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A Close Shave Today

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TRDejaVu

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TR + dry, but slightly slick country road + not excessive speed = OK

TR + dry, but slightly slick country road + not excessive speed + woman "driving" her big SUV suddenly braking to let somebody out in front of her = squeal of TR tires, time slowing down, drift to side of said country road, dirt thrown up and front bumper stopped 6 inches short (no exaggeration) of an 8+ feet tall rock.

When time started to spin back to normal and I got out to examine the wreckage I found a little soft dirt in a front wire wheel and a 3 inch long crease in the very bottom of the front wing behind the wheel where it had contacted with a wooden stump.

While I was obviously following closer than I should have been, there was a reasonable distance between us. Not enough to take into account some erratic bint who decides that it is OK to pull up sharply and unexpectedly to a complete stop on an open road to let someone out.

I know that if I had the paint job that some of you have, then I would not be as calm as I am now. I will get the Rustoleum Pro out again (see previous painting posts) and touch up the area; some time in the future I will probably take the wing off and repair the damage, but you can't see it unless you are on your knees looking for it.

So how was your day?
 
I am really glad you're not hurt, and the TR damage is minor, but you said it - you were too close, and said erratic bint shouldn't have to compensate for you.
It happens all the time, and I bet you're not happy in the reverse situation - you in your TR and and the same or another erratic bint - maybe on cell phone, following right up your chuff!
 
Around here, the only safe assumption is that whoever you are following will suddenly lock up the brakes for no apparent reason. Sometimes that's because there IS no reason, but more often it's because you can't see the kid running between parked cars (or the dog jumping out of the ditch if you prefer).

So, are you going to look into why your TR4 can't out-stop a big, ungainly SUV ? The "squeal of TR tires" says to me your tires aren't all they could be : high performance tires generally don't squeal like that.
 
I know that the person following is at fault 99.9% of the time, which is why I have no intention of taking it any further than doing my own paint touch up.

I definitely out-stopped her otherwise we would be on first name terms by now!!!

Tires are Dunlop SP Sport A2 with good tread. I know there are better ones, but these have served me well up to now and on any other day I am not a sedate driver; for some reason I was today as the weather was so nice. I have done sudden stops before with no issues, so I can only assume that it was the recently laid road surface still being a little slick. Also, it was so sudden and abrupt that I didn't have a chance to pump the brakes.
 
Ah yes, I ran those for awhile on the TR. Great tires in the dry, but treacherous with the least bit of moisture or oil (or both) on the road. Almost did a solo spinout once, just turning left from a freeway offramp. Road surface was just barely damp, not even wet really, but felt like I was driving on ice.
 
Just be glad you didn't get hurt, hit her or do any more damage. In that order.

Glad to hear that you're OK and the car damage is minor.
 
TRDejaVu said:
What are you on now?
Click to expand...
Bridgestone Potenzas, on 5.5" wheels. Well, that's what I was on, before that Toyota parked in my trunk.
 
I'm glad to hear nothing major happened to you or your car.

Two summers ago, I upgraded my brake pads. I went with the green pads, but there are other quality ones on the market. Shortly after installation, I had a young girl pull out in front of me. My squealing tires stopped her before she totally blocked my path. Worked better than a horn. My Kumhos helped a lot too.

It definitely is an eye opener. It took a while before the pucker marks in my seat weren't visible.
 
Don’t you think that driving an old car makes you a more vigilant driver? I am sure that we are more aware of what is going on around us than most drivers of modern vehicles who are so well insulated from the outside world. I certainly drive very defensively, both in my old car and modern because there are so many idiots on the road these days.
Glad you and the TR are OK. A little battle scar like that adds character!!
 
Your experience is my biggest worry when I'm out on the freeway. Don't mind the speed but when traffic builds up it is very difficult to keep what I consider a safe braking distance between me and the next car. And that's not considering the SUV's, cell phones, and teenage drift warriors out there to complicate things.
 
Thanks for the good wishes. I do drive somewhat more defensively in the TR, but I won't be pushed around (unless Lord Lucas is up to his high jinx).

As I said, technically my fault for being closer than I should have been. Normally my internal "radar" flags the potential for an erratic move based on the way that a vehicle is being driven beforehand; odd speed changes, driver inattention, cell phone use, map reading, makeup application or shaving etc etc, but this bint did none of that and caught me totally by surprise.

I should have taken a picture of how close we were to the rock, but I was a bit focused on other things at the time.
 
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