What is your most embarrassing driving mishap?

"DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back" (karsonkinja) 11/28/2018 at 11:49 • Filed to: None

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I’ve hit a roadblock at work and this topic has been on my mind. I’ll go first.

Before the WRX I had a ‘96 Toyota Tacoma with a 5 speed, a 2.4l 4-cyl, and...not much else. The truck only had 142hp and 160lb-ft of torque, but being as there was nothing to weigh down the rear combined with the manual transmission, overpowering the rear tires and breaking traction was very very easy.

On this particular Friday I was driving home from work, eager to start the weekend. Looking back I’d say I was too eager. It had been raining all day, and was continuing to drizzle on my drive home.

I was approaching a a T intersection and had to turn left on the crossing road. This intersection wasn’t a perfect T so if the light was green you could drive the left turn like it was a long sweeper. This was also a two lane left turn. On this day the light was green and I was in the right left turn lane, but it was very very stale, and I knew that and picked up the pace. Yellow. I hit the gas again for a little speed boost so as to not run a red and then quickly hit the brakes to slow down for the turn.

In doing this all the weight had transferred forward. so as I turned into the road I didn’t realize the rear was still rotating around. I shoved it into second and touched the gas which exacerbated the slide. Now the front of my truck was starting to point toward the SUV in the lane to my left.

I panicked. I made such a basic car control mistake. I hit (stood on) the brakes and yanked the wheel to the right. It worked I guess as I had changed direction and slowed down, but lack of antilock now meant my tires were coasting in the thin layer of water in the road. I was basically a passenger as my truck slowly slid sideways down into the fairly steep, 8’ deep drainage ditch on the side of the road. There was a light crunch and it was over.

I jumped out and took a quick look around the truck and saw there was no major damage but I found myself feeling like a deer in the headlights. My dad worked nearby where I had this accident so I called him, he offered to call a tow truck for me and I accepted.

While standing there waiting in the misaerable drizzle, feeling shame as hundreds of commuters passed by and observed my handi work, a Good Samaritan stopped and offered to go grab some tow straps from his buddy’s house nearby and pull me out if I gave him a little cash. I told him if he could beat the tow truck then the job was his.

He beat the tow truck. And this actually very easily could have been my worst decision of the day. The reason for that is that I had to steer my truck up the steep side of the ditch. This may have been the sketchiest thing I’ve ever done as I was convinced I was going to roll over back down in to the ditch.

However, I made it out, I called and cancelled the tow truck, we unhooked and made arrangements to meet at the gas station down the road that had an ATM. I gave him $60 when I got there. Looking back I realize th is also could have been a dumb move as it could have been a setup.

Luckily there was no damage to the truck aside from maybe some paint damage as there was some thick brush at the bottom of the ditch that the passenger side of my truck had rested on.

I will never forget the shame of standing there on the side of the road, truck in a ditch, with people rubbernecking to get a look at the idiot, honking to signal either their indig nan ce or that they had been entertained by my dumb mistake.

That day  I learned not to overestimate my driving skills, underestimate road conditions, and that it’s better to get home later and safer, than never.

Anyway, OPPO, what is YOUR most embarrassing driving mishap?

Just Jeepin' > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 11:56

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I’m too old to be sure this is my worst, but it’s the one that springs to mind. And it’s a shorter story which appeals to me with the headache I’m fighting right now.

I was turning left at dusk and failed to notice the concrete median which was years overdue for a fresh coat of paint and thus blended in with the grey road and grey everything. (Have I mentioned that I hate dusk?)

So, I drove straight across the concrete slab, destroying both front tires simultaneously. I’m sure that was entertaining to hear/see.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 12:00

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Oh man, I actually did something similar when I had first started driving except this one was also without a doubt my fault . I learned what understeer was in my parents suburban and slammed into/ hopped up onto a median in our subdivision. I was driving way too fast after having passed someone and had to make a right turn suddenly. Thankfully I did no damage to the SUV, but I crushed the curb...and my ego.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:01

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i rolled me mums car into a lightpost

she was teaching me to drive.... having made it back home all not crashed like i parked.. took me foot of the gas.... and the car just kept on rolling

and that day i learnt neutral has a purpose

*watched that lightpole like a cow watches an oncoming train.....*

way2blu does a rev update > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:05

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Last week, actually, driving my MR2.

