My car saved my life tonight

[BeachMP5]

Hello everyone.

I had a very close call tonight on the Gardiner - someone with their disposable late 90's Chevy Cavalier was stopped within 500 metres of me :mad: - I was able to slow down from 90+ kph to 0 within a couple of feet of the Cavalier, and then accelerate out of there (I should mention my car has an automatic, not a manual or the semi-automatic). If I had started to accelerate a split-second later, I would have been crushed by the Chevy Astro (of similar vintage) that smashed into the Cavalier just after I got out of there.

A couple of conclusions I have come to in the past 90 minutes or so - just because one's car can still pass a Drive Clean and is in good working order (according to their mechanic) does not mean that one's car is roadworthy. Also, is it just me, or is it because of the so-called costs of mass production that General Motors products seem to be the cars most often encountered in a stopped situation on the road? I saw a guy with a brand new Saab 9-3 Aero in a parking lot who needed a boost, for God's sake!

Utterly crazy - just glad I'm safe.

Patrick

[ProBoy]

Good to hear you are okay.

I had a similar incident in the summer with my family in the car. It put my car to the test.

Lots of pieces of crap out there.

[REN69]

Funny you say Saab 9-3 needing a boost... I work for a GM affiliate and I actually did some work at the GM shipping yard a few months back, found a Saab with a totally dead battery at the yard, of course the car was awaiting to be delivered to it's new owner, I wonder if that's the same car. :lol:

I'm surprised Cavaliers are still on the road, it's not just cavaliers though there's a shitton of people with older imports and domestics who just wont give up their beat up POS rides.

[TheMAN]

any sort of car inspection throughout north america is a joke... the only ones that are halfway respectable are california's, new jersey's, and pennsylvania's

I bet you 80% of the cars you see on the road anywhere on the continent would be considered "junk" in europe or japan... unfit for the road!

[Azi]

I saw a guy with a brand new Saab 9-3 Aero in a parking lot who needed a boost, for God's sake!


lets assume for a second that the saab driver left their interior light on, and it killed the battery. You cant automatically assume that the engine blew up. Same thing happended to my mom yesterday. My bro was reading a book the night before on the drive home, and he didnt turn off his light. Next day, the battery was dead. And its a honda.

[tiwing]

glad you're OK. I'm sure the car helped, but there's something to be said for you being aware, and by the sounds of it a non-panicked and decent driver, in order to get out of that situation unharmed. Same comments were made to Proboy in his thread...

[burlingtonprotege]

glad to hear you got out safe and sound

[BeachMP5]

[QUOTE=ProBoy;727899]Good to hear you are okay.

I had a similar incident in the summer with my family in the car. It put my car to the test.

Lots of pieces of crap out there.

Yeah - I always get upset when my family is in the car if a near miss happens.

I think that the safest cars are not always tanks - the surest way to survive in the event of an accident is to not be involved with said accident in the first place. With regard to Cavaliers and Sunfires - everyone who I've encountered who has one is either a bad driver or has no interest in cars - or both.

What drew me to the Protege5 and my eventual purchase was the disc brakes on all four wheels and the ABS and EBD - that saved my life this week - kudos to the engineers involved.

Patrick

[Bagman]

I'd actually LOVE to one day own a complete POS beater and also make sure some of my friends owned them too. I think it would be an absolute HOOT to bump into eachother at stop lights, park really closely to people that park across two spots, etc.. All a'la Top Gear kinda thing.

I will just pray the cars don't break-down in dangerous spots.

Definately gotta give a big ole' +1 for the brakes on the car. Speaking of the Protege5 with all-wheel discs, it is so much better than my sister's 2009 Corolla with rear drums.

I will also assume you have, and give props for driving around with, BETTER than 'good' tires appropriate for the season. Brakes don't stop the car - tires do. ;)

[quick.msp]

lol if you parked like that beside my car you'd be leaving the parking lot with a broken window.

[Bagman]

lol if you parked like that beside my car you'd be leaving the parking lot with a broken window.

That's the beauty of a beater. I wouldn't care. lol. Though, I'd honestly say you'd be an exception. Most people wouldn't go to that extreme. :p

[vtec-this]

dont blame cars, blame their owners. a cavalier is a fine car when it isnt kept in a state of disrepair. sure they suck, but its still the owners fault for not properly maintaining their shit. its never the cars fault, just like its never a guns fault. just stupid people.

and if you cant slow down from 90kmph in 500 meters than your car sucks sh1t or you are an unsafe driver going too fast for the road conditions.
either way if you rear ended the guy your at fault for driving too closely. If you cant stop in time that tells you that you dont know how to drive safely on canadian roads.
next time slow down and stay to the right if you cant even keep your sh1t together.

also the saab comment made no sense. every car needs a boost when the battery is dead and you cant bump start it.

[vtec-this]

think about it, say im driving in the fast lane and my ball joint + tie rod break when I hit a little bump. my car is now stopped in the fast lane.

anyone who hits me is at fault. period. this is how driving works in canada. if you cant stop in time, well its because your a dangerous driver what can I say lol if that wasnt the case the law would be different.