"Just Goes To Show......"

A good friend of mine and his wife were en route home from upstate Wisconsin and he emailed me to tell me about a harrowing experience they had. They drive a mid sized SUV. Evidently another motorist in the middle lane to their left decided at last moment to exit the interstate with only a few feet left before they both passed the exit. So what did he do, he pulled over right in front of them at roughly 65 mph and barely missed hitting them. My friend said he hit the brakes and almost lost control trying not to hit the guy and was fortunate to avoid what could have become a serious accident thru no fault of their own. I asked hm how he would have liked being in a 12 ton motorhome and have that happen to which he replied something to the effect that he'd just react and do the same thing, hit the brakes and stop before hitting the guy. That's when I felt he needed a tad bit of "educmacation" on this subject. He had no clue that you don't just hit the brakes and stop in an RV as you would in a car. And I think that's what the majority of motorists think like also. Afterwards he said he had no clue and had never thought about that and that now he knows that big RVs can't stop or react nearly as fast as a car can, etc. Too bad there isn't something in the driver's license tests in every state that asks a few questions about this very subject so that the average motorist could perhaps be made aware of what RVs are up against when out there on the roads. Just wanted to share this as I felt it good info to pass on should any of you have friends that are clueless about it.............

Drive safe and watch out for I's&M's. That would be Idiots & Morons...............

Regards, BankShot..................(aka Terry)

 

This kind of thing seems to happen way too frequently Mike. Never ceases to amaze me how on just about every trip we take we run into at least a couple of I's & M's that force me to use the air horn. I've never understood why someone in a 4,000 lb vehicle would want to play the game of sideswipe with a vehicle that weighs roughly 6 times that. And yet they do it, go figure. Love the ones that pace you as they come down an on ramp onto an interstate and then cut right in front of you at the very last minute and then flip you off for not stopping or speeding up for them. What are those folks thinking. Perhaps they aren't thinking due to lack of grey matter between their ears..........

All the best to you, Terry................(aka BankShot)

 

Some years back, I had a fellow in a pickup try to cut in front of me at the last second to get to his exit while I was running at 65 in the right lane. I was driving an 80 ton capacity tri-axle tow truck fully lit up on my way to a break down, and my pusher bumper clipped his rear quarter and spun him cross ways across the front of my truck. By the time I could get stopped, all four of his tires were flat and the fancy rims on the drivers side were destroyed, but fortunately the truck didn't flip over. He tried to tell the responding LEO that I had deliberately swerved to hit him, but after the officer talked to me and a witness that stopped behind us, he promptly ticketed the guy for reckless driving. I didn't even have to show him the videos from the multiple onboard cameras, although he did have me copy them to a memory stick in case they were needed in court.

 

Hey Dutch - I hear you loud and clear. Frustrates the living you know what out of me when stuff like this happens. It's like these idiots are driving in a different world and are oblivious to what's going on around them. We can all discuss this till the cow's home but unfortunately it will just continue to occur. I just hope and pray that one of us doesn't get into an accident with one of them and that I personally am able to just use my air horn when absolutely necessary and not fire off a barrage of paint balls from the twin electric paint ball cannons I have mounted under each headlight. Ha! Don't I wish................

Regards, Terry................(aka BankShot)

 

Complaining about bad drivers is about as fruitful as complaining about crooked politicians. They will both be around long after you are dead and gone.

 

When I took a CDL course a number of years ago we watched a set of videos entitled Defensive Driving for the Professional Driver. The gist of the entire series was that "you will be driving a large vehicle that is perceived to be slow and people will do all sorts of stupid things to get around you. However, because it is large it can seriously injure or kill people if it is in an accident and you will be accused regardless of whether or not you are at fault. Therefore, you need to learn to drive defensively!"

 

DH & I both drive defensively, but we also have a dash cam on at all times while enroute to record the stupidity of those who think they can cut in front or across us & think we can stop on a dime.

Lori-