Video of My Greatest Fear

[RonBoyd]

There are those who have an unreasonable fear of heights or enclosed spaces. This is my unreasonable (and, I suppose, irrational) dread:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qvXb...layer_embedded

[FUEGO]

I made it to about 2:05. Ouch!

[Purron]

Not such an irrational fear IMHO. I was plowed into years ago by someone who didn't stop at an intersection. He was a worker in a car repair shop taking a high end Mercedes out for a joy ride. Needless to say, the owner was none too pleased when he found out. To this day, I sometimes get a creepy feeling going through intersections.

[NW-Bound]

I watched it to the end. I will now have to take my RV just to go buy groceries. Why the RV? Because I do not have a tank. Too many idiots on the road!

[Alan]

I admit that it is a fear I have as well. A few years ago early in the morning we were stopped at a red light, DW was driving, and I heard a terrific screech of tires, and braced myself for impact but it was the poor guy in the next lane to us that got rear ended.

[FIREd]

Do you think your fear is so unreasonable? Every single intersection along the main drag that runs in front of my house has memorials for people who died because idiots run through red lights all the time... Personally I always leave myself a lot of room to take evasive actions when I drive. Even if I have a green light I keep an eye on all incoming traffic when I cross an intersection just as it were a flashing yellow light.

[CuppaJoe]

At first I thought you meant you have a fear of being caught on tape doing a no-no traffic violation.

Running into another vehicle at an intersection doesn't strike me as an unreasonable and irrational dread at all.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer Personally I always leave myself a lot of room to take evasive actions when I drive. Even if I have a green light I keep an eye on all incoming traffic when I cross an intersection just as it were a flashing yellow light.

On our arrival in Houston from England our Texas host showed us a recent article in the paper about a driver defending herself after she went through a red light and hit another car. She said, "He must have run a green light". The point was that we were being warned not to immediately move off on green, but to give a few seconds for the "red-lighters" to get through.

However, there is nothing you can do if you are sitting at a red light and get rear ended.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe Running into another vehicle at an intersection doesn't strike me as an unreasonable and irrational dread at all.

Absolutely.

Ten's of thousands die on the roads every year. If people got killed on the roads in big events like they do in airplane crashes then there would be a whole new focus on driving safety.

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan ... Ten's of thousands die on the roads every year. If people got killed on the roads in big events like they do in airplane crashes then there would be a whole new focus on driving safety.

I'm not so sure about that as an American mantra is, "you cannot live without a car!"

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan On our arrival in Houston from England our Texas host showed us a recent article in the paper about a driver defending herself after she went through a red light and hit another car. She said, "He must have run a green light". The point was that we were being warned not to immediately move off on green, but to give a few seconds for the "red-lighters" to get through. However, there is nothing you can do if you are sitting at a red light and get rear ended.

When I sit at a red light I always leave several yards of space in front of my car and keep an eye on the rear view mirror. If someone comes behind me a little bit fast, I can move forward a a few yards to give them extra braking room. If someone comes behind me really fast and shows no signs of slowing down, I have enough yardage in front of me to get out of Dodge (if I am not boxed in that is). It's not foolproof, but it's good to have options.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CuppaJoe I'm not so sure about that as an American mantra is, "you cannot live without a car!"

I'm not suggesting giving up cars, I'm suggesting that instead of 1,000 deaths in a week scattered over the whole population and country you would have 10 accidents each week where 100 people are killed, then I think you would see European style driving tests and bans on eating, texting, talking on the phone etc. A few people dying here and there on the roads just isn't news worthy - always better PR-wise to kill people slowly.

USA road deaths are about the lowest in the world but over 40,000 still die every year, plus goodness knows how many serious injuries.

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer When I sit at a red light I always leave several yards of space in front of my car and keep an eye on the rear view mirror. If someone comes behind me a little bit fast, I can move forward a a few yards to give them extra braking room. If someone comes behind me really fast and shows no signs of slowing down, I have enough yardage in front of me to get out of Dodge (if I am not boxed in that is). It's not foolproof, but it's good to have options.

Very wise tactics. Another good tactic I knew about but didn't practice until it happened to a friend of mine is to keep your wheels pointed forward while you are waiting to turn left. This friend got rear-ended and the forward motion caused by the high speed of the tail ender knocked her into the on-coming traffic where she was hit head on.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer When I sit at a red light I always leave several yards of space in front of my car and keep an eye on the rear view mirror. If someone comes behind me a little bit fast, I can move forward a a few yards to give them extra braking room. If someone comes behind me really fast and shows no signs of slowing down, I have enough yardage in front of me to get out of Dodge (if I am not boxed in that is). It's not foolproof, but it's good to have options.

That sounds just like my survival strategy for if I am ever in an elevator that plummets to earth... at the last second, I will jump up in the air thus escaping the collision.

[tryan]

Geez the motorcycle accidents are really disturbing. The school bus is a close second.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd That sounds just like my survival strategy for if I am ever in an elevator that plummets to earth... at the last second, I will jump up in the air thus escaping the collision.

Is that your way of calling me stupid?

[CuppaJoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan .... USA road deaths are about the lowest in the world but over 40,000 still die every year, plus goodness knows how many serious injuries.

I haven't thought this through, Alan, but it seems to me that Americans have a very high tolerance for vehicular injuries and deaths and probably would go a lot higher in that acceptance. Even so, I think most of us really do want more safety and tolerance for fewer distractions.

[RonBoyd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREdreamer Is that your way of calling me stupid?

What?!?!?!

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonBoyd What?!?!?!

Maybe I misunderstood, but your post sounded very sarcastic to me...

[Texas Proud]

Look at the one that starts at about 4:30.... tell me how you are supposed to have an exit strategy for that one... I also think this took out the most cars... but I did not check for sure...

And the two fire trucks are a hoot...


BUT... you can not tell if all are 'red light runners'.... some of the ones with turns appear to be the person making a turn on a green, but not with the right of way...

I also wonder how many of these guys who are going FAST are also drunk... heck, they can't see anything, so why slow down...