Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh
I don't remember the exact year, but it was at least a decade ago, I was up in the DMV for some reason I don't remember (I moved from Kensington out to the mountains in Virginia in 2003). Anyway, I was on the Beltway between Georgia Avenue and heading to Connecticut Avenue. It was a snowy day, but not bad. On the hill coming down just before the Surrender Dorthey Bridge, someone somehow got their SUV spun 180 deg. flipped over AND up above the Jersey wall on the outside lane (headed towards Connecticut). So the SUV somehow climbed up the Jersey wall, got on the flat grass plateau above the wall and was on its roof facing traffic. It was a near new modern SUV, say 2008 - 2010 with all the stability control nannies.
20 years or so before that, same area of the beltway when it was being widened and there was a construction area between the inner and outer loops, I was on the inner loop heading to Silver Springs with my friend Bogey in the aforementioned Ranger STX. At the turn coming up to Connecticut, a young woman in a Civic somehow got out of control to avoid rear-ending slowing traffic. With God driving I guess she went left after glancing off the rear of the vehicle in front of her and through the construction opening gap in the Jersey barriers. Hitting the gravel of the construction area, she couldn't slow down much, and front-ended right into a large pile of dirt. Her Civic flipped up onto the front end and came back down on all fours. BEHIND the dirt pile opposite of her was a large backhoe bucket, obviously placed there by the construction company to guard it from being hit. Bogey and I saw the entire event and turned around at Georgia and went back to offer aid (we thought she was dead). When we got there, no police or EMTs had arrived yet. She was out cold. I knocked on the drivers window, and it startled her. She began to flop around jerking the steering wheel and footing the brake pedal. I guess she was unconsciously going through the motions of car control just before the accident; it really freaked me out. LOL.
To this day I can't understand how bad people can just lose control of a vehicle.
I've never owned a motorcycle with any driving aids. I don't like the linked brake system the industry came up with decades ago. I'm sure now it's all ABS. Maybe I'm a purist.
|
Know that particular area pretty well. It's not often but some times my squad would get called down there to render aid....Rescue 2.
I witnessed another DMV genius driving down I270 in a Range Rover going south bound to the spur in the far left lane. I was traveling north bound on I270 just coming out of the spur. All of a sudden with no explanation as the conditions were perfect, the driver started fish tailing the SUV. The movements got more violent as the idiot over corrected. Next you know bam car rolls over and ends up on the roof. I freaked as it almost appeared the idiot was going to jump the jersey wall come head on into me.
As far as the nannies on bikes are concerned, we're talking the S1000RR. I've never grabbed enough front brake to cause the ABS to kick in. But the front and rear brakes are not linked together. The electronics are very sophisticated especially with the latest iteration as it controls the suspension damping too. It is all based on what riding mode you're in. Rain mode cuts power output of the engine to "only" 150 HP and is more aggressive with the traction control which not only takes in parameters such as differential wheel spin, but will also look at the lean angle of the bike. The electronics are very good as I was in Sport mode driving out of the last turn coming out of the roller coaster at VIR. Still leaned over a bit, I drove out hard and felt a wiggle from the back in. The bike stayed composed so I didn't let off the throttle. My friend was behind me as I was driving out and said I laid down a few feet of rubber because I was spinning up the rear tire. Also the quick shifter on these modern bikes are just amazing. On the S1000RR, I don't have to let off the throttle to do clutchless upshifts. Downshifts are the same back off the throttle and slam down the gears without using the clutch. As I've said many times, BMW auto group should be taking notes as to what the Motorrad division is doing.