[1998GT]

a bunch of buddies and i were cruising to seattle to go to hooters for dinner and we are on the freeway and this 01 svt cobra vert comes up next to me. I"m having fun and i'm just messing around wanting to see how fast his car is. I downshift and take off and he is right there with me.. I was so surprised, i kept up until 4th and then he started to pull. All of a sudden the car ahead on the other lane pulls out RIGHT in front of him. We are goin about 90mph. Well he slams on his brakes but it wasn't enuf. he swerves right and smashes into my teg. i fly into the other lane(thank god no one was there). He moves over and we get off on the first exit along with all my friends except my g/f.. she speeds up in her car and gets the licesen plate to the guy who cut the cobra off . We then exchange information and such. He was a good guy, i felt bad. none the less i was pretty pissed about my car. Here are some pics.

[1998GT]

more pics yo

a lil seattle for ya

[Falcon453]

Wow. that's not good... Anyone hurt? Hate it when people cut over and do that...

[Saleen Owner]

Originally Posted by Falcon453

Hate it when people cut over and do that...

What other option did he have? Rear end an innocent driver at 90 mph, or tag the guy he was racing with. If it's me, I would tag the other guilty party everytime. If your going to race on the street, you have to find a street with no access and no other traffic, and even then you have to expect this kind of stuff. I've had many cars come within a hair of tagging me because of an over zealous 1-2 shift.

When your drag racing at 90 mph down a public street, you can't blame the guy who cut him off, he may not have been expecting a Mustang to be coming up from behind at 90 mph. If you are breaking the law, how can you point a finger of blame at someone who may, or may not, have broken the law as the guilty party? If you guys weren't doing 90 mph would it have still happened? If not, then he is not to blame.

By the way, I am sorry to see your car get hit. It's really cool the guy in the Stang owned up and admitted fault, at least you can get it fixed.

[Falcon453]

I don't blame the mustang, or anyone for that matter, but the person who cut over should watch what he's doing. I never just cut over into a lane unless I know I can match the speed of the car behind me. Gotta watch what's coming up behind you when you change lanes. The mustang did the right thing, tag the other racer, less damage to his car and less likely for anyone to get killed

[Dash Riprock]

I agree, and slightly disagree, with Saleen Owner. The driver who pulled out in front of the Cobra may not have broken the law, but he was NOT "innocent"...and 1998GT definitely HAS the right to point the finger at him. The driver of a car that is CHANGING LANES or MERGING into traffic MUST be aware of the oncomming traffic that is already established in the lane they wish to merge into, and they need to estimate the speed of the oncoming cars to determine if it is safe to procede. It is, by law, the MERGING DRIVER'S responsibility to merge safely...NOT the driver already on the freeway to slow down or manuever out of the way to let them in. It may be courtesy to do so, but NOT required by law. The driver who pulled out in front of the Cobra was probably a fu*king blue-hair who could barely see above her dashboard.

Speeding can contribute to the fault of an accident, but it is not always to blame. For instance, if a guy is speeding through a parking lot, and another car backs into his path, is it the guy who was speeding who is at fault?...NO. The person who was backing will get the ticket everytime!!

90 MPH is NOT excessive. Granted, if they were doing 90 on a 30 MPH side street, then no one could possibly blame the driver who pulled out in front of them...but on a freeway you must EXPECT that people fly by now and again!! I'm not justifying racing on a freeway, but I do between 80 and 90 miles an hour every morning on my commute to work, whether its in my Stang, my Ram, or my wife's X5. It doesn't seem that fast considering everyone else is doing 70, however, I am ALWAYS on the lookout for mindless idiot drivers. I've seen women putting on makeup with one hand while talking on their cell phone with the other (apparently steering with their knee??) and guys drinking coffee or shaving with their electric razor while behind the wheel. It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so nonchalant about operating an automobile. Granted, going 90 in a 65 is not exactly responsible, but I take driving VERY seriously. In fact, I am a graduate of the Bridgestone Racing Academy at Mosport...it was a Christmas present from my wife a few years back. Talk about fun!!

I know this probably sounds lame, but I NEVER do anything else but drive when I'm behind the wheel. I'm not searching through my CD's, or eating a Big Mac, or talking on my cell phone...I'm concentrating on the road, constantly scanning ahead for not only what IS happining, but what COULD happen (something I learned from years of motorcycle riding). I always leave myself a way out of a situation, without relying on my brakes...and you know how many automobile accidents I've had after 22 years behing the wheel? None, goose egg, doughnut hole, nada, zero. I did have ONE accident on my Ninja, but it was early in my riding days and I wasn't scanning the road ahead. A sofa broke loose and fell off a pickup truck and landed right square in my freeway lane, I had cars on both sides of me and was forced to lay my bike down. If I had scanned the 180-degree field in front of me prior to that happening, I could have seen the overloaded truck, and the potential for that accident, and slowed down to where I had at least one lateral escape available. Now I NEVER let myself get sandwiched...especially with big rig semis.