Thanksgiving morning, it had rained lightly overnight, quite rare in SoCal. I was driving to the gym and was making a left in a double left-turn lane.

There was a Camry in the left-most lane and I’m in the right. The two turn lanes lead to two travel lanes on an overpass, with a curb and sidewalk on the right.

The light goes green, and I set off at a leisurely pace on the left turn. Almost through the turn, on the straight road, and...

*SNAP*

At 10-15 mph, my MR2's rear wheels decided to just let go.

No warning, no feedback, nothing. There was curb on my right and Camry on my left. And my MR2 had decided to snap-oversteer.

...

No “thinking quickly” of any kind occurred. My brain was in a state of shock. Yet, somehow I let go of the steering wheel, let the front wheels catch, and steered into the drift. Over-corrected a little bit, and the back end now swung to the left. I let the wheel go, caught it, and steered in again.

Finally, the car was driving straight . Somehow, I didn’t run into anything.

Without a lot of practice in the car at autocross over the past year, I’m not sure I would have been ready for this. The instinct to catch the drift certainly didn’t come from regular driving on public roads.

This could have been FAR more embarrassing if I hadn’t caught the slide. 

vicali > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:07

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I did the same in snow in my 86 Xtra cab -lucky for me there was a curb I bounced off of and all was good.

My most embarrassing moment was shortly after installing my new Kenwood booming system is the same truck. I hopped in to head to school as would any other 16 year old ;

First things first- crank up the music,

Second thing- adjust my sunglasses and check my hair in the mirror.

Third - back out infront of the 80 year old neighbour driving her 19 90 CitationII up the alley ;

My tube bumper went right through the grille beside the headlight.. In my panic I put it back in first and proceeded to rip the grille, headlight, and part of the fender right off that crappy car.

I ended up paying for it out of my pocket - $1000 a few weeks before Christmas made me a sad mopey teenager..

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > way2blu does a rev update 11/28/2018 at 12:10

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Seems very similar to my story, haha

I agree with you about the lack of thinking quickly. There is no thinking in that kind of situation, you just react, and based on how much experience and or practice you have that reaction will either be good or bad.

I really  should get out and do some autocross next year.

HammerheadFistpunch > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:11

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The first winter I had my Land Cruiser I had to get pulled out by a truck. I went backcountry skiing and the area where I started from had a large graded snow bank area level with the road. I knew the ground sloped away from the road there but it looked hard packed and I had a triple locked land cruiser with brand new Duratracs! I wasn’t worried. Pulled in, started to sink. Put it in low, threw on the lockers threw it in reverse and...sunk way more on the downhill side. Turns out the graded snow was just because the snow cat needed a places to park for the night and that the snow was a good 2-3 feet deep. Went skiing, came back and begged for pull. thankfully I had my tow strap and shackles in the car at the time. Didn’t take much to pull me out. Learned many a lesson.

3point8isgreat > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:14

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I’m not sure which one is worse, so I’ll go with both. These happened in an ‘89 mustang, 2.3L 4cyl ( A whole 89hp when new!), and 5speed manual.  Of course this was while I was in high school.

First was a lesser version of yours. Taking left turn in the wet, and accelerating from a stop through the turn. I think the manhole cover was extra slick or something, because suddenly the car was spinning. Came to a rest parallel to the median in the correct lane but looking face to face with the person who was behind me in line at the light.

Then there was a return trip from lunch during the school day.  Driving through my friend’s neighborhood, with that friend and one other in the car.  Turn was sharper than a regular 90deg lefthand turn.  And there was a little standing water right where the roads met.   Looking to have some fun I line it up to use that water to drift a bit.  But instead understeer over the low curb a little into the grass.  No biggie.  Then when back on the road a few feet later the back end swings around the other way.  I catch it and the car rolls forward straight into someone’s yard and mailbox.  I sheared the mailbox off at the ground with my driver’s door and fender.  Went back a day later to apologize for ruining the mailbox and leaving HUGE troughs in their yard from my tires.  It was an asian lady who didn’t speak much English and didn’t seem to care about it so I got off pretty lucky.

