I had to make a run back to the warehouse tonight to pick up a customer's order so I can drop it off on my way in for tomorrow. Anyways, on the way back I was damn near run off the road by some twat driving a 5-series BMW. Thank God I was driving my wife's Civic that has good suspension, brakes and tires. If it weren't for this combination with the skills I learned road racing, this post may not be here. The likelihood of me landing in the hospital would be very high.
Anyways, all of this happened at the 5 and 134 freeway interchange. Those of you familiar with the Burbank/Glendale area knows exactly where this is. I was driving along on the 134 westbound and to my left is the transition road from the 5 northbound to the 134 west. I notice a 5-series BMW (with the horrible Bangle body style) doing about 85 mph. That's no big deal. If fact, I've taken that transition road at much higher speeds without issue. The issue was that the twat in the BMW keeps driving straight at said speed while the road is turning left, crossing many lanes in no time. I did not have enough time to get on the horn. By the time I realized that this person is off in whatever dreamland they're in, I had no choice but to get on the brakes hard and swerve right in order to avoid a collision. The issue with going right is that the lane is not only closing, but it is very uneven. The unevenness of the road is enough that for a normal driver in the same situation will undoubtedly loose traction and thus loose all control of the vehicle. With all these combinations in play, the rear end of my wife's Civic begins to rotate clockwise. By instinct I let off the brakes, get on the gas and countersteer and I'm able to recover the vehicle before I loose it.
This rant isn't so much about the situation as my anger at how low the bar is set to be licenced to drive a motor vehicle here in America. The skills required to even control a relatively light weight vehicle as my wife's Civic in an emergency situation is quite high. Knowing how to feel how much traction you have left at each tire is a skill that must be learned and maintained and very hard to master. Also the level of attention required to be aware of your surroundings and be able to react quickly enough to avoid such situations is also very high. It is definitely something that is not taught in drivers ed courses or even behind-the-wheel classes. The very few that elect to participate in vehicle control courses is not enough to offset the masses that don't. Vehicle control MUST be part of the driving curriculum in order to be a licenced driver. I've even agree to have a ladder system that much of Europe incorporates into their licensing system where what and where you're allowed to drive will be based upon your overall ability to SAFELY control the vehicle in those environments.
