On this topic, my afterburners saved my tail (or at least the left side of my MINI) today.

On a four lane 50 mph road, I was in the slow lane when a large white Toyota decided to change lanes into me (no turn signal - a slow drifting lane shift right into where I was) - I was passing her on the right but so slowly that I had been hanging to her right for a long while (the safe way to get around someone doing under the speed limit in the passing lane). I saw the right side of her car literally a couple inches from Maggie - and then ignited the afterburners while fumbling for the horn. I never got a horn blast off but I was 50 feet ahead of her before she noticed the near miss. In the rear view mirror, I saw her almost flip the car - she corrected so radically to the left that the car fell into the violent slalom motion. Eventually, she straightened out but was undoubtedly shaken, not stirred.

With any other car, I never could have evaded the danger zone so quickly. I was leaving myself a forward escape route from this driver - but to stay safe, I had to accelerate like a rocket sled. Thankfully, Maggie obliged....

Not a scratch on her - a sideswipe would have really ruined my whole Thanksgiving !!

Bill