Tripper > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:14

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Hot dogging it in in my brand new (one month old) 2005 WRX on snow covered Pownal, Vermont roads. I went waaaay to fast into a right hand bend, lost it and had .0005 seconds to decide weather I wanted to

A. t ry and save it most likely sail off of a cliff to my left

B. try to at least stay on the road and get hit by an oncoming Bronco

C. cut hard right and bail into a rocky ditch.

Obviously I chose C. It was the right choice but at the price of $10k worth of body work to my brand new car.

way2blu does a rev update > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:14

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100% accurate. Autocross taught me that my MR2 oversteers in off-throttle & braking conditions, in addition to on-power oversteer like most normal cars.

It’s weird to think about, but more throttle is usually better mid-corner than lifting. The 60% rear weight bias really does work differently.

Do attend lots of autocross, and don’t be afraid to over-drive and find the handling limits early on. It pays off both in learning on the track, and knowing your limits on the street.

functionoverfashion > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:15

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In college I was driving around town in a pretty heavy snowstorm. I’m used to snow and I give everything extra time. In my FWD civic, I know momentum is a friend. So I’m approaching a T intersection onto a major road from a small side road. Great visibility. I look left and right, the only cars coming are so far away, there’s time for the car already waiting at the T and me to both make it, if I don’t completely stop in the pile of snow from the plows clearing the main road.

I look up and see the car in front of me has its brake lights on, then they’re off. Great, they’re going. I look left and right again, the oncoming cars are still a long distance off. Plenty of room. I look up at the car in front of me to see how far across the intersection they’ve made it. They haven’t moved. At all. And I’m going like, 10. I slammed on my brakes but still slid up just enough to bump into them. I was so embarrased. No damage, no insurance involvement, no police, but damn.

I did the same thing in a similar circumstance a few years later in a merge lane. Look left. TONS of room. Look up, car in front of me rolling, no brakes, great. Look left. Still lots of room. Look up. Car STOPPED. This time, Their trailer hitch gave my front plate a slight bend, but that was it. Lucky again, if you want to call it that.

I guess those aren’t too bad since I’ve been driving for 22 years at this point. I’m sure I’ve done a couple other dumb things but none that involved other cars.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:17

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My first car was a 4 cyl Fiero. I grew up in a farming town, pick up trucks everywhere. Nobody knew anything about the dang old “ Italian” (emphasis on the I mind you) car with the engine in the back. Only had it a few weeks. I did not, nor did anyone else know lift off oversteer was a thing... T intersection at the top of a hill. It was the m ain road with a side road. I had to turn right onto the side road. So I le t off the accelerator just as I started to go around the corner. T he ass end kept going, quite violently . Lots of dirt and loose gravel. Stopped perfectly inline with the curb, tires were inches away. Not bad. No damage except to my pride. All the kids were at a pizza place on the corner and there was much laughing. Worst part was my mom was riding with me. She convinced my dad I was “ hot rodding” Pulled my license later that night and took my keys away. He took my car to the following Monday to work . Can you see where this is going? He did the EXACT same thing, except slammed into the curb destroying the car . He was going much faster than I was, I t hink. When he got home he was grovelling and mumbling as he gave me my keys and license back. I replaced it with a V6 Fiero asap . I drove it, twice I think . It was a nice day, for Wisconsin, and I had the t tops off. G ot back from school a little late and m y parents drove that V6 Fiero to the grocery store. A nd I never got it back. They loved the car and refused to give it back, and gave me my Mom’s Neon . I hate Neon’ s to this day.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 12:17

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oooo i kinda did that on me bike

(by kinda i mean i rode into a parking lot and forgot about the traffic islands... it was also well past midnight.. i didnt have lights and i may have been pretty damn drunk...... blew up both me tires skidded along on me face for a couple feet then acted like it didnt hurt for the latchkey kids who saw me)

BeaterGT > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:18

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It’s a toss up between two with my first car, an anemic V6 Firechicken .  

Took it out in the early hours of a winter morning to go snow drifting with friends. We had a blast until the drive home when I suddenly lost all traction and started spinning down the middle of the road. Luckily my friend was following far enough behind and was able to watch the chaos ensu e/ slow down enough to avoid hitting me. Also that the road was wide enough for me to avoid hitting anything. The pucker was real.

The other time I was in a jughandle, lost the rear, and the front right slammed into a curb. Had to limp it to a parking lot and get it towed back to my house in that same miserable drizzle.

