadh where the biggest car has the right of way.....not a flattering parallel.....

 

I guess Indi Blue is almost invisible.
Always pays to expect the worst drivers are around you.

 

Yea, I always do drive a little fast, but I always am aware and alert...especially in my MINI. No cell phone (unless I'm at a red light to look up a number or something), radio on...but usually on low volume, mostly just one hand on the wheel though, and ALWAYS paying attention to whats around me. Being literally 2" away from mashing my MINI, if I would have been going any faster, or didn't react as quick as I did, I would deffinitly have a hurt MINI and a hurt me!

Can't wait to upgrade the brakes though
-Cody

 

Another good reason for the Xenon headlights... people tend to see you and even move out of the way when you're coming up behind them on the highway in the left lane. Not always but usually. Definitely a good purchase for my MINI.

 

I get cut off in my MINI all the time :(

 

as much as some people hate daytime running lights, they do make your car more noticable to other drivers. I'm comprimising by driving around with the parking light on. Probably doesn't do much on the highway but more visible on the back roads.

Yesterday some guy in a BMW X5 nearly side swiped me as I was trying to get off the highway. He didn't want to wait to get on I guess. Just keep alert and expect people to do unexpected things.

Glad it didnt' turn out worse for you.

swizzle

 

First, - glad your mini didn't get mashed.

Second - you posted to another thread that you just started driving stick about a month ago. I was thinking about this this morning driving to work...I was curious what your reaction was when the guy pulled in front of you, did you push in the clutch and mash on the brake, or just mash on the brake and kill the engine? My first reaction would just be to mash on the brake as I have driven automatics for so long. If you pushed in the clutch first, do you think you lost any time or did you do both at the same time.

Just curious what a gut reaction of a new manual driver would be in that situation. Thanks

 

My MINI brakes saved me Tuesday. I was driving down the road when I heard "Clippity-Clop Clippty-Clop" Just as my brain was figuring out what I was hearing an 8-point buck ran right in front of my car. I slammed on the brakes and stopped within an inch of hitting it. If anyone had been behind me I would have been toast. I had to pull off the road and get out my legs were shaking so bad.

 

Hey Polizei, I know that close-call feeling. But how great that you avoided trouble. I was afraid I was gonna be reading about another MINI casualty.

Ken

 

I suspect that the same thing is happening to us in MINIs that happens to people on motorcycles. People look before pullling out/changing lanes/falling from the sky/popping up out of bunkers/whatever and what they expect to see is a car or truck, not a little car or a motorcycle. What happens is that they look, but the bike or the little car doesn't really register with them because it's so much smaller than what they're expecting to see. They look, but they legitimately don't see it.

Doesn't exculpate them from guilt, but it's a phenomenon that's common and recognized and we need to be aware of it 'cuz we're the ones who'll be on the losing end of the ensuing collision.

Solution? Watch yourself. Expect people not to see you. Expect people to look past or over you without any recognition and give them the space that they think they have. Motorcyclists have been learning this and old motorcyclists have been doing it for oh, about a century now.

 

[quote=Minitenango]...I was curious what your reaction was when the guy pulled in front of you, did you push in the clutch and mash on the brake, or just mash on the brake and kill the engine? [quote]

Even more fun is going from manual to automatic and doing an emergency stop, I've done that once. After having driven stick for a couple years I needed to borrrow my old Civic Wagon back from my parents while my car was having some engine work done and needed to do a panic stop. It's really amazing how fast a car will stop when you put both feet down hard on the brake thinking you are hitting the clutch and brake. After that I needed new front tires as the soft compond I ran was burnt off in a flat spot from locking the tires.

 

Glad you're OK. Keep your lights on at all times, and kudos to MINI brakes

 

You sir are a survivor. Good reactions, reliable brakes and predictable handling and a mix of luck saved ya

 

Well, it's been about 3 months now, and working at MINI I have to drive manual BMW's and MINI's on hills all day long, so that has REALLY helped. No problems anymore.

And I can't exactly remember if I was in a gear or not (I like to cruise in neutral sometimes) but the end result was that the car was still running....so I either had it in neutral, or I hit the clutch and held it down. Honestly, everything happend so fast I didn't know what was going on....

And yes, I do have day-time running lights always on as an option and as a safty measure. And Flickster, I hit a deer in my truck...so I know how you feel about that!

Thanks everyone, I'm just really glad my MINI didn't get hit! Good thing I have uber quick reactions from playing video games for so many years. I've also found out that my hand-eye condination is better from playing video games too...no lie. CS, AA, TFC (Half-Life), etc.

And Acitydweller, handling had nothing to do in this situation....

-Cody

 

You need to be sympathetic after all, it's really tough to see who's around you while you're scarfing down breakfast and talking on the phone.

Seriously though - great reaction time - you were lucky. Glad to hear everyone emerged unscathed.

Enjoy your upcoming meet!

 

Oh I will! It's hopefully going to be 4-5hours long, and hopefully 50+ MINI's on the drive. I can't wait....it's going to be so fun, I just hope I get my new CG-Lock my then!

Edit* WHooo! It's going to be here today!

-Cody