No Joke: My RX-8 saved my life tonight
09-25-2006, 12:18 AM
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No Joke: My RX-8 saved my life tonight
I was driving to a gig my band was playing tonight when over a period of 3 minutes my RX-8 was forced to perform like a super vehicle.
I had just exited the freeway and was in a lane that merged with another. The car in the other lane was about two car lengths behind me so I wasn’t that concerned. However, at the very last minute, the guy decides to punch it in order to pass me. He ends up side by side with me, as the lanes become one. Quite aware of the shoulder barriers made of concrete, I jam on my wicked good brakes, and let him sail by, before entering the single lane behind him. I mentally flip the guy off. Freakin’ idiot.
But as I fumed over the lameness of this driver, little did I know that the real adventure was just ahead.
I took a turn onto a 45 mph 2-lane road with residential homes on both sides. Being the city, even though it was Sunday, the road was very busy. The sidewalk of the street, with its raised concrete curbs, also served as driveways to enclosed garages, where the curb would dip. This gave the entire curb a wavy look from the side. The garages were set about the width of an average parking space away from the street, and were lined up in a row with giant walls (10 feet or so) designed with raw rock set in between them. Rock steps went up to homes in between.
I was doing about 50 mph in the right hand lane. There was a huge salvage truck behind me. The rear of the truck was filled with scrap metal and cardboard and all kinds of other recyclables. I know cause when the black Mercedes started veering towards me from the left lane, I was staring at his haul.
That’s why I am surprised I had time to respond. I only caught the action from the corner of my eye.
The Mercedes was not going to stop. The owner was either on a cell phone or shaving his back or looking at pictures of his kids or smoking crack, but for whatever reason he decided to veer into my lane with pure unadulterated obliviousness. He was in virtually the identical spot as the dude who had raced past me on the off ramp, but this time the idiot was coming at me too. Worse, in this case, I could not slam on my brakes. There was that huge gnarly truck 5 feet away from my bumper.
I layed on my horn.
And then there was a split second. I remember it vividly now. I’ve been reviewing the memory for the last 3 hours since it happened. There was a split second when I had to make choice.
I was still laying on my horn, and the guy was not stopping.
The curb had just dipped into a driveway.
The guy didn’t appear to be stopping. If he didn’t stop, I would have to take the hit.
I veered onto the sidewalk.
Have you ever driven on a busy residential sidewalk at 50 mph? Until now, me neither, except in video games. And most of the times, while playing those video games and driving on a sidewalk, I hit something and crashed. So, as you might assume, I was scared pale shaking shitless.
The wheels on the left side of my car were rising and falling with the tide of the driveways. The right side of my car was flush with a rock wall that seemed to be going by me much faster than it was when I was 8 or 9 feet away.
The Mercedes pulled entirely into my lane.
There have been moments in everyone’s lives when focus is important. This was one of those moments for me. I remember staring at that sidewalk like it was the only thing in the universe. I remember every twist of the wheel trying to navigate the rapidly rising and falling curb. I remember the color of specific patches of concrete. I remember that I wasn’t thinking anything except for one phrase over and over again: “If this was my old Honda I would be dead.”
The Mercedes suddenly realized what it had done and pulled back into the left lane in a blur.
But I was stuck. There was no way I could safely get back on the road. Even as I had managed to decrease my speed (35-40 now), there was no safe entrance to return. There were two reasons for this predicament. One, the driveway entrances were now too small and number two, the salvage truck had unintentionally pulled up along side me because of how quickly the situation had developed.
So I kept driving on the sidewalk, slowing as much as possible, until I was able to come to a complete stop. Good fortune shined on me as I was able to make that stop right at the end of the block where the curb ominously hovered above the cross street by about a foot. I imagine the person waiting at the intersection gave me a very vexed look but I never noticed.
The salvage truck had come to a dead stop next to me. He was motioning for me to pull ahead of him.
I will never forget the look on that man’s face.
He looked at me like I was the luckiest motherf*cker on this planet.
Traffic was now entirely stopped in the right hand lane of this 45 mph zone as the salvage truck tried to usher me ahead of him. Horns were honking like mad. The size of this guy’s truck had obstructed the view of the entire incident to all the vehicles behind him. Perhaps only the Mercedes, Mr. Salvage, and myself, ever saw what happened.