Urambo Tauro > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:23

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Spun out o n a freeway once, years ago. It was raining and yeah traction was reduced a little , but it wasn’t re ally slippery unless you had bald tires. My tires were just fine and everything would have been just dandy , except that I didn’ t reduce speed in anticipation of a random pothole. Hitting it upset the car enough for the reduced grip to actually have an effect. The car pendulumed a few times before swinging directly into an exit ramp, where it ended up facing the wrong way. Spinning out was embarrassing enough, but it paled in comparison to the awkwardness of having to turn around in a place wher e oncoming car s were just starting to reduce speed for their exit.

Just Jeepin' > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 11/28/2018 at 12:23

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Ouch. That doesn’t sound like fun at all.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:24

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I’ve had plenty, but my most embarrassing moment was when I changed lanes into a taxi and hit it.

This was most embarrassing because it was on northbound Michigan Ave. in Chicago directly in front of Millennium Park, and my mishap was witnessed by god only knows how many thousands of tourists.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 12:24

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eh... it was pretty funny

im kinda stupid... but im sturdy... so i laugh when im hurt

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:27

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Back in HS I turned left out of a movie theater directly onto a highway at night... except I couldn’t see that the ditch I was turning before was actually the median. So I drove about a quarter mile on the shoulder in  oncoming traffic and jumped over at the next traffic light. Goddamn terrifying.

jasmits > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:29

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This is a boat, not a car, but when I was in grade school my family went on a sailing trip for spring break(my dad is a very avid sailor, used to crew on racing yachts). At one point my dad decided to teach me to drive the dinghy(small, inflatable outboard-powered boat you drag behind the bigger one to get to shore for those who don’t know).

Well, there was a slight disconnect between what I assumed about outboards and what he assumed I would assume about outboards. My first assumption was that the handle was spring loaded and would pop back when you let go. This is not the case. Also, as I had never driven anything besides a go-kart and a lawnmower at that point in my life I really was not calibrated to how much travel and force a throttle needs. He also probably should’ve put me in the emergency disconnect bracelet thingy(looking back... I actually can’t believe and am a little pissed at him that he didn’t I was in like 5th grade here).

SO, I give it way too much of a twist thinking it would be heavier and spring-loaded. The boat seemingly SHOT forward from this input, and as I sorta assumed it was spring loaded I let my grip loose a bit, and as it was not spring loaded the outboard was instead yanked free of my hand and the boat started to spin for what felt like hours(but was probably only a few revolutions) before my dad managed to reach over and yank the emergency stop bracelet. I still find this incredibly embarrassing although thinking back my dad really could’ve talked me through the whole thing better beforehand and put me in the emergency stop bracelet (which would’ve cut the engine when it got pulled out of my hand).

bob and john > GoodIdeaAtTheTime 11/28/2018 at 12:43

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When you said ‘I never got it back” i assumed they crashed that one too

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 12:56

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2 stories, both no damage:

Took a corner onto a freeway on-ramp too fast in my 03 Civic which was known for breaking the back loose easily. Over corrected, fishtailed and went down the embankment a bit. Incredibly I was able to get out under my own power.

Once when I was fairly new to Chicago took the S-Curve on lake shore drive a little too fast on a rainy morning and spun out all the way from the second left lane to the right shoulder. WITHOUT HITTING ANYTHING. Only damage was to the cruise control button  from flailing at the steering wheel. 

diplodicus > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 13:15

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I drove my SVT Focus through my garage wall on accident. I had pulled it in to do something, can’t recall what, but I wasn’t far enough in fro the bumper to clear the door. For some reason I decided that it was too much work to sit all the way in the car and I would just use my right foot on the clutch to slowly inch forward. Only after I started moving did I realize the fatal flaw in my plan, I had no way of pressing the brake... So I panicked and completely let my foot off the clutch and it rolled right through the wall. Minor dent to the fender big hole in the garage wall. Massive blow to the ego.

ToyotaFamily > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 13:27

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This happened maybe 2-3 years ago.

It had just snowed the night before and into the morning so there was a decent amount of snow, perfect. Me, younger brother, and my girlfriend get hungry so we decide to go grab grub. On the way there, we pass an empty commuter lot.

I get the bright idea to show them some fun and start doing donuts in the lot and just sliding everywhere. This lot is perfect for it, very few light posts and no other obstructions. I take a sharp turn and BOOM! I hit something. Rush out to look, a freaking random metal tube in the snow.

