Infuriating road rage incident this morning - Page 7 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

MS Fowler · #91 04-19-2012, 01:58 PM

Whatever happened to laws regulating bumper height? If they can look into the car and then stop you if you aren't wearing a seatbelt, how can they not see that the bumper is at head height for passengers in normal vehicles? How about the hazard created by exposing the fuel tanks in a rear end collision?

Carleton Hughes · #92 04-19-2012, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Carlton

..............got a pill for that............???

..............or maybe I just go and get a lobotomy..........

Nahh, that's why I take the Classics on the Grand Central to the Interborough. People either give me wide berth or pass me as quick as they can, thus making trouble for other drivers. I rarely drive above 70 in the Bentley and the Buick is good for a sustained 65 downwind. I just enjoy the machine I'm driving but always pay attention as well. I have to with these ancient carriages.

anghrist · #93 04-19-2012, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

Whatever happened to laws regulating bumper height? If they can look into the car and then stop you if you aren't wearing a seatbelt, how can they not see that the bumper is at head height for passengers in normal vehicles? How about the hazard created by exposing the fuel tanks in a rear end collision?

That statement is based upon the assumption that cars still have actual bumbers. I perfer not to call styrofoam, encased in plastic shell a bumper, so much as I would call it a sacrifical body part that costs over $2k to replace and repaint, so long as other parts of the vehicle aren't damaged during the collision.

I prefer steel bumpers, attached with absorption mounts, maybe with a rubber strip on the front of the bumper.

rs899 · #94 04-19-2012, 03:07 PM

Quote:

I prefer steel bumpers, attached with absorption mounts, maybe with a rubber strip on the front of the bumper.

Yup, that's what the engineers came up with. But the stylists and marketing types had better ideas. Why in the world would we want to sell you a car that can survive a 5mph bump? How many new cars could we ever sell that way?

MBeige · #95 04-19-2012, 03:41 PM

Ultimately, anger leads to stress. Carleton is right, anger is a silent killer. Sometimes I feel so much better having let somebody pass, and not let them affect me or my driving habit/style, that I can be a better driver.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs899

Yup, that's what the engineers came up with. But the stylists and marketing types had better ideas. Why in the world would we want to sell you a car that can survive a 5mph bump? How many new cars could we ever sell that way?

Aerodynamics and better fuel economy. The bumpers are now treated as disposable items, as long as it does not affect the vehicle body. Unfortunately, if you see some of the NHTSA videos where they perform low speed impacts to certain cars at certain angles, the bumpers sometimes do not hold up as the manufacturers claim them to do.

Our Subaru Forester's bumpers are rated at 5mph. When I backed into a pole, at my fault, it didn't damage the rear door (hatch/tailgate) at all. The scar remains though!

rs899 · #96 04-19-2012, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Aerodynamics and better fuel economy.

Better fuel economy than what? We had the best fuel economy fleet averages in the 80s. Then we traded that for horsepower and glitz. And pickup trucks and SUVS riding around carrying air. Meanwhile paying for oil with blood.

MTI · #97 04-19-2012, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by anghrist

That statement is based upon the assumption that cars still have actual bumbers. I perfer not to call styrofoam, encased in plastic shell a bumper, so much as I would call it a sacrifical body part that costs over $2k to replace and repaint, so long as other parts of the vehicle aren't damaged during the collision.

I prefer steel bumpers, attached with absorption mounts, maybe with a rubber strip on the front of the bumper.

The problems with steel bumpers on struts . . . 1) weight and 2) cosmetic damage to the metal parts still required costly replacement.

On the other hand, plastic covers over a styrofoam absorber, attached to a metal reinforcement bar is substantially lighter; easily replaced and at a much lower cost.

NHTSA Bumper Q&A

MBeige · #98 04-19-2012, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rs899

Better fuel economy than what? We had the best fuel economy fleet averages in the 80s. Then we traded that for horsepower and glitz. And pickup trucks and SUVS riding around carrying air. Meanwhile paying for oil with blood.

Better fuel economy than it would have achieved, with the heavier bumper design.

HuskyMan · #99 04-19-2012, 04:46 PM

to me, the ultimate stress reducer is taking either a taxicab or a limousine to my destination. let somebody else fight the DBs.

