Suzuki Samurai was Re: [geeks] SPARC proprietary (waaaay

[Dan Duncan]

As I recall, 'Kurt Huhn' wrote:
> For instance:  I'm coming around a bend in the road and I know that the
> person in front of me was travelling at 50 MPH, which I have matched,
> and am far enough back to make a panic stop if I need to.  I come around
> the bend and see that the person in front of me has made a panic stop to
> avoid a squirrel, I no longer have enough time to make my panic stop,
> because between reaction time, the fact that I'm a 1-ton pickup with a
> 10,000-pound GVWR trailer in tow, and it took me a fraction of a second
> to register that some idiot had actually stopped on the other side of a
> blind bend, I now end up creaming that guy.  Happened to me while I was
> a landscaper.

Driver's ed 101.

When you come upon a blind curve, you need to SLOW DOWN.  In addition
to not overdriving your stopping distance, you certainly shouldn't
overdrive your VISIBILITY! 

Do you also follow a car moving ahead of you at 50mph into a fog
bank and just assume it's going to keep travelling at that speed?

How about overdriving your headlights?

How on earth did you ever get a driver's license and how on earth
have you managed to KEEP one?

> Another one:  I'm driving a 10 year old Volkwagen Rabbit and following
> at a very respectable distance.  Some idiot in front of me slams on
> their brakes to avoid a squirrel, and forces me to do same.  However, at
> that moment I blow a brake component and am left with nothing but the
> mechanical backup system which is *not* going to stop me in time. 
> As a result, I cream the idiot that panic stopped to avoid a small
> furry forrest creature.  Happened to me on my way to the gym about a
> decade ago.

That's an extenuating circumstance.  Your brakes failed.  Stopping for a 
squirrel was irrelevant.  They could have made a nice leisurely stop
for a red light or stop sign and you might still have hit them.

> There's all sorts of other situations where maintaining a good space
> cushion simply isn't going to help you.

Not in the case of mechanical failure, of course.

> Do you *really* want to slam on your brakes when you *know* that a
> large portion of the population follows too closely anyway?  Are you
> *really* going to take that chance for a squirrel?  Is that *really* an
> acceptable risk?

It depends.  Do you live near me?

-DanD

-- 
#  Dan Duncan (kd4igw)  dand at pcisys.net  http://pcisys.net/~dand
# ...ham and eggs and scenery, a 'down grade,' a flying coach, a fragrant 
# pipe and a contented heart- these make happiness.  -Mark Twain
#