[Shotimes] Almost lost it, aka death by phone

[Steve Tatro]

I find it amusing how SUV manufacturers assume they've covered their own
asses by putting warnings in owner's manuals.  The manual for my wife's '99
Rodeo (which isn't even a "big" SUV) reminds the owner that SUV's "do not
handle or brake like an ordinary vehicle" and "have a high center of gravity
for off-road use".

I'm sure everyone reads these messages and takes them seriously.

Steve
Red/Black '93 with 163k miles
Cincinnati, Ohio
www.picturetrail.com/stevetatro

----- Original Message -----
From: "D Potter" <jpotter8@bellsouth.net>
To: <shotimes@autox.team.net>
Sent: Sunday, December 15, 2002 7:24 AM
Subject: [Shotimes] Almost lost it, aka death by phone


> By an absolute margin of utter luck I am still here tonight. I was at my
> inlaw's this evening to help my aged father-in-law who is suffering from
> Alzheimer's. The time came to leave, and I and my wife left in our
respective
> cars since we drove there separately. My boy begged to ride with mom when
we
> left, and I relented, even though I wanted to take him with me to the
corner
> store on the way home. Had he been with me, I'd have been a touch
distracted,
> and this may have been the end of both of us.
>
> The inlaw's neighborhood has a dedicated light that changes right away to
let
> them onto the main 5-lane drag. The light changes a bit quickly, so I tend
to
> look before pulling out in case someone has not noticed the light turning
red.
> As usual, I pulled up to the light and the other immediately turned to
yellow
> for the cross traffic. I noticed vehicles in both directions moving
quickly
> towards the intersection, and decided to wait not for the light, but for
all
> cars to come to a stop before proceeding. I can do this as the light stays
> green until you exit the street, and I have seen a few cars on several
> occasions not make the stop due to excessive speed, so I felt it prudent
that
> I wait a second.
>
> A few seconds passed, and two lines of cars proceeding in opposite
directions
> came to a stop before me. I let out the clutch and the SHO starts moving
> towards the intersection. I hit the bump that's right before the end of
the
> street and know the nose of my car is just starting into the first lane of
> cross-traffic, when I see a flash of white out of my left peripheral
vision,
> then a white, black and red blur in front of me. I didn't have enough time
to
> react to the vision for it was gone before I had even yanked my foot off
the
> gas, let alone snap in the clutch. It took me a full two seconds, with my
car
> still rolling slowly into the cross-traffic lanes to snap myself out of
the
> sudden shock and confirm what had happened. A large SUV, specifically a
black
> Navigator, had blown the light. What was even more frightening was the
fact
> that the driver didn't even hit the brakes as he sped off down the road in
> this congested area of the city.
>
> I wasn't going to be able to get out of the car for at least ten minutes
for
> fear of wetting my pants, so I made a quick right turn and took off after
the
> SUV after partially clearing my head. A few red lights down the road I
quickly
> caught the vehicle, and took down the plate number. Gee, the driver was on
a
> cell-phone. I was mad and wanted to get out and yell at the moron and
maybe
> hit him, but I kept reminding myself that a day in court will be more of
an
> inconvienence. I turned back, called the police, and filed a wreckless
driving
> report with them. A summons will be sent.
>
> While giving my account of the incident to the officer, a few things were
> noted. The entrance to my inlaw's neighborhood has a typical set of walls
on
> either side of the road. The walls are set beyond the minimum distance
from
> the crossing road to allow for good vision, per law. I had looked to the
left
> and right before pulling out, and didn't see the vehicle because it was so
far
> down the road that it was obstructed by the wall to my left. The cop had
me
> put my car where it had been as I was waiting for the light, and sat in it
to
> determine how far down the road the SUV had been when I looked to the
left.
> Based upon my recollection of how much time elapsed before I began to pull
> away, he estimated that the SUV was moving at least 70mph but not more
than
> 100 mph on this 45mph street. Not nice words flowed through my head upon
> hearing this. I was comforted only in the fact that 25+ over can = loss of
> license.
>
> Even though I thoroughly believe that cell phones are a distraction and
should
> not be allowed for use by persons in control of moving cars, I am not
relating
> this to inflame this old debate. I will, however, throw this in the face
of
> this driver. If my son had not insisted on riding with mom, both him and I
> would surely be at the morgue this evening due to this idiot's bad
judgement
> call. I'm sure his lawyer will say he was in a heated conversation, or had
> just received really bad news, to attempt to justify his lack of attention
to
> the road, but this is exactly why cell phones should not be used by people
> operating vehicles. I look forward to grilling this idiot over the coals.
This
> is about more than my own anger. It's about the safety of my family. I
plan on
> setting precedent in this county where driving problems are seen as a way
to
> make revenue for the courthouse and nothing more. I plan on holding the
courts
> accountable for their inactions. I see unsafe vehicles and inattentive
drivers
> all the time, yet the vast majoritiy of the cars that get pulled over are
> those that exceed the speed limit.
>
> As a teenager, during the 80's, I used to cycle down these roads to this
same
> neighborhood to see what was, at the time, my girlfriend (now wife). When
I
> returned to the area in '93 after exiting the military, I noted that,
while
> the traffic had increased by maybe 10%, it was almost twice as difficult
to
> navigate the roads safely by bike. Why? Because I had to keep a constant
> vigilance with my rear view mirror for passing cars. What was I looking
for?
> People with their arms angled up towards their head...
>
> OK, so maybe I  DID bring the issue up a little bit. Sorry, I guess I'm
still
> a little wired nearly 11 hours later. I'm having difficulty weighing the
1% of
> people that can drive while on the phone against the 99% that can't. I'm
for
> freedom as much as possible, but only within reason. There are other
things
> that bother me, like the fact that anyone with a driver's license and
enough
> cash can walk away from a dealer with a 6400lb vehicle. No one ever
mentions
> how much distance is required to achieve a complete stop from 60mph when
> selling an SUV, nor do they talk about blind spots. I guess they actually
want
> to sell these things, because if they took the time to explain to a
> prospective buyer how easy it is for their SUV to tear through the average
> mid-size sedan and smear the occupants all over the road, they might be
less
> inclined to buy one if not at least encouraged to not drive them at 55mph
> through 35mph zones. I remember the old days of SUV's, when the only name
in
> the game was the Suburban, and it typically was seen moving at least 10mph
> slower than any other vehicle. 10 car lengths gap from one behind you was
not
> uncommon. Now, they are on your bumper, and your interior is lit like
daytime
> while driving at night. I see them fly down my street, going 45 ina 25, so
> they can make it to church on time across the street. They hit the corner
and
> gun it, often leaving a small squeel of rubber in the process. I can't let
my
> boy play in the side yard on Sundays due to these people. Mass must be
damn
> good there, more important than life itself.
>
> Enough of my ramblings (did anyone really make it this far?), they are
just my
> opinions, take them for what they are worth. I'm going to bed now if I can
> sleep.
>
> DP
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