And get this, the Mercedes pulls up at the red light ahead, rolls down their window and waits for me.
I pull up alongside this Australian dude, just shaking. Both of us, shaking.
He looks at me sheepishly with huge eyes and says, “I am so sorry.”
At this point, I am happy to be alive, and absolutely in a state of shock. I tell him, just like any one else who has been randomly cut off would tell him: “You should watch where you’re going!” To be honest, I never thought about adding an insult like “Asshat” or “********”. I was too happy to be OK. And I knew my car was OK. That’s the incredible thing, I knew my car was OK, even after what it had been subjected too. The precision was masterful. The handling of the RX-8 saved me from a major collision. If it had been my old Honda I would be in the hospital or an auto body shop right now. Instead, I am safely at home with my wife.
Who has been hugged like a million times since I got home.
Love what you have folks.
It can disappear in a instant.
I had just exited the freeway and was in a lane that merged with another. The car in the other lane was about two car lengths behind me so I wasn’t that concerned. However, at the very last minute, the guy decides to punch it in order to pass me. He ends up side by side with me, as the lanes become one. Quite aware of the shoulder barriers made of concrete, I jam on my wicked good brakes, and let him sail by, before entering the single lane behind him. I mentally flip the guy off. Freakin’ idiot.
But as I fumed over the lameness of this driver, little did I know that the real adventure was just ahead.
I took a turn onto a 45 mph 2-lane road with residential homes on both sides. Being the city, even though it was Sunday, the road was very busy. The sidewalk of the street, with its raised concrete curbs, also served as driveways to enclosed garages, where the curb would dip. This gave the entire curb a wavy look from the side. The garages were set about the width of an average parking space away from the street, and were lined up in a row with giant walls (10 feet or so) designed with raw rock set in between them. Rock steps went up to homes in between.
I was doing about 50 mph in the right hand lane. There was a huge salvage truck behind me. The rear of the truck was filled with scrap metal and cardboard and all kinds of other recyclables. I know cause when the black Mercedes started veering towards me from the left lane, I was staring at his haul.
That’s why I am surprised I had time to respond. I only caught the action from the corner of my eye.
The Mercedes was not going to stop. The owner was either on a cell phone or shaving his back or looking at pictures of his kids or smoking crack, but for whatever reason he decided to veer into my lane with pure unadulterated obliviousness. He was in virtually the identical spot as the dude who had raced past me on the off ramp, but this time the idiot was coming at me too. Worse, in this case, I could not slam on my brakes. There was that huge gnarly truck 5 feet away from my bumper.
I layed on my horn.
And then there was a split second. I remember it vividly now. I’ve been reviewing the memory for the last 3 hours since it happened. There was a split second when I had to make choice.
I was still laying on my horn, and the guy was not stopping.
The curb had just dipped into a driveway.
The guy didn’t appear to be stopping. If he didn’t stop, I would have to take the hit.
I veered onto the sidewalk.
Have you ever driven on a busy residential sidewalk at 50 mph? Until now, me neither, except in video games. And most of the times, while playing those video games and driving on a sidewalk, I hit something and crashed. So, as you might assume, I was scared pale shaking shitless.
The wheels on the left side of my car were rising and falling with the tide of the driveways. The right side of my car was flush with a rock wall that seemed to be going by me much faster than it was when I was 8 or 9 feet away.
The Mercedes pulled entirely into my lane.
There have been moments in everyone’s lives when focus is important. This was one of those moments for me. I remember staring at that sidewalk like it was the only thing in the universe. I remember every twist of the wheel trying to navigate the rapidly rising and falling curb. I remember the color of specific patches of concrete. I remember that I wasn’t thinking anything except for one phrase over and over again: “If this was my old Honda I would be dead.”
The Mercedes suddenly realized what it had done and pulled back into the left lane in a blur.
But I was stuck. There was no way I could safely get back on the road. Even as I had managed to decrease my speed (35-40 now), there was no safe entrance to return. There were two reasons for this predicament. One, the driveway entrances were now too small and number two, the salvage truck had unintentionally pulled up along side me because of how quickly the situation had developed.
