it was a warm sunny day in northern cal today and i was excited to have the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of topless motoring. i guess i was somewhat distracted by this excitement that after i left my house, cruised down the hill, and proceeded to cross the first traffic signaled intersection, a vehicle from the cross street sped across the intersection at around 45mph literally 15 feet in front of me. i instinctively slammed on the brakes causing the antilocks to activate. i saw the front of my car get closer and closer to the rear quarter of the other car, and i literally missed hitting this car by inches. the weird thing about this experience was that i did not panic at all. normally in near accident situations, a person tend to pump out a large amount of adrenaline. i did notice a small blip of adrenaline but for the most part i was calm throughout. in fact, from the moment i slammed on my brakes to the moment my car came to a complete stop, everything felt as it was in slow motion. i literally had 4-5 completely thoughts go through my mind during that brief period of time. one of the thoughts that went through my head was that i thought i had ran a red light. so while in the process of braking, i looked up and noticed that i had a green light. not only that, i then had the time to turn my head to see that the other car had a RED light. the next thing that went through my mind was "oh great, i'm gonna hurt my S and will have to go through the hassle of having it repaired." then came the thought "shit!! this is gonna hurt the resale value of my car!!" but shortly after that thought, i fixed my vision on the front of my car and back of the other car, felt optimistic, and told myself that "i think i can escape impact." the whole experience was surreal. i've never felt my mind so clear and my perspective so focused. the approx. 5 seconds it took me to make a complete stop felt more like 60 seconds. anyway, i came to a complete stop just as the rear bumper of the other car passes inches from me. i turned to look at the other car which also came to a stop. everyone in the car had the impression "whoa!! what just happened??" on their faces. i made eye contact with the rear passenger, and figure that since there was no contact, that it was no big deal. so i pointed up at the traffic light implicating that they had ran a red and calmly took off. but even though that i was 100% convinced that i had a right of way and that the other car had neglected to notice that they had a red light, i'm the kind of person that believes that nearly all accidents and/or near accidents are results of partial faults from all parties involved. so even though i may have the right of way, i should had been aware that there as a car from the cross street that was about to run the intersection and prepared to slow down for that.

anyway, i then proceeded my trip. i crossed the bay bridge over to san francisco. when i got there, i decided to pick up some food to go from one of my favorite hole in the wall restaurant. after i left the restaurant with my food, i openned the trunk of my car with my remote to put the food in there. while it was open i also decided to put my wallet and cellphone in my bag that was in the trunk. during this time, my mind was still distracted from the beautiful weather, the awsome topdown drive, and my near accident, so little did i know that in my hand was not only my wallet and my cell phone, but also my KEYS!! i slammed the trunk shut, and immediately, the thought "SHIT!!" went through my mind. so here i was, not only without the keys to drive my car, but also all my money and credit cards which were in my wallet were locked in the trunk!! also, i do not have anyone's phone number memorized, but have them all stored on my cell phone which was ALSO locked in the trunk, so i couldn't contact anyone for help. on top of that, my car was parked in a bad neighborhood, with the top down, and illegally parked in front of a driveway!! i was completely bummed. i've honestly never felt so distressed, vulnerable, and desperate before in my life. initially, i didn't know what to do. i thought about breaking the lock on the glove box, to access the trunk release, but i didn't have the heart to damage my S in anyway. i eventually gave in to taking some chances. i found a bum and asked him to look after my car to make sure no one vandalizes it in any way, by spitting in it or otherwise, and for him to explain to any authorities or anyone who has a problem with my parking illegally about the situation by promising him that i was pay him generously on my return. so since i don't have any money on me, i had no choice but to take a taxi all th way back to my house which was about 17 miles about and ended up being a $60 cab ride. when i got to my house, since all my keys were locked in my the trunk of my car, i ended up breaking into my house, deactivating the house alarm, called the alarm company to let them know everything is okay, got some spare cash from my drawer and my spare keys to my car, paid the cab driver, took a bus down the hill to the train station, took the train back to san francisco, took a bus to where my car was, paid the bum $50 for his loyal assistance, popped my trunk to get my wallet and cell phone, hopped into my car, started the engine, drove home, hopped into bed and took a nap, all the while feeling relieved that the whole nightmware was over, but also pissed off at myself for having allowed myself to be put into such a vulnerable situation. at this very moment, i'm still somewhat pissed at myself. i've always pride myself in being a strong individual who is rarely distracted by anything. i guess i really put my guards down this time...

