Quote:
Originally Posted by JitteryJoe
To each their own but I couldn't imagine a situation where I'd be stopped at a light staring at my rearview mirror the whole time waiting for someone texting to run into the back of me (and I got rear ended 3 years ago). There would either be a car in front of me or cross traffic if I was the first car at the light 99.9% of the time.
My parents would always criticize me coasting to the light in neutral for the same reasons  . I'm always checking my mirrors for awareness of the cars around me. If someone is coming up on me out of nowhere at triple the speed limit I'd be better off pulling out of the way then trying to outrun them anyway (well maybe not now with the Camaro  ) |
I've been in a situation where I was the second vehicle at a light in the right lane (of two lanes). A semi came around a corner leading up to the light where I was stopped, still traveling at 55MPH (likely faster). With about 1000' to stop, he locked the brakes and jackknifed the truck.
Just about the time this was starting to unfold, a thought went through my mind - "I wonder what happened to that tractor-trailer I passed a couple of miles back?" I looked in my mirror and saw the truck appear just about that time. Then I saw the cloud of smoke billowing out under the tractor from the tires and the tractor went sideways across the road...
When I pull up behind someone at a light, I leave space in front of me. I've always done it, but this encounter 25 years ago solidified why I will -always- do it. When I saw what was happening behind me, I put the truck into first gear and pulled through between the two cars stopped at the light in each lane (there was just enough room to fit between). Once I was through the intersection with about 100' of space between me at the stopped cars, I glanced back to see the semi smash into one of the two cars (meaning he would have already crushed my truck had I stayed put).
So, yeah... I'm aware and pay attention and have benefitted from that on multiple occasions. I also had MORE than enough time to recognize a problem situation and put the vehicle in gear (from neutral, with the clutch out) to drive away.
My dad was hit from behind at a light once and it did a lot of "unnoticed" damage under the hood because when he saw the truck coming, he pressed down on the brake in attempt to keep the car from flying forward and hitting others. Various pieces on the engine were disturbed from the regular position because of the force of the crash and that car took quite a while to be returned to correct running condition as a result.