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  • Parking suck

    So today I had to go to my neurologist for a check up. His office is in the medical complex downtown so parking can be weird sometimes. That doesn't explain why this lil car was on the concrete median though.

  • #2
    I was driving down Highway 101 in Marin one time, and traffic was 'stop and crawl', and we eventually came to an off ramp with a huge white double cab truck sitting sideways up on the concrete barrier. Not a clue how it got up there, no skid marks, no nothing. They had to get a crane to lift it up off the barrier, a tow truck was tried and couldn't do it.

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    • #3
      Yikes!! That's scary.

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      • #4
        Probably a victim of the "FOUR WHEEL DRIVE MEANS I'M INVINCIBLE" mentality. I'm trying to educate my wife on that--4WD is not a "get out of physics free" card. You can still wind up in the ditch (or in this case, several feet above it!) when you have it.
        “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
        One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
        The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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        • #5
          It seems every winter, the first vehicle in the ditch is a 4WD SUV. 4WD gives you more traction for acceleration, but not for cornering or stopping. As the serious off-roaders say, 4WD lets you get stuck deeper, further from home.
          Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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          • #6
            Quoth Nunavut Pants View Post
            Probably a victim of the "FOUR WHEEL DRIVE MEANS I'M INVINCIBLE" mentality. I'm trying to educate my wife on that--4WD is not a "get out of physics free" card.
            Quoth wolfie View Post
            4WD gives you more traction for acceleration, but not for cornering or stopping.
            As I've seen mentioned here on the boards before, "Four Wheel Drive does not mean Four Wheel Stop."
            PWNADE(TM) - Serve up a glass today! | PWNZER - An act of pwnage so awesome, it's like the victim got hit by a tank.

            There are only Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because I choose to walk!

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            • #7
              I've told this story before:

              A vanryn ago, I lived in Portland, Oregon, in a tiny neighborhood between the Ross Island and I-405 bridges. I cleaned a business near Beaverton, and the best route was Scholl's Ferry Rd, which at that time (going West) was two lanes, with shoulders, uphill and winding. (A road one shouldn't take chances on even in dry, sunny weather.)

              Portland drivers are excellent in rain, but not so much in snow. Back then, most cars were rear-wheel drive (RWD), and (if manual) 3-speeds. 4WD was much less common than now. I drove my old VW bug, which was great in all conditions, what with its rear engine and 4-speed.

              I was headed to work during the first snow of the winter. There were a few inches of packed snow on Scholl's Ferry, and the RWD's were mostly on the shoulder, giving me plenty of room to pass them at a safe 20 mph. I also knew that just over the top of the hill was a traffic light. It was placed right where you couldn't see it until you were on top of the hill. So I slowed down even more as I approached that crest, so that, if it was red, I could still stop.

              But the percentage of smart 4WD guys was no higher then than it is now. 4 of them assumed (I guess) that there would be no vehicles in the downhill lane, and passed me.

              Yep; the light was red. Did I mention the ditches on either side? Each one had a 4WD or so in it. I had a good laugh. I'm betting that the one 4WD who was content to stay behind me was laughing too. I'm thinking that I got where I was going a lot sooner than they did!

              I pity the folks with the RWDs, though. Nobody had ever taught them that stomping in the gas doesn't work!
              I don’t have enough middle fingers to show you how I feel about you.
              - Twitter, via Boredpanda.com, via Youtube

              Right. Well. When you manage to pull the concussed deer of your intellect away from the oncoming headlights of life let me know. - Grave keeper

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              • #8
                Quoth paxillated View Post
                But the percentage of smart 4WD guys was no higher then than it is now. 4 of them assumed (I guess) that there would be no vehicles in the downhill lane, and passed me.
                I'd assume that the percentage of smart 4WD guys would have been higher then, since it would be mostly the serious off-roaders who had it.

                Quoth paxillated View Post
                Yep; the light was red. Did I mention the ditches on either side? Each one had a 4WD or so in it. I had a good laugh. I'm betting that the one 4WD who was content to stay behind me was laughing too. I'm thinking that I got where I was going a lot sooner than they did!

                I pity the folks with the RWDs, though. Nobody had ever taught them that stomping in the gas doesn't work!
                Sounds like the 4x4 behind you was a serious off-roader who knew the capabilities AND LIMITATIONS of 4WD.

                As for the "stomp on the gas" mentality, roughly 15 years ago I embarrassed a Camaro driver. It was winter, with around 4 inches of snow on the ground. He had a big, powerful engine. I had a '93 Excel with 2 hamsters on a treadmill under the hood. I passed him like he was standing still. Of course, he WAS standing still - wheels spinning, fishtailing, but making no forward progress. With gentle throttle application, my P155/80R13 tires gave those hamsters a grip on the road, and I was able to keep going.
                Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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                • #9
                  Quoth wolfie View Post
                  As for the "stomp on the gas" mentality, roughly 15 years ago I embarrassed a Camaro driver. It was winter, with around 4 inches of snow on the ground. He had a big, powerful engine. I had a '93 Excel with 2 hamsters on a treadmill under the hood. I passed him like he was standing still. Of course, he WAS standing still - wheels spinning, fishtailing, but making no forward progress. With gentle throttle application, my P155/80R13 tires gave those hamsters a grip on the road, and I was able to keep going.
                  Ah, yes, the Camaro. Vehicle of choice for the "Power is Everything" crowd.

                  Forgetting, of course, that power is Nothing without control.

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                  • #10
                    Even Jeremy Clarkson commented that too much power can be a bad thing... as he embarrassed a Corvette while driving a Ford Fiesta around a shopping mall.
                    Supporting the idiots charged with protecting your personal information.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth otakuneko View Post
                      Even Jeremy Clarkson commented that too much power can be a bad thing... as he embarrassed a Corvette while driving a Ford Fiesta around a shopping mall.
                      People sometimes forget that about Clarkson. In later episodes, if Clarkson comments on how too much power is a bad thing, May or Hammond would ask if he was ill.
                      PWNADE(TM) - Serve up a glass today! | PWNZER - An act of pwnage so awesome, it's like the victim got hit by a tank.

                      There are only Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse because I choose to walk!

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                      • #12
                        Yes, he did have rather more "FIVE HUNDRED HORSEPOWER GET OUT OF MY WAY" moments.

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                        • #13
                          Quoth LoTech View Post
                          Forgetting, of course, that power is Nothing without control.
                          I recall that theme being used in a pre-commercial "cliffhanger" on The Dukes of Hazzard. Before the commercial, sheriff of a neighbouring county pulls out to chase the General Lee, and the narrator describes how souped up the police car is. After the commercial, sheriff winds up in the ditch, and narrator says that the power doesn't mean a thing if you don't know how to use it properly.
                          Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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