 

"Some days are diamonds, some days are coal".....good story of your day out......ever found that when a day starts bad, the near miss, that it usually just keeps getting worse?..was waiting for the punchline, like, you got the car home and found that the glove box with the trunk access button was unlocked....

Hope your next day out is a great one.....I have very fond memories of beautiful sunny days driving around your city and area.. ...wonder if my Pan Am stewardess girlfriend still lives in Sausalito

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by VTEC_Junkie
[B] the approx. 5 seconds it took me to make a complete stop felt more like 60 seconds.

 

Holy Cow!

Glad to see we all have our "bad days"! I used to keep a spare "credit card" key in my wallet for days like yours - of course that would not have helped you in your situation (nor would it work with our S2K key, I'd guess), but gives me pause to wonder what I'd have done in your shoes...and I must agree yours was probably the best course of action. If nothing else, it makes for an interesting day!

Then there's the cost: $60 cab fare, $?? bus/train fare, optional $50 "bum insurance", the aggravation of breaking into your house, calling the alarm company, etc... All in all a locksmith (or AAA) might've been cheaper and safer! (Of course it may have also cost you MORE than all your incidentals - since he might not have been able to harmlessly open your trunk or glovebox - damaging your baby . On the other hand, if he had been able to, at least you could have avoided the ulcer-potential of coming back to a possibly raped and stripped S2K !) Either way, glad it all worked out for you. I must say, your nap was WELL DESERVED! I'd have taken one too, after your hair-raising day...ROFL!

P.S. Sorry for sounding like an armchair quarterback - no disrespect intended, just playing the "hindsight is 20/20" game. Since your way worked, no harm done! I am quite sure your next outing will be a FUN one since you will be on-guard to avoid any repeats of this day from hell! Happy 'verting!

Mendii

 

If time seemed to stretch, then you DID have a large dose of adrenaline. I was T-boned in the driver's side by a fully loaded dumptruck years ago, and the whole process seemed to take minutes...EVERYTHING was slooooow and clear. It was all from the extremely high doe of adrenaline pumping through my veins when I noticed the truck about to pop me. I watched a really cool special on the Discovery Channel about the effect...the time-keeping portion of our brains (the parietal lobe?) records events in more detail when it receives a lot of adrenaline, so we react faster to events and can remember more detail about them (at least for a short period of time afterwards).

Maybe I should stop watching so much TV

 

I would of broken the door to the glovebox and accepted the fact
that not leaving the car alone was worth the price of replacement, especially with the conditions you noted. There's no telling what may have happened had the street guy left the scene or a bunch of hoodlums discovered the car.
Keep that glovebox unlocked!

 

Don't feel bad about what happened. Those sound exactly like things that would happen to me. Actually I haven't done exactly those things, but similar.

Yesterday I gave the brakes on my S a workout at one particular intersection in Woodland Hills. I had floored it to pass someone, and then the light changed... I decided to stop rather than blaze through the intersection right at the end of the yellow. Hmmm, well I've never owned a car with ABS before, so I don't really know what it feels like. I still don't know because like always, I instinctively applied only the minimum braking force needed to stop in the required distance; no more. The braking power of this car is unbelievable... I did not engage the ABS, but made a perfectly graceful stop right next to the intersection crosswalk. Then a girl in the car that stopped next to me opens her window and says "Nice car!" Yeah, and it has nice brakes too! It takes a bonehead like me to demonstrate them.