[Mustang Mike]

.......how do like taking on the role of a ricer though? LOL!!!
....Especially against a Cobra!....I would have immediately announced I was a Mustang enthusiust and wanted to see him rip my import..........but then that might put you at risk for recovering a pay-off from his insurance company..........

[Mustang Mike]

Originally Posted by Dash Riprock

I agree, and slightly disagree, with Saleen Owner. The driver who pulled out in front of him may not have broken the law, but 1998GT definitely HAS the right to point the finger at the driver who pulled out in front of the Cobra. The driver of a car CHANGING LANES or MERGING into traffic MUST be aware of the oncomming traffic that is already established in that lane, and they need to estimate the speed of the oncoming cars to determine if it is safe to procede. It was probably a fu*king blue-hair who could barely see above her dashboard.

I do between 80 and 90 miles an hour every morning on my commute to work, whether its in my Stang, my Ram, or my wife's X5. It doesn't seem that fast considering everyone else is doing 70, however, I am ALWAYS on the lookout for mindless idiot drivers. I've seen women putting on makeup with one hand while talking on their cell phone with the other (apparently steering with their knee??) and guys drinking coffee or shaving with their electric razor while behind the wheel. It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so nonchalant about operating an automobile. Granted, going 90 in a 65 is not exactly responsible, but I take driving VERY seriously. In fact, I am a graduate of the Bridgestone Racing Academy at Mosport...it was a Christmas present from my wife a few years back. Talk about fun!!

I know this probably sounds lame, but I NEVER do anything else but drive when I'm behind the wheel. I'm not searching through my CD's, or eating a Big Mac, or talking on my cell phone...I'm concentrating on the road, constantly scanning ahead for not only what IS happining, but what COULD happen (something I learned from years of motorcycle riding). I always leave myself a way out of a situation, without relying on my brakes...and you know how many automobile accidents I've had after 22 years behing the wheel? None, goose egg, doughnut hole, nada, zero. I did have ONE accident on my Ninja, but it was early in my riding days and I wasn't scanning the road ahead. A sofa broke loose and fell off a pickup truck and landed right square in my freeway lane, I had cars on both sides of me and was forced to lay my bike down. If I had scanned the 180-degree field in front of me prior to that happening, I could have seen the overloaded truck, and the potential for that accident, and slowed down to where I had at least one lateral escape available. Now I NEVER let myself get sandwiched...especially with big rig semis.

I'm with you on this one Dash.
I'm pretty much from the same school of thought as you are about driving.

If you try driving on the freeway at 60mph in the Bay Area you're going to get run off the road......
......The Mustang rides along more smoothly at 80mph than 60mph. That's the way I experience it anyway.

It pisses me off when someone cuts me off........I don't care if they are going the speed limit. They're just as wrong in my mind, if not more so, than me if they pull in front of me like that.

It's usually some short person who can barely manage to operate their vehicle safely because they're scope of vision is limited to what they see only in front of them through the steering wheel..........

I'm probably being pig-headed when I say "stay the f*** out of the way if you're not going to drive with the flow of traffic"...........Wouldnt be the first time.

[countymounty]

Now being there I don’t know all the details but………….
If someone looks in their mirror as sees a car 15+ car lengths back they should assume it is safe to pull out. Just because some dumb a$$ is doing 20 over and is closing that 15+ at a much faster rate then they LEGALLY should be, dose not shift the blame to that person, although it is much easer to blame someone else then to admit fault on you own .
Unless the driver just pulled out without looking then it is the fault of the racers, and even then if the guy did pull out without looking he is just partially at fault being as if the driver was traveling at the speed limit he would have had a better reaction time.

I have posted it before but her is a refresher……………..

The average driver requires ¾ of a second to see a threat , comprehend it is a threat and move to apply the breaks or whatever the reaction is.
During that ¾ of a second the car continues to move at a steady pace. How far it moves in depends
on its speed before the threat was recognize.
The faster car is moving the more momentum it has and the longer it will take to stop,
More breaking force must be applied to cars traveling at high speed and it is a scientific fact that the total stopping distance increases greatly with just a slight increase in speed.
Example…..
60mph is only 20% faster than 50mph but the stopping distance at 60 (272 Feet) mph is more than the stopping distance at 50mph (188 feet)
272 - 188 = 84
84 divided by 188 = 4468
Even if you are running high quality race breaks it will stop your breaking from 50 to 0 by so many feet but it will still take 44% longer to stop at 60mph and it only gets worse at you increase with speed.

This is also why accident reconstruction specialist earn over $100 an hour, if this had been a major accident involving in a death there would be people looking all over it and whittling your insurance claim down to next to nothing , or raising your liability to the max.