So I kept driving on the sidewalk, slowing as much as possible, until I was able to come to a complete stop. Good fortune shined on me as I was able to make that stop right at the end of the block where the curb ominously hovered above the cross street by about a foot. I imagine the person waiting at the intersection gave me a very vexed look but I never noticed.
The salvage truck had come to a dead stop next to me. He was motioning for me to pull ahead of him.
I will never forget the look on that man’s face.
He looked at me like I was the luckiest motherf*cker on this planet.
Traffic was now entirely stopped in the right hand lane of this 45 mph zone as the salvage truck tried to usher me ahead of him. Horns were honking like mad. The size of this guy’s truck had obstructed the view of the entire incident to all the vehicles behind him. Perhaps only the Mercedes, Mr. Salvage, and myself, ever saw what happened.
And get this, the Mercedes pulls up at the red light ahead, rolls down their window and waits for me.
I pull up alongside this Australian dude, just shaking. Both of us, shaking.
He looks at me sheepishly with huge eyes and says, “I am so sorry.”
At this point, I am happy to be alive, and absolutely in a state of shock. I tell him, just like any one else who has been randomly cut off would tell him: “You should watch where you’re going!” To be honest, I never thought about adding an insult like “Asshat” or “********”. I was too happy to be OK. And I knew my car was OK. That’s the incredible thing, I knew my car was OK, even after what it had been subjected too. The precision was masterful. The handling of the RX-8 saved me from a major collision. If it had been my old Honda I would be in the hospital or an auto body shop right now. Instead, I am safely at home with my wife.
Who has been hugged like a million times since I got home.
Love what you have folks.
It can disappear in a instant.
09-25-2006, 12:51 AM
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Wow, that's insane, I'm glad to see/hear you're alright! It's only icing on the cake that the car is fine too, that's what insurance is for, to bad life insurance can't do for us what car insurance can do for our cars, huh?
Glad you're OK!
Glad you're OK!
09-25-2006, 06:05 AM
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Your peripheral vision is very keen, most people wouldnt think so, but it actually picks up motion better than your center vision.
This is why infantry training tells you to always scan an area, and never stare at one spot.
Good job reacting though, most people just lay on the brakes regardless of whats happening.
This is why infantry training tells you to always scan an area, and never stare at one spot.
Good job reacting though, most people just lay on the brakes regardless of whats happening.
09-25-2006, 07:48 AM
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Holy siite!!!!
Glad youre OK.
You gave your right side shocks quite the workout!
Good call keeping it straight on the sidewalk. (even if the driveway entrances would have stayed wide enough, the undulating pavement would have made you loose control if you had tried to make the turn in to get back on the street.
Very cool on your part not to bit the guy's head off, extra cool points.
Oh, and EXELENT narrative style, You know how to properly tell a story
Glad youre OK.
You gave your right side shocks quite the workout!
Good call keeping it straight on the sidewalk. (even if the driveway entrances would have stayed wide enough, the undulating pavement would have made you loose control if you had tried to make the turn in to get back on the street.
Very cool on your part not to bit the guy's head off, extra cool points.
Oh, and EXELENT narrative style, You know how to properly tell a story
09-25-2006, 11:28 AM
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whoa!! Nice story and I'm glad you and your RX-8 were able to walk away safely from that incident!
09-25-2006, 02:59 PM
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Glad you are ok and everything worked out. If it were me i would have taken the hit. First because it is the other motorists fault, and his insurance will have to pay. Good luck getting money if you wreck your 8 on the sidewalk with no hit. I dont know how that case would work when another driver forces you to make a move that wrecks your car but never touches you, even though he's obviously at fault. Secondly, if there was anyone on the sidewalk you'd probably kill them. Even if you didn't notice anyone peripherally, at that speed and with no time to think about the situation you can never really know. You are protected by a car with a lot of airbags, they are not protected at all.
I know you didn't have time to think about what you were doing, and the key thing is that in the end it worked out with the best possible ending. You were really lucky. Did you try playing the lottery later?
I know you didn't have time to think about what you were doing, and the key thing is that in the end it worked out with the best possible ending. You were really lucky. Did you try playing the lottery later?
