Crown

Yesterday, me and my family returned from a family trip in our X5 M.

The Autobahn was pretty empty at that time, it was sunny and dry, perfect driving conditions for driving fast. I was able to drive at Vmax most of the time.

After Munich, there is a part where the Autobahn has four lanes in each direction, going straight for a couple of kilometers. The perfect place for doing Vmax under safe conditions.

Now imagine this: I was traveling at around 290 kph on the speedo on the far left lane, xenon lights on (the X5 xenon lights are pretty bright) as I always do when I drive that fast.

Around 500 meters ahead of me, there were only two cars, both on the far right lane. Both cars were traveling at a speed of around 150-180 kph, I can't determine a precise speed.

When I was around 300 m away from these cars, the car in front of those two cars moved to the next left lane. The car behind him suddenly started to move to the left too, without blinking...and right into my lane (yes, he crossed two lanes and came to the left lane). No blinking, very sudden. I was aprox. 50 (!) meters away at full speed. 

The "funny" part: while crossing the two lanes right into my path, he lost control of his car. I don't know what happened, maybe he wasn't paying attention while driving but his car started to strongly move it's tail left and right at a speed of at least 130 kph. His crossing of the two lanes right into my driving path was just too sudden and he was too fast.

At that time, he apparently saw my lights and moved to the right, with his tail coming to the left.

I braked hard and now everything what happened was pure instinct and probably driving experience because it happened everything in one second or so: 

The strong braking destabilized my X5 M a little bit (MDM being active) and I was moving at around 180-200 kph between the guard rail in the middle of the Autobahn (separating the traffic lanes) and that out of control car in front of me. I don't have a clue how I managed but my wife told me afterwards that I managed to avoid the other car by not more than 10 cm or so. On the left, next to the guard rail, there was only 5 cm (no kidding) room left. 

The "fun" part was: because I didn't know if this guy is going to stay on the left or move back to the right, I was aiming (steering) for the right and in an instant to the left...at over 200 kph.

After that, being no traffic at all, I slowed down immediately and looked into the rear view mirror to get the license plate of that idiot.

Now guess what he did: he crossed, again, two lanes to the right and exited the Autobahn (there was an exit). I was so mad at this son of a bitch, I was ready to call the police. I guess he knew what he did and wanted to avoid trouble.

I usually drive only that fast when the streets are completely empty or when there is only one car on the right. I always slow down when I see two cars on the right lane because there is always an idiot who doesn't look into the rear view/side mirror.

Who could think of some crazy guy who moves from the far right lane to the far left lane on a four lane Autobahn in a second ? Also don't forget that I had my full lights on, he could see me from a great distance. I don't know if this guy was drunk or just plain dumb but he is lucky I didn't catch his license plate. It was a family car too and a woman was sitting next to him according to my wife, who looked to the side when we passed them.

Morale of this story: no matter how good of a driver you are and no matter how careful you are, there is always going to be some idiot who spits into your soup.

This was the first dangerous situation I've ever been in on a public street because I really adapt to traffic a lot and I usually count in the others too, so just in case if somebody makes a driving mistake. 

However...this situation was just plain crazy...so I'm going to go with "crazy" too in the future.

Meaning: I have to slow down most of the time. I can live with that but it proves to me that no matter how much experience you think you have, there is always going to be one of these situations where you just need...luck.

I'm also impressed on how the X5 M handled the situation, the braking, the chassis and the steering were just perfect, I never had the feeling that I'm loosing control because the car lets me down. The X5 M did exactly what I wanted it to do, it was like a direct connection from the brain to car because everything happened so fast. Wonderful piece of technology.

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

RC:

Morale of this story: no matter how good of a driver you are and no matter how careful you are, there is always going to be some idiot who spits into your soup.

This was the first dangerous situation I've ever been in on a public street because I really adapt to traffic a lot and I usually count in the others too, so just in case if somebody makes a driving mistake.

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

Wow RC, a close one.  You said it right, there are always idiots out there.

You can't even imagine how close. This is the first time in my life when I had a dangerous situation on a public street. I always drive very carefully and adapt to traffic around me.

Like I said before, I learned another lesson: you can't exclude the impossible.

Which reminds me of a very unfortunate accident in Switzerland yesterday: two anglers were killed...by a car. Both men were sitting at a lake, fishing. A car lost control on the near-by street, drove down some stairs down to the lake and crashed into the anglers.