MTI · #**100** 04-19-2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

to me, the ultimate stress reducer is taking either a taxicab or a limousine to my destination. let somebody else fight the DBs.

So you don't like flying on commercial carriers or driving yourself around . . . is this Donald Trump?

HuskyMan · #**101** 04-19-2012, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MTI

So you don't like flying on commercial carriers or driving yourself around . . . is this Donald Trump?

Trump wannabe. actually, I HATE traffic nowadays. it sucks. a private helicopter might be a descent alternative as well.

jplinville · #**102** 04-19-2012, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MS Fowler

Whatever happened to laws regulating bumper height? If they can look into the car and then stop you if you aren't wearing a seatbelt, how can they not see that the bumper is at head height for passengers in normal vehicles? How about the hazard created by exposing the fuel tanks in a rear end collision?

NoExcuses, Inc. 800-923-JEEP.com

cmac2012 · #**103** 04-20-2012, 06:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropnosky

yeah.

I was more than a little pissed, now I feel happy, less likely to beat this guy to a bloody pulp if I see him again. I can't stand liars, and his lying made the cop also assume I was lying, which made me even angrier.

Sounds like a first class dick. I'm with you though, I'm trying hard to ween myself off of any and all agressive shenanigans in traffic. I got a tailgating ticket a few months back for retaliating to a guy who flashed his brights at me for the crime of moving into the slow lane a safe distance ahead of him. I guess he thought it was too close but I wanted to get away from the other two lanes as their was some weird stuff going on with two other vehicles and I wanted to let them by.

So brilliant me, I got the notion to be weird myself. After the guy got up close and the passed me, brights on, I got up close on him with my brights on. Flashing blue came on immediately.

The cop says "first off, I don't even want to hear about what the other guy did!" I felt like an idiot, told the cop he was exactly right, which he was. He could have taken me in for an overnight stay if he'd wanted - wreckless driving or something, 2 points on the record, no driving school.

Saw this piece in the Chron a while back about a guy going one step (allegedly), a big step, further than you and paid for it with his life:

Fatal Richmond crash may be connected to road rage

Zerangue, who died at the scene, may have been trying to "brake-check" the driver of the 2004 GMC pickup truck at the time of the crash, said Officer Sam Morgan, a CHP spokesman.

Brake-checking involves intentionally swerving in front of a car and slamming on the brakes, Morgan said.

Zerangue, the lone occupant of the minivan, was driving behind the GMC driver before he swerved into the next lane and sped past the pickup, the CHP said.

He then apparently tried to cut in front of the GMC and hit the brakes, but clipped the pickup before slamming into the center divide, Morgan said.

Brian Carlton · #**104** 04-20-2012, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmac2012

He then apparently tried to cut in front of the GMC and hit the brakes, but clipped the pickup before slamming into the center divide, Morgan said.[/I]

The stability of any of the high CG vehicles (vans, $hitboxes, etc) is very poor when such a vehicle is touched, even very lightly, laterally aft of the rear tires when it's moving quickly.

It takes very little lateral force to completely upset the line of travel and would require a very experienced driver to maintain control, with no assurance of success.

If you were of a criminal persuasion, you could easily terminate any $hitbox on the road by giving it a light tap laterally on the tail. It's not easy to do, however............you'd need to approach from the adjacent lane and swerve over.........

my83300cd · #**105** 04-20-2012, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retmil46

Last Friday night on the way home from work, had a gent in a late model Chevy Monte Carlo come screaming up behind me - with his high beams on - just as I'm coming up to the stop sign to turn right onto the main two-lane secondary road heading toward home. He finally turned off the high beams when he was about 5 feet off my rear bumper.

Apparently he was uber pissed off that I actually came to a full stop before turning right. I turned right and started accelerating. He ran the stop sign, turned right as well, and immediately jumped into the left hand lane - on a two lane road with double yellow line - and floored it to go around me while I was still accelerating.

I stopped at 60 mph, my usual cruising speed - this guy must have been doing near 80, as within less than a minute he had disappeared around the next curve over a half-mile down the road.

Had a kid do that while drive the old beetle- and then caught up to him a few miles later while he was pulled over having a discussion with the local state trooper. In the flashing blue light I caught the kids eye and gave him a big smile and a wave and simple kept motoring along at the speed limit...