Yesterday I had a meeting on the other side of campus so I was in a PU Chebby malibu hybrid coming back from it. I had another PM in the car with me. We were tooling along chatting in a place where the four lane road is flanked on each side with high curbs and people walking and standing ready to cross. I was beside but halfway back on a car in the left lane when the young lady driving decided she wanted to be in my lane. She simply started coming over rather aggressively.

I turned to the right quickly but firmly and hit the brakes firmly and avoided hitting her by inches. It was over in about one second. I came close to the curb and the standing pedestrians but did not hit it and gave her enough room to slide by.....just.

It all happened so quickly that there was no time for adrenalin...never did get any either.

Love my autocross honed reflexes!

At the next light I pulled up next to her and wagged my finger but she refused to look at me.

Oh well.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Good for you Tom.
The question is....the question is.......which finger did you wag at her?

My index finger....I was in a PU vehicle!

Actually I very very seldom give anybody the finger any more. You never know what sort of loony you might be dealing with.....cannot remember the last time actually.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Did she have one of those black power suits on? There are too many of these young aggressive females about, too busy having to get some place, to bother showing a few road manners.
Its interesting that you caught her at the next set of lights, I enjoy seeing the young go getums race off at the lights probably using a gallon of gas & 1k miles life off their tires, only to be sitting at the next red light as I coast up beside them again. They get quite upset when I just smile at them.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

As my mother says "what goes around, comes around" - and the meaning she assigns to it is that, in the sum total of your life, the good you do towards others will eventually be repaid to you, and the wrongs you visit upon others will likewise be repaid in kind. And by now I've lived long enough to realize that amazingly it more or less holds true.

The way that young lady drives, sooner or later she'll pull the same stunt on someone who doesn't have your reflexes or courtesy, who isn't paying attention, or who flat out just doesn't care - and she'l be walking to her next power lunch if she's lucky, riding to the hospital in an ambulance if she's not.

I see that type of driving EVERY DAY down here in SA, even with only a 6 mile commute to work. You have to be in defensive driving mode the entire time - no telling what the person in the other car is going to pull.

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

I know this sounds totally sexist but if I am driving and see a young girl driving, especially if she looks to be in her teens I will give her a lot of room. For some reason young girls just do not understand the laws of physics. Also it seems like a lot of them do not realize or do not care that it is against the law to use a cell phone while driving unless you use a hands free device.

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1983 300SD
200000miles

Driving in or through another vehicle's blind space needs a watchful eye.

On a sidenote, there is no blind-space, if the idiot changing lanes looks over his/her shoulder, AND has all three mirrors adjusted correctly -BEFORE changing lanes.

Having driven a motorcycle for several thousand miles / several years on-the-streets is also excellent training to avoid jacka&&es that change lanes AT WILL without looking.

Some stupid lady ran me off the road the same way, aggressively switched to my lane when the rear half of her car has not yet cleared. She just went for it and forced her way in so I had to swerve halfway on to the shoulder, because I don't know how fast she was going to move in (braking was the secondary option). Honked loud (those who have heard my car's horn knows they're LOUD) and long during her swerve but she just kept going.

Got beside her and it seems she was clueless of what happened, even if the right half of my car was on the shoulder. Called 911 and reported her, and grabbed my camera to grab multiple shots of the car (not in action, but still) and her, just in case.

There are so many ignorant people (intentionally or not) out there. Though I do not autocross, I am aware of the vehicles in front, to the side, AND behind mine. If a vehicle seems to have "disappeared" (I keep tabs of which ones are on my sides) I look and find them in MY blind spot. I do try to avoid driving in other people's blind spots myself. I changed my right side mirror to a convex type (some W123's have them) and have installed a wide angle inside rear view mirror (I don't get dizzy with those) to gain better visibility.

Teens are some of the drivers to avoid, but there are some unsuspecting ones too, that's why I don't generalize but rather, I would just be extra careful. If I see somebody driving the way I do, I somewhat see him (or her) as a "friendly". Most (mature) car enthusiasts are this way.

What's even more weird is that on that day, I had a gut feeling something would happen!

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http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7271/7...144c3fc1dc.jpg

One time, we were driving in highway traffic and my friend saw a teenage girl in the car near us texting at the wheel. He told me to "stay away from that b*itch." Several minutes pass, we hear crunching and find here sandwiched between two cars. Young Marsh=prophet. Funny, seeing as the kid has no driving experience (18 and still has yet to get his learners permit). Especially woulda sucked for me cause I was driving another friends car.

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1983 240D 3.0T 4-speed manual, now sold

1989 Subaru GL Wagon 5-speed Touring Edition

The autox "lane change" has helped me avoid idiots who pull out from a side street into 55mph roads out here.

As I said before, it's young girls around here, but when I lived in Florida for a while I found there were a lot of older folks that you had to watch out for. I remember getting to the point that there was one car in the neighborhood that I always watched out for because the old guy that drove it never stopped for stop signs and he came real close to a lot of accidents.

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1983 300SD
200000miles

The key word in that sentence was "Anymore"




There used to be a similar citizen around here with a very distinctive car that used to do the same thing.....I would avoid him like crazy and one day he gave me an odd look when I passed him on the highway...I wonder why

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

I heard this on the radio a few years ago, and I never knew this:


Set your left side view mirror while the side of your head is pressed against the left window.

To set the right side view mirror, position your head above the center console, while adjusting it.

With the above settings - a quick look in the side view mirror -will either show a car to your side, or not.

I still also give a quick glance over my shoulder immediately before changing to a lane.

+1

Best way to minimize the blind spots. Takes a bit of getting used to, but I'm not comfortable with any other settings now.

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1961 220b: first project car - sold.
2000 CLK 430: first modern Benz - sold.
2001 CLK 55: OMG the torque!!! - sold
1972 280SE 4.5: Baby Gustav
1991 300TE 4Matic: Gretel the Snow Bunny - sold
1978 300SD: Katz the Free Man - given away
1980 Redhead: Darling Wife

Ladies ,excuse me ,some ladies are very poor at understanding the rules of the road.For instance ,fastlane driving ,a women plows on her brakes to ride on my bumper ,cars in front of me now are at their speed.She speeds up then rides back ,speeds up then rides back ,I then put my finger pointed at my head and do the LOCO sign .Every time she drives up she gets the sign .It now has become a challenge for her to pass me in this obvious traffic ,she changes lanes vigourously ,then ends up back behind my bumper .Its gotten to the point of pure Nascar tactics ,I was the Pace car and she was the leader ready to start the race.Traffic finally cooled her heals ,and she was back on her cell phone and doing her nails.