I didn’t damage anything, but I felt like such a jackass. 

AestheticsInMotion > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 13:30

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Miata storytime.

There’s an on ramp I used to take every day to work that does a complete 360 before merging onto the highway. One of the first times I ever t ook it, I decided to try the new-to-me clutch kick technique, in the rain . Kicked the clutch, throttled, rear end broke loose, and.... Kept going. I did a 360 in the middle of a single lane on-ramp with a few cars about twenty feet behind me. I was absolutely mortified.

I ended up going into the mountains that weekend and finding some forest roads that would later be referred to as “drift mountain”. I must have spent 20 hours through that weekend practicing clutch kicks, recovering from oversteer, trailbraking, initiating drifts, and just generally being as comfortable with a loose tail-end as possible.

The following Monday I was apprehensive about the on-ramp on my way to work , but I didn’t want to be fearful of what could be the most E joyable part of my drive for the foreseeable future. I waited at a green light through the cycle to let other cars go first, then went for it. Same clutch kick, but with a deeper understanding of car control. Back end kicked out and... Stayed out. Just where I wanted it. Made it around the loop and straightened out in time to merge onto the highway. Felt like an absolute God, that first time.

Nowadays I don’t take that route anymore (new job), but every morning for three years I’d kick the back end out around that beautiful curve on my way to work. Uphill, slightly banked, very tight curve, so it was a slow speed maneuver and incredibly easy to modulate and recover from. Getting sideways in the Miata is as natural as making a turn nowadays, but I'll never forget that first time when I made a complete ass of myself

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Tripper 11/28/2018 at 13:41

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Oof. From the pictures I’m assuming you spun?

Tripper > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 13:49

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Yep, I had to go for the ditch so I cut hard right and spun to the inside of the curve hit the nose first then the back.

Shamoononon drives like a farmer > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 13:51

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OOOOOhhhh, I have dreams about it sometimes. I was 17, drove a little Celica, and had the whole amplified car stereo system. It was raining, i had the music on high and I took a right turn too fast. My car lost control and did a 360 in its single lane. Luckily though it ended facing the same way it started and after a brief ‘What the fuck’ pause I nodded my head in a ‘I’m cool I meant to do that’ sort of way and just kept on driving. I remember shocked looks of onlookers stopped at the light going the opposite direction. It was SOOOO embarrassing. I wake up sometimes at night thinking about it. I was so lucky, could have messed some stuff up!

cbell04 > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 14:04

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Not that bad but it was kinda funny. I had a Camaro Rental in the snow and as the Rental cleark handed it off he said you sure you’ll be ok in this weather? I said yes then proceeded to burn out/drift for about 200 + feet out of the parking lot laughing to myself like a 13 year old only to have the car start beeping saying the keys were not in the car... Stupid push button start the clerk still had the keys in his pocket. I had to go back and look them in the eye to get the keys 30 seconds after my stunt..

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 14:18

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I was leaving a parking lot and didn’t realize until I was in the middle of it that this particular single-lane driveway was supposed to be strictly an entrance. I hate both being in the way of others and people being in the way of me, so I vacated the driveway ASAP with a large dose of throttle. I was going for a bit of a holeshot so I was paying a little more attention to the guy coming up behind and less to where I was going, which is never a good plan. Anyway, I get a squawk from the passenger seat and look forward, and there in front of me is a red light, with nowhere near enough room to stop. Fortunately the light hadn’t gone green yet for cross traffic (it did as I entered the intersection) so I went for the other pedal and got the hell through.

Then, a few hundred feet down the road, in the middle of the “tunnel-vision-whew-that-was-lucky-emotional-letdown-nervous-relief” (since I can’t find an actual term for it) feeling... I did exactly the same thing again. Didn’t realize the light was red—heck, barely registered that there WAS a light there—until I was pretty much in it. Again, lucky me, the timing was right and I just floored it through because I sure as frig wasn’t stopping. I grabbed the next parking lot I saw to cool off a bit.

All this with a pack of passengers who also happen to be related. What can you do besides laugh and be thankful there were no cameras?

For the record that was the first, second and hopefully last time I run a red. Never missed one before or since and I don’t know what I was thinking, but it sure didn’t seem to be about driving.