Sure lots of things cause accidents, cell phone, food and just plain stupidity.
Yes I speed (never raced on a public roadway though) but if someone pulls out in front of me and I cant react quick enough I’m going to take responsibility in the matter, not try to push the blame off on someone else.

Yep maybe the guy pulled right out right in front of him but he still would have been only 1/3 at fault if he did.
But I’m sure some will be of the opinion that “how dare that a$$ hole be on a public roadway while we our conducting our street races”

Glad no one was hurt, hope something might be learned from it, I know my response will not be liked so flame away.

[Mustang Mike]

Originally Posted by countymounty

Now being there I don’t know all the details but………….
If someone looks in their mirror as sees a car 15+ car lengths back they should assume it is safe to pull out. Just because some dumb a$$ is doing 20 over and is closing that 15+ at a much faster rate then they LEGALLY should be, dose not shift the blame to that person, although it is much easer to blame someone else then to admit fault on you own .
Unless the driver just pulled out without looking then it is the fault of the racers, and even then if the guy did pull out without looking he is just partially at fault being as if the driver was traveling at the speed limit he would have had a better reaction time.

I have posted it before but her is a refresher……………..

The average driver requires ¾ of a second to see a threat , comprehend it is a threat and move to apply the breaks or whatever the reaction is.
During that ¾ of a second the car continues to move at a steady pace. How far it moves in depends
on its speed before the threat was recognize.
The faster car is moving the more momentum it has and the longer it will take to stop,
More breaking force must be applied to cars traveling at high speed and it is a scientific fact that the total stopping distance increases greatly with just a slight increase in speed.
Example…..
60mph is only 20% faster than 50mph but the stopping distance at 60 (272 Feet) mph is more than the stopping distance at 50mph (188 feet)
272 - 188 = 84
84 divided by 188 = 4468
Even if you are running high quality race breaks it will stop your breaking from 50 to 0 by so many feet but it will still take 44% longer to stop at 60mph and it only gets worse at you increase with speed.

This is also why accident reconstruction specialist earn over $100 an hour, if this had been a major accident involving in a death there would be people looking all over it and whittling your insurance claim down to next to nothing , or raising your liability to the max.

Sure lots of things cause accidents, cell phone, food and just plain stupidity.
Yes I speed (never raced on a public roadway though) but if someone pulls out in front of me and I cant react quick enough I’m going to take responsibility in the matter, not try to push the blame off on someone else.

Yep maybe the guy pulled right out right in front of him but he still would have been only 1/3 at fault if he did.
But I’m sure some will be of the opinion that “how dare that a$$ hole be on a public roadway while we our conducting our street races”

Glad no one was hurt, hope something might be learned from it, I know my response will not be liked so flame away.

You know I love that analytical stuff County! LOVE IT!
It's enlightening and fascinating at the same time.

..............but it still doesn't tell me why those idiots pull out in front of me!

[countymounty]

Originally Posted by Mustang Mike

..............but it still doesn't tell me why those idiots pull out in front of me!

Because some people are just plain stupid…………….

[Saleen Owner]

[quote=countymounty]Now being there I don’t know all the details but………….
If someone looks in their mirror as sees a car 15+ car lengths back they should assume it is safe to pull out. Just because some dumb a$$ is doing 20 over and is closing that 15+ at a much faster rate then they LEGALLY should be, dose not shift the blame to that person, although it is much easer to blame someone else then to admit fault on you own .[quote]

This was exactly my point. It was stated that 'we were going about 90 mph', but it was also stated that the Cobra was pulling on him. So if the Cobra is pulling on a car doing 90 mph, can it not be assumed he was more in the 100 mph plus range? I think we are probably taking more like a 30 to 40 mph closing rate, so the a$$hole in question could have looked in his mirror and seen the Stang over 30 car lenghts back and assumed it was safe.

Now flip it around. You glance in your side mirror and see a car 30 lengths back, you change lanes and glance in the rear view and there's a car locking it up and sliding at you at an insane speed. Now do you think you are the stupid a$$hole, or is the guy flying at you the a$$hole?

[1998GT]

it really made me mad because the car had to see what happened afterward and he didn't do anyhting. He didn't use his blinker when he changed lanes either. When he went to change lanes it was only say 5 feet inbetween.

[Mustang Mike]

Originally Posted by Saleen Owner

Now flip it around. You glance in your side mirror and see a car 30 lengths back, you change lanes and glance in the rear view and there's a car locking it up and sliding at you at an insane speed. Now do you think you are the stupid a$$hole, or is the guy flying at you the a$$hole?

I'd kick myself for becoming one of those A-holes I despise so much!
I'd get on all fours at the side of the road and let that driver kick me as hard as they could right in the kiester!
Then I would apologize profusely...........and beg forgiveness..........

[Tominator]

Originally Posted by countymounty

Because some people are just plain stupid…………….

As it seems are the two drivers with the damaged cars.

It's just too bad they still have a driver's license.