I guess this is what you call fate. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

 I'm glad you and your family is OK, that is what is important, I don't want to even think of what could of happened if you rolled over. 

The problem is that when we try to predict the driver's around us constant maneuver's and behaviour when tend to naturally use ourselves as an example and put ourselves in the other car's place in order to figure out what each car is doing, seeing, and going to do at every moment and we drive our car accordingly in defense. The problem is that other drivers are not necesarily like us at that moment and they do things we would never expect. I would never drink and drive (not even a zip) for example but that doesn't mean the driver in front is not drunk at the wheel (or a sleep, or is a poor driver, or is too old to drive, or distracted, etc, etc) and therefore can do something we totaly don't expect. Its hard to believe that people can be that stupid so its hard for us to put ourselves in that place when predicting other driver's moves but life proves us worng over and over.

And sometimes no matter how defensively we drive in order to stay safe, you just can avoid all accident situations that other drivers may put you in, accidents will always happen no matter what you do, al we can do is do everything that is in our hands, within reason, in order to minimize them.

Even if you might not be religious, say a prayer

In situations like this we say that  "you must have had a blessing from your mother".

"Form follows function"

close call and glad everyone came awy unscathed.

just one more rason to enjoy every single day in life and live th moment.

i m still thinking about the customer in your pharmacy that ws diagnosed with cancer and told you that for him there re no more bad days....

that really moved me...

Carlos from Spain:

 I'm glad you and your family is OK, that is what is important, I don't want to even think of what could of happened if you rolled over.  

+1  Nowadays, there are so many idiots on the road, doing high speeds (even in a manner that is supposed to be safe), still carries risk.

 
RT Moderator - 997.1 Carrera S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, short shifter, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection

Why were you driving at 290 in the first place? You had your kids on board...

Driving fast when you're alone (or with people who accept it) is one thing, but I'd never do that with kids on board.

Sorry but it's the first thing that came to mind after reading your post. 

His kids were the ones peer pressuring him i suspect.

Wow RC what a close call, i have no idea as to how these idiots managed to swerve all over the Autobahn, can only be explained by maybe a puncture or suspension failure. At any rate, what a scare that must've been for you behind the wheel. And you're right experience really only gets you so far and on public roads there's always the x-factor.

I grew up in Germany and my dad commuted 200,000kms annually, mostly highway, so I would always tag along during weekends to give him company. We traveled many kms at 250km/h + and from our "close calls" i'd say it's ONLY safe to go flat out with ZERO traffic.

Otherwise it's just too much of a risk. We mostly had idiots not looking in their mirrors, hence you're driving with high beam lights (well good lights i mean) and many times dad would have to swerve over to the shoulder to pass.... VERY scary at 290km/h.

I'm so glad you came out unscratched on this one! Traffic of any kind is just unpredictable.

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

Wow very close call RC!  Glad nothing happened.  Great to know the X5M was at to the task when you asked it.  Now go buy a lottery ticket.

RC I know exactly what you are talking about.  There are morons and loosers out there that cause harms to us and our family.  When I come across them, I try to take a good look at them, the kind of car they drive, the condition of the car, their driving style etc...to form a "profile" for the purposes of identifying future morons/loosers to stay far away from.

And I thought these highway morons only appears in USA and Canada. Germany suppose to have the best trained drivers.

Maybe those were North American tourists, cutting 2 lanes, without blinking, while there is traffic approaching. Sounds exactly like your every day traffic over here.

RC:

Who could think of some crazy guy who moves from the far right lane to the far left lane on a four lane Autobahn in a second ?

Same thing happened to me a couple of years ago, though at lower speed as there was strong rain. As a result my corporate car was totalled and the crazy guy "lost" his driving licence.
There are lot of idiots out there and you never know whether the driver in the harmless appearing slow car in the right lane is using his cellphone, flirting to the blonde girl on the passenger seat or whatever...