TheRealBicycleBuck > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 14:19

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I rear-ended a 1955 Bel A ir with my little Mazda B-2000 in front of my entire Junior class in high school. I was showing off. My windows were down. The radio was blaring. I peeled out of the parking lot while looking at some girls. He had done just the same thing. What I didn’t realize was that he had already stopped.

I didn’t receive a ticket because the Bel A ir didn’t have any brake lights. It wouldn’t have made much of a difference, really. The rear bumper on that Bel Air made its way over my front bumper, then through the grill and radiator support. I learned that day that the sheet metal on the front of a Mazda truck is pretty flimsy. There was damage to the bumper, hood, and both fenders. The grill and headlights were just gone. They nearly totaled my poor little truck.

The Bel Air? Only the bumper was damaged. Total: $150.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/28/2018 at 14:27

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I was expecting a lot of these stories to start with “so there were some girls nearby...” haha

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Just Jeepin' 11/28/2018 at 14:40

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I nearly did that once. Low small car, narrow street turning onto a wide street which meant the pillar/mirror lined up pretty well with the median and the pole, and not giving 100% attention because yapping at a passenger. Just about turned onto the wrong half of the road before realizing I was doing something weird.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 14:44

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As a relatively new driver I learned how to drift our Montana. It wasn’t actually too bad, it more or less went where you directed it, which is more than can be said of a Caravan of a similar year.

I got a little too familiar with one corner... ended up trying it with an extra load on a damp road. Predictably ending up on the boulevard. No damage done to anything but my pride... that van was a trooper. Well at least until the standard 3.4L troubles finally claimed victory.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 11/28/2018 at 14:45

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I once rode into the back of an F350 as a kid because I tried to fix my bike computer while on the move. Early lessons ftw

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 15:17

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I’m sure I’ve told the story before, but about two weeks after I got my license, I went to get gas and mistakenly went to a full service station with an attached car wash. It was implied that if you filled up there, you would go for a wash afterwards, so the main exit to the station was through the wash. I didn’t want that, so I went to the snow covered driveway around the wash (this was mid-January in the snow belt). I got most of the way through following someone else’s tracks, turned the corner, and stopped behind a worker’s car, blocking the way out. Being dumb, I decided to reverse out. Being new, I turned the wheel the wrong way and got a nice two foot long scrape on the front passenger door and the panel below that was combination rocker panel/front quarter/top door frame. This was a 4th gen 2010 Hyundai Elantra in a rarer color (the weird greenish gray), and the panel design would necessitate several thousand in body work to repair it. So, instead of telling my parents, I hid it from them through clever parking for the next three months.

My dad drove it one day and noticed the scrap/dent/paint damage/rust, and I played dumb. The damage remained on the door until a few weeks ago when the car was totalled by a younger sibling. At least I know how to drive backwards now. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 15:18

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Most embarrassing has probably been the one time that I have basically roasted my clutch because I was being an idiot. I was stuck in traffic going uphill out of Beverly Hills into the Valley via a c anyon. This was one of those jams where at the front somewhere was a stupid four way stop sign so everything was just congestion leading to stop and go. It was a very steep Street and I was still kinda new to my STi. So one of the times traffic moved a little I just gave it too much gas to avoid rolling backwards or stalling. And subsequently ended up with a nice cabin full of clutch burning smell. It felt awful seeing as I had a good 4 years of driving the hell out of my Miata so I was certainly proficient. But it's a good lesson in how various cars are different and you can't just operate them all the same. I've now become more used to the clutch differences and haven't had any issues since. 

Future Heap Owner > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 11/28/2018 at 15:25

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I have done exactly that, only thankfully there was nobody around to see me. I did have to explain the huge road rash on my right forearm to everyone for weeks, though, so I got my fair share of humiliation.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 11/28/2018 at 15:27

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Hill start assist is a gift from the gods.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > way2blu does a rev update 11/28/2018 at 15:31

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That snap oversteer off throttle on the mr2 really quite surprised me when I autocrossed one while my Miata was broken. First time I went into a tight sweeper I looped it and was facing 90 degrees past where I meant to be. I am so used to using off throttle weight shift in order to get the front end not to understeer on my car. Super stiff front sway bar in order to balance the car way differently from stock. While it was kinda fun stock that just about anything would cause the car to spin, it’s way faster and more predictable this way. Anyways, it was just quite the shock to learn what snap oversteer was firsthand. I kept sliding the rear end all day but I stopped spinning after that though since I was expecting it lol. 

