Live-N-Learn
-OR-
Learn-N-Live
"High speed maneuvers"
OK, there's a reason you WILL get a ticket on the Autobahn if you are caught drinking a beverage in your car or having a cell phone plastered to your ear. When traveling at high speeds your attention MUST be focused on the road and BOTH your hands on the wheel. NO EXCEPTIONS! My first car (sorry no pic's) was a cool 1969 Charger that was fast for a 16 year old. Traveling home one night after work listening to my stereo cruising at 115mph I came up on a easy left hand turn. Well I decided to adjust my stereo at that point where my right front tire went off the side of the 2 lane road. Instead of playing it cool I panicked and cut the wheels HARD to the left causing my car to start a sideways skid taking up both lanes of the highway giving the Jeep Cherokee coming the other way NO place to go. WHAM!!! I hit the Cherokee head on to my passenger side sending me spinning off into a tree then taking out a culvert. Well as you can imagine the Jeep was totaled, my Charger was COMPLETELY totaled and LUCKILY the lady in the other vehicle was OK and I only suffered a concussion and minor cuts and bruises. Truth is I COULD have either killed myself or the lady in the other vehicle which if you think about it would be worse! When you drive at high speeds you not only have an obligation to yourself to be "tuned in" you have an obligation to everyone else on the road. Trust me I had a friend in high school who killed himself after an auto accident where he (by mistake) killed a passenger in his Jeep and he couldn't handle the guilt. These are things you should be thinking about when you pull this stuff. Hey, I'm guessing there's no one on this site aside from actual race car drivers who have driven at high speeds any more than I and after realizing when I was 17 I could have killed someone I keep the fact that my actions could have a reaction to some innocent person, maybe a father, a mother or a grandparent, WHATEVER! And remember one thing, if you get in a wreck at high speeds your chances of survival go WAY down. Look, I'm not saying NOT to drive fast, I would be a TOTAL hypocrite if I said that. The ONLY thing I'm saying is think about potential scenarios and pick and choose the time you decide to open her up! Know the area, know your vehicle and don't show off to someone in your car and drive beyond your skill level. Don't make a mistake that you would have to live with for the rest of your life. And remember things like "closing speed" which is the speed you come up on something or someone in front of you going much slower, it comes up on you faster than you think....TRUST ME!! And the lifting effect. Take off speed is around 125mph. Unless you have a car or motorcycle that was specifically designed to handle those speeds you car is going to get really light and your steering and brakes will be a LOT less effective. Driving fast is probably the biggest passion in my life, I LIVE for the adrenaline but one thing I've learned is picking and choosing the times and places I do it! That's all!!
Lesson learned: The best place to learn to drive at high speeds is not being around other people if possible. If not just slow down as 10 seconds of good judgment would be MUCH better than a lifetime of regret!!
-greg-