Hi list.
I am new to the list, and have posted a couple of times. I was not going to
mention this story, but after reading Gary's(and the other crash story)
post, I have decided to share my sad story that proves Gary's point exactly.
A couple of months ago, I crashed my roadster. I rear ended a SUV. The
damage was not too bad, and I was only going about 10-15 mph when I hit
(hard on the breaks and tires screeching). It was not a good day, but
thankfully no one got hurt (of course, I had no seatbelts and the top off,
not good!). I had only had the roadster for a month and a half or so, and
had just gotten it out of the shop! To top everything off, I am 31 and this
is my first crash ever! It was totally my fault, and that brings me to
Gary's points. I have been driving a 68 VW bus for the last 10 years. In a
bus, you are way up high and can see everything. Also a bus is REALLY slow.
To drive it, you have to put the pedal to the metal, and even then people
are honking at you to speed up. I have been driving this way for 10 years.
Now suddenly, I decide to get a roadster (kept the bus too!) and these
habits do not transfer well! I do not have the defensive driving habits
that Gary was talking about(I have had to play "Johnny Race Car Diver" in
the bus, just to keep up with the flow of traffic!). Roadsters are really
small and really fast and you sure can't see as much as you can riding high
in the bus.
Anyway, some lessons in life are learnt the hard way.
I have pictures of the damage, if any one wants to see. I will send them to
you. (I know, some people are sick (haha)) The car is "fixed" now (still
have to do the finishing touches, like paint!), but no way does it look as
good as when I got it.
For anyone that is still reading my tale of woe, has anyone seen that new
Honda Roadster? I saw one on the street today in San Jose. They look like
a cross between a miata and a mercedes coverable. Kind of futuristic
looking, but real racy too!
Thanks for reading,
Greg
Santa Cruz
68 1600 with a L16b
68 VW bus (for over 10 years now!)
(I figure if I have had the bus, 10 years, I will probably have the Roadster
forever!)
----- Original Message -----
From: Gary McCormick <svgkm@halley.ca.essd.northgrum.com>
To: Andrew Murphy <solex67@hotmail.com>
Cc: <datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net>
Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2000 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: Respecting the danger
> When driving a car as small as a Roadster, it helps if you have ever
ridden motorcycles in
> traffic. Motorcycles/motorcyclists are even smaller and harder to see than
a small car
> like the Roadster and if you are going to survive while riding one you
must adopt an
> extremely defensive driving attitude. My operative mindset when I rode a
motorcycle was to
> pretend that I was invisible to other drivers - because for all intents
and purposes, I
> was. On a motorcycle I have been cutoff, run out of my lane, I have even
had a car pull a
> left turn in front of me even though I had established eye contact with
the driver!
>
> You must also maintain a high level of situational awareness - always know
what cars or
> other vehicles are around you, how fast they are going, whether they are
going to turn or
> stop (hard to know since only about 15% of drivers ever use their turn
signals!). What I
> am getting at here is that adopting a similar defensive driving posture
while driving your
> Roadster could save your life, and certainly your body panels. All that
having been said,
> rear-enders are almost impossible to avoid by any action of your own -
very frustrating. I
> have been rear-ended 3 times (never in my Roadster, thank goodness... ):
once in the
> middle of a chain when traffic started to move at a light, then stopped
suddenly and
> someone three cars back wasn't paying attention; and twice when a light
had just turned
> green and a driver approaching the light had eyes only for the green light
and not for the
> fact that the stopped traffic had just barely begun to move. Incidentally
(and I don't
> intend to raise the ire of the distaff branch of the Roadster driving
fraternity by noting
> this fact) all 3 of my rear-ender accidents were precipitated by female
drivers. Trend or
> coincidence? You decide
>
> One of the dangers of getting away from a light or a stop sign is the
possibility that the
> driver coming up behind you is not paying sufficient attention, and if you
stop, pull up
> and stop again, they only see the motion (you know, kinda like the T-Rex
in Jurassic
> Park... ) and WHAM!
>
> Gary McCormick
> San José, CA
> '70 2000, SRL311-13291
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------
>
> Andrew Murphy wrote:
>
> > List,
> >
> > After reading posts about rear enders and backing up accidents, it made
me
> > stop and think.
> >
> > Every time I go on a run with the guys from SoCalROC, I am amazed at how
> > SMALL these cars really are. You can really tell when you are out on the
> > road and are behind someone. When I drive mine to work, I sometimes look
at
> > it parked between two midsize cars and I remember the matchbox cars I
used
> > to play with when I was a kid.
> >
> > Up until the Julian/Borrego run, I had no seat belt installed on the
> > passenger side of my car. My girlfriend insisted (rightfully so) that I
get
> > one installed before she would go with me on the run. I had the bizarre
> > thought that if I flipped the car at high speed or we got broadsided by
an
> > SUV, seatbelts probably would not help much.
> >
> > So although I love to go fast in my car and take turns and everything
else,
> > I do try to keep in mind that my car weighs about 2000 lbs. and has a
> > remarkably strong and fast engine for its size. When I get it restored,
I am
> > putting in a roll bar and also safety harnesses.
> >
> > It may not stop me from getting in an accident, but hopefully I will
walk
> > away.
> >
> > Andrew Murphy
> > 67.5 2000 Solex
> > SoCalROC
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