I was nearly killed yesterday.
 

yesterday i was coming down this road (macon) here in memphis doing about 65-70. i think the speed limit is about 45-50 so i was speeding but the road is three lanes wide. there was an acura integra to my right just behind me and to my left was a jetta a little further behind. up ahead i could see a shi$$y toyota tercel about to pull out of an apartment complex. he pulled out halfway into the lane to my right with all three of us coming so there is no way he could have made it across. but instead of backing up he decided to go for it. the acura slammed on the brakes and locked up his car and the jetta was far enough back that he just hit his brakes and he was out of dodge. but as for me there was trouble because it was too late to try and brake and i could not dodge to the right because the acura was too close. my only option was to nail the gas shoot to the left in front of the jetta and go around the stupid tercel as he was coming out across the street. but in order to do that i was going to have to go on the other side of the road into oncoming traffic. i noticed a red firebird coming but he was in the far lane which left the near lane open. so in a split second i punched the car, cut hard to the left and then quickly back the the right. i missed the tercel by a foot or two if that. the car performed beautifully! but trust me i did not think about that until i was home. i was less than 24 inches from having my car totalled! had not reacted so quickly and if the car had not performed so beautifully i would probably be in the hospital today. i cannot comment enough about how well my suspension performed. by the time i got back on the right side of the street and out of oncoming traffic i was doing almost 90mph. this is an amazing car and sometimes it even shocks me with what it can do. i just thought i would share my hair raising experience from yesterday. good god did it scare me! :eek:

Those kinds of things are the worst kinds of laxitives. :) Glad to see you "threaded the needle" with grace, and, happy that you're still going to be able to join us in Rockford. Be careful out there!

i hear ya!
 

i will slow it down i bet, wouldnt want to miss the rockford meet!

Glad you made it out alive and your car is intact. I had a similar experience here in Florida about 2 weeks ago. I was sitting quietly at a red light when I noticed that a blue chevy (about a hundred years old) was coming at my rear end wide open. He didn't realize I was stopped. Well you know how the mind begins to go into high gear and everything slows down. It seemed like minutes but it was really seconds. I did the same as you, looked around and realized the only way I was gonna keep my neck and my car intact was to go over into the other lane. Noticed I had room and did the deed. Smashed the gas, accelerated to warp factor 9, turned the wheel hard to port and took off. Made a quick left turn into a strip mall and stopped to look behind me. By now the blue chevy had run into the back of the SUV that was in front of me. Felt bad for them (not really, hate SUVs). But nobody was hurt and my car was perfect. These cars are awesome in every way.
-joe-

damn joe!
 

people are nuts! it sounds like you had the same feeling i did. awe for the svx and terror because you know how close it was to getting smashed. but the car is bad a$$ in every way. :cool:

Re: I was nearly killed yesterday.
 

paraphrased:
i'm not trying to be your dad here.....but
maybe the 'real' moral of the story isn't that your car's handling and quick reflex saved you from your predicament -- but instead, this moral is that you shouldn't drive 20-25mph over the speed limit in a residential area (regardless of how many lanes there are). ever stopped to think that the person driving the tercel glanced over in your direction and didn't think that you'd be going 1.5 times the speed limit? granted, that was careless of that driver, but if you weren't speeding excessively this might not have been an issue. furthermore, in the end you said you were going 90mph in a 45-50 (doubling the speed limit) -- i'm glad someone didn't try to change lanes on you or you would've been in a potentially more lethal predicament.
defensive driving is the key to keeping out of an accident -- you simply can't trust the other drivers to make smart decisions.
that said, i've been known to drive fast too -- but it's in a more controlled or safe environment (ie. a stretch of highway without onramps or offramps, a country road with high visibility and low traffic)
just my take on the matter.
toby

Sorry, but I have to agree with Toby. The Tercel guy (gal?) looks left, & sees three cars in three lanes head on. Hard to tell, from his/her perspective, just how fast they're going. If they were doing at least close to the speed limit, you wouldn't have had an occasion to post your message. Granted, the Tercel took a chance & nearly blew it, but you were 20 mph over the limit on an access road. What you or I want to do on an Interstate or across the Mojave desert is one thing & if we're not tailgating or cutting in & out of traffic, then have at it. But when we're on busy access roads, ya gotta figure nobody's perfect. I'm glad you're OK, & kept one more SVX from the boneyard. But, seriously, please learn something from this "white-knuckler".
Tsu.

ok......
 

no doubt i was in the wrong for speeding. that is not even remotely up for argument. also no doubt that had i not been speeding it would have been easier to get out of the situation by aggressively braking. but this guy pulled out a little into the street long before we got there. even if i were going 50mph he still should have recognized three cars coming and backed up. instead he tried to cross three lanes of traffic in a tercel. although i had to take the most drastic action the other two drivers who were not going as fast as me also had to take action. but i do agree that driving at those speeds does things to another level. let me just clarify, i do not drive at those speeds all the time. there was lots of open road ahead of me and it was one of those what the hell kind of moments. thanks for look out for me though.

Leo

i bet i did scare the **** out of the person in the tercel:rolleyes:

Please tell me the Tercel guy was yakking on a cell phone, & I'll hope the next time he pulls out into traffic he get T-boned by a speeding Unimog.

nice!!
 

seriously guys i know i was excessive and i really do appreciate the concern......sometimes my youth just shows its ugly head!:D