Today while heading to school in fremont on 101N the traffic was not too bad. I was in the lane next to the carpool lane doing about 50mph. There was a car next to me that was honking like crazy. I didn't know who she was honking at so I turned my head for one second to look. Turns out the car in front of her cut her off. Anyways I look back in my lane and the car in front of me SLAMMED the brakes hard. I reacted instantly and hit the brakes hard. I knew right then and there that I wasn't going to brake on time so I swerved hard left into the carpool lane to avoid hitting this car in front of me. Luckly the lane was clear at the time. Right away I feel the car's rear kicking out from under me and I counter steer to correct for it. After the car does a 180 in the carpool lane I hit the brakes hard and feel the ABS kick in. The car came to a complete stop and I am not facing traffic. Luckly I didn't go off the road or hit anyone. The only damage was the extreme wear on my tires from the spin out. I turn around and get back into traffic and head off to school. Thanks god everything ended up ok.

 

Nothing like a gang of adrenaline to start the morning!

Glad that everyone is OK

 

Yikes! Something every driver must learn.....scan traffic quickly! Quick glances and process what you see. Why did traffic come to a stop so quickly? I hope you were not tailgating either...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by ChiS2K
[B]Yikes!

 

Yikes!! Glad everything turned out ok!! I wouldn't worry too much about the tires, they only last 10,000 miles anyway! 1.5 car lengths does seem kinda close to me though. Oh well, I wasn't there though so I can't really comment. I've had some close calls myself. Good luck.

 

Since I've been driving my S I find myself watching traffic way past the car in front of me.One of the first things I noticed while driving this car on the freeways,is how quickly you come upon slower traffic.

 

Not to mention the need to change one's shorts!!!!!!!!

 

1.5 car lengths going at 50mph may not be tailgating but that's not giving yourself a lot of time in a panic situation or if you take your eye off the road briefly. If you guys remember from your driver ed class, it states one car length for every 10 mph. So 50mph should be about 5 car lengths in an ideal situation. One car length for every 10 mph might be too conservative in a congested urban environment but nevertheless it's a good rule of thumb. Drive safely everyone.

 

I was taught to use the 2 second rule. As the car in front of you passes a landmark (lightpost etc.) count two full seconds in your head - if less than two seconds has elapsed by the time you pass the landmark, you're following too closely. This works at any speed.

 

Wow, glad to hear you made it out ok.

As for the 2 second rule and leaving room... here, in heavy traffic, if you leave more than a gnat's hair in between you and the car in front of you someone will come along and wedge their car in the space. I get so sick of the idiots here.