Future Heap Owner > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 15:39

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Definitely taking too sharp of a left turn onto a divided 4-lane bridge across a highway, putting me on the wrong side of the road. Luckily all the cars were still waiting at the red on the other side, so I booked it across to get on the entrance to the highway before they turned. My girlfriend was in the car, though. We both knew already that she’s a better driver than me, but now  I have absolutely zero credibility on anything to do with driving.

GoodIdeaAtTheTime > bob and john 11/28/2018 at 17:08

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Nope. They still drive it once or twice a month. I was a minor at the time. They just registered it in their name.

thejustache > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 17:24

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Pretty much all of my most embarrassing driving mishaps have involved me purposely inducing overseer in the snow then loosing it into a snowbank and ultimately calling my dad to help pull me out. I would like to say that that ended 14 years ago or so, but then it happened again 4 years ago.

I was working about an hour away from where I lived, and driving a Saab 92x (linear) at the time. It was my first year with the car, and I ordered a set of wheels and snow tires for it from tire rack. Wouldn’t you know it, the day before they were supposed to get delivered we got our first snow of the year. I was at work when it dumped 6 inches or so of heavy wet stuff. I wasn’t too worried because hey, I know winter tires are way better than all seasons with awd, but I’ll go slow and how bad can it be?

Bad, it could be very bad. The mostly bald all seasons made steering very hard on the extremely greasy untreated roads. Still, I was crawling along fine when I hit an accident and traffic came to a total stop. Up ahead I knew there was a turn that would take me around the traffic, but it was a very windy narrow way that basically went partially up a mountain. Did I do the smart thing and just wait patiently to get around the accident?

Of course I didn’t. I slowly, and as carefully as possible, took the alternate route. It worked pretty good too, as long as I was going up. I got to the top and turned onto the dirt road that would take me back down to the main road, and at all of about 5mph felt myself sliding. It was so slick that just the crown of the road was enough to send me into the ditch on the side of the road, where my tires sank up to the axles in mud.

I wasn’t going anywhere, and not only that but I was now on a rural dirt road with hardly any traffic. Looked at my phone... no service. Crap.

Finally an older lady drove by in a truck and stopped. She didn’t have a tow strap but her phone had service. Not knowing who to call and figuring a tow truck would take hours if they even found me at all, I called my dad. As embarrassing as it was for me and as annoying as it probably was for him, he got in his truck and drove the 40 minutes out to where I was. About 5 minutes later he had me back on the road and we crawled back home without issue. In the hour and a half I was stuck there only about 8 vehicles passed. Out of those maybe 5 stopped, and each one of them said they’d give me a pull but they had no strap.

Ever since then I’ve always made sure to have my snows on as soon as possible and carry a tow strap. Wouldn’t you know it, I haven’t needed one since!

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/28/2018 at 17:31

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I like just using the ebrake as a diy Hill hold assist. Definitely safer than trying to just ride the clutch and try not to damage it. 

pip bip - choose Corrour > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back 11/29/2018 at 06:03

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spun out and went backwards through a fence

Longtime Lurker > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/29/2018 at 23:32

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Bike computer?

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Longtime Lurker 11/30/2018 at 08:53

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Like this , but obviously way older and more basic.

Longtime Lurker > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/30/2018 at 13:27

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Ohh, got it.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > way2blu does a rev update 12/21/2018 at 12:02

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I had a similar experience in my 01 Civic. the roads were snowy, but I wasn’t driving too fast. going through a left hand turn, o n a 4 lane highway, and the minivan in front of me hit its brakes hard then continued to slow down . I hit mine but harder. This is the part where I have to mention that I had nice snow tires on the front of my car, and basically bald ones on the rear. I did that one purpose. for science .

Ever heard of lift of over steer? I had but I’d never really experienced it. thankfully I had experience with sliding this car and knew how to handle it. I couldn’t power out of the slide because there was a minivan now 2 feet from my front bumper so i had to just hold the “drift” though the corner. Thankfully I managed to do that with out hitting any of the three cars around me or the curb to my right.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > cbell04 12/21/2018 at 12:11

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I actually laughed out loud.