Miata Mailing List: September 1999, Message #399

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Well, James, we're all glad nobody was hurt.  How's your heart rate?

I might not be the most qualified person on-list to give accident avoidance
advice, but that never stops any of us from posting, does it?

The pass-er is always responsible for making a safe pass.  People do change
lanes randomly, but usually not "instantly."  If you were almost hit by a
lumbering SUV who was doing a standard lane change, you were in the wrong
place for far too long.  

I ride motorcycles a lot (about 150,000 miles in the last 15 years) and a
common thing I hear is "that so-and-so just came out of NOWHERE."  Other
traffic doesn't come out of nowhere, most of it comes out of Detroit.  I'm
responsible for watching to make sure it doesn't come from somewhere else to
occupy the space I'm about to occupy.  It's my job to avoid hitting them or
being in a place where they're likely to hit me.  There are some assumptions
I make when I'm in a situation that sounds like yours - people in the middle
lanes of an interstate usually change lanes for a reason, and by looking
ahead you can usually see if that reason exists (maybe a slower vehicle or
an obstacle in their lane) and anticipate their reaction to it (90%
probability they'll change to another lane, but they may slow down and stay
in their lane, and sometimes they'll slow down and THEN change lanes.)

>>What do you do to alert the OTMs you pass as you go through their blind
spot?

It's not anyone else's job to be alert to your driving; half of us barely
keep on top of OUR driving.  If you pass with a decent speed differential,
by the time they edge out of their space and into yours you should be PAST
them already.  If they've started edging over too soon for you to complete
the pass, you should still be able to back off and abort the pass.  If
you're next to someone when they begin to edge over, and you're still next
to them a second or two later and you haven't passed them yet, that's an
error on your part as much as theirs.


>>Immediately replace my OEM horn with something much more in the human
audible range.  

If you expect your horn to be useful in avoiding a collision, you're
assuming that the other person will be able to take evasive action when they
hear it.  If someone can hear your horn and avoid a collision with you, why
don't you just take the evasive action yourself and avoid the collision with
THEM?  Don't try using the horn to prevent an accident - that's a job best
left to the steering wheel, the brakes, or the gas.

>>3) Immediiately replace my OEM Yokohamas (with 29k) to get more grip.

If you're calling on 100% of the performance of your tires on the street to
prevent an accident, you've ALREADY made a mistake.

>>4) Immediately enroll in a performance driving school to learn better
technique.  

We could all use that, but car control and technique are no substitute for
judgement and planning. 

Good luck,

- Bill & Scrap