So I learned the meaning of the word "Panic stop"…

"sm70- why not Duesenberg?" (sm70-whynotduesenberg) 04/19/2014 at 17:57 • Filed to: None

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Coming down I-80 between Des Moines and Council Bluffs, a person in a green GMC Yukon XL suddenly remembered he had forgotten his favorite CD at home, presumably. So what did he do? Did he get off at the next exit and turn around? Nope, that would've made too much sense. Did he carry one, under the assumption that nothing could be that important? No, of course not. He cut over from the right lane, doing maybe 70, four cars ahead of me (we were all doing 80-ish), causing us to break a little. Then, yessir, he slammed on his breaks, slowing to maybe 25mph and causing us all to nearly accordion into each other, then dove for a gap in the median fence and turned around. Thank god no one in was driving anything bigger than a pickup, or they never would've slowed in time. And the world's most forgetful GMC driver doesn't even wait for oncoming traffic to clear. As I begin to regain speed, I heared a faint sound go by the other way. It was a white 3-series, laying on the horn as the Yukon pulls directly out in front of him.

That was Thursday. Then yesterday, headed through a construction zone on I-80 through Omaha, the rightmost lane ended suddenly and with no warning. A Mazda RX-8 in said lane and a Jeep in the second right-most lane, directly in front of me, realize that they can't both occupy the same space at the same time. Of course, neither of them makes a sensible speed change for a fluid merge. No, people don't work like that. And unlike Thursday's encounter, this wasn't slowing to 25mph. Both drivers came to a dead stop in 65mph rush hour traffic, right in front of me. I would've locked 'em up, but the ABS on my mom's C5 Avant worked like a charm. As it was, I had my foot mashed down on the brake, my hand glued to the horn, and I pulled up maybe a couple feet from the Jeep. I still held down the horn and watched my mirror, worrying I would get ass-ended by the folks behind me. Once again, though I got lucky in that I was being followed by drivers paying attention and no big trucks. So ladies and gentlemen, remember; distracted driving is incredibly dumb, and stopping in the middle of an interstate is even dumber.

Also, I find it ironic that the first two times anyone's done this in front of me were both within a day of each other.

AthomSfere > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 04/19/2014 at 18:03

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Des Moines to Omaha/ CB... Oh I remember that drive. Somehow you were awake enough to even catch in time is amazing on its own!

tromoly > AthomSfere 04/19/2014 at 18:17

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I've done the I-80 drive from Quad Cities to Des Moines, agreed with you on that.

Also, this is how I feel about I-80 in Iowa:

GeorgeyBoy > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 04/19/2014 at 18:22

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sm70- why not Duesenberg? > tromoly 04/19/2014 at 18:26

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I just about died laughing. That sums it up perfectly.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 04/19/2014 at 23:03

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Something like this happened earlier to me! Some lady in a 90s Explorer decides she's gonna pull out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. I was doing 50 and had to almost come to a complete stop in like 100 feet or less. I was in my van, which doesn't have working ABS, or rear disc brakes. I dunno how I did it. I made sure to tell her she was number one though!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 04/19/2014 at 23:05

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Judging by your avatar, it's a good thing you were able to stop in time.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 04/19/2014 at 23:06

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Yeeeaahh, I really need to get something that wont make me a human taco in the case of an accident.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 04/19/2014 at 23:33

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Volvo , man . They're indestructable.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > sm70- why not Duesenberg? 04/19/2014 at 23:50

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Volvos and Saabs were both built like tanks. That XC90 looked like maybe a light pole fell on it, not the landing gear of a fucking plane!