As for high speed driving on the Autobahn: when overtaking (even if there is only a single car and even if an empty mid lane separates me from this car) I tend to reduce the speed difference to max. 100 km/h or so (gutt feeling - nothing scientific) to add some safety margin. It makes me somewhat more relaxed and gives me a good excuse to downshift, push the right pedal again enjoying the GT3 sound

Most important is that your family and you are fine

Sometimes I wish Mike would invent an idiot detector - I'm sure he would make much more money than with the famous radar detectors

public roads: Porsche 987 S Seal/Cocoa, toll road  : Porsche 997 GT3 Arctic/Black

I am so glad that everybody's OK. Good to hear about how the X5 performed. Drive safe man.

There is no try. Just do.

I am very, very happy to read that you and your family are OK. You are 100% right - even the most unexpected will happen from time to time. In these occasions only things beyond the usual can help you out 

amazon:

Why were you driving at 290 in the first place? You had your kids on board...

Driving fast when you're alone (or with people who accept it) is one thing, but I'd never do that with kids on board.

Sorry but it's the first thing that came to mind after reading your post. 

Got to stick to the speed limits when my daughter and son is with me, Mrs would toe me up the rear passage ...

throt

"I didn't do it"

Christian, glad to hear that everyone (including the car) is okay and everything went out fine in the end.

But have you ever thought this idiot crossing your lane did that on purpose? 

Something like "Look darling, there's one of these big fat trucks, which eats up more oil than BP can spill, travelling at much too high speed on the much too far left lane with his much too bright lights on (on a sunny day!), I will teach him a lesson he will never forget!"

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.

amazon:

Why were you driving at 290 in the first place? You had your kids on board...

Driving fast when you're alone (or with people who accept it) is one thing, but I'd never do that with kids on board.

Sorry but it's the first thing that came to mind after reading your post. 

 +1 

 I'm glad you are OK

Look at this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ9i66oTIaQ&feature=player_embedded

2003 Cayenne Turbo

2003 Cayenne Turbo

Porsche-Jeck:

As for high speed driving on the Autobahn: when overtaking (even if there is only a single car and even if an empty mid lane separates me from this car) I tend to reduce the speed difference to max. 100 km/h or so (gutt feeling - nothing scientific) to add some safety margin. It makes me somewhat more relaxed and gives me a good excuse to downshift, push the right pedal again enjoying the GT3 sound

I had a pretty good safety margin, just think of the FOUR LANE Autobahn I mentioned and the cars were ahead of me on the far right lane. Only two cars.

I saw much more dangerous situations in the US on the highway, where people pass you left and right and across a 6 lane highway at speeds of around 120-130 kph.

Yes, I'm pretty sure the driver didn't do this intentionally. When thinking back about what happened, I think he was surprised of the car in front of him changing to the left when he probably intended to do the same thing and instead of changing just one lane, he drove to the far left lane to be sure. Of course he could have used the brake instead or change only one lane but some people aren't just born for driving.

The only dangerous thing was actually his car loosing control and tailing left and right at the speed he had because it was impossible to predict where he is going to. Once I figured he is going to the right (he had a certain momentum through his movements), I passed him from the left. Now that I had time to think about it, I'm pretty sure that the situation was less dangerous than I thought because even if his car would have flipped at that speed, it would have flipped away from my lane. My reflexes and experience very likely steered me into the right direction but the more I think about it, the more I'm sure that I couldn't have avoided this. 

It could have been even worse: just imagine what would have happened if he changed those lanes with me on the left lane right next to him, driving slower. He would have kicked me sideways into the guardrails of the Autobahn. This would have been a situation where the odds of not having an accident would have been much worse.

I'm also very sure that this incident didn't have anything to do with my speed but I will be even more careful in the future when driving fast, taking in account even crazy things like this.

My wife tells me not to think about anymore, nothing happened, this is what counts she says. I still like to analyze the whole incident, hoping to understand it.

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

bigbuzuki:
We have a national speed limit of 110km/hr here in Australia, although the freeways are capable for much higher speeds. Now you know why.

The german Autobahn is the safest street in Germany. Most deadly accidents happen in the city and on small country roads.

The incident I told you about had nothing to do with high speed driving. I drive for 27 years now at similar speeds most of the time, this was the first dangerous situation.

I had a major accident in the city, it wasn't my fault, when a drunken guy entered the intersection ignoring a red light. He flipped me with his car and I slipped aprox. 200 meters on my roof, right in front of a bus. Another accident was an idiot rear-ending me because he was talking on his cell phone. 

Like I said before: the only accident I was to blame was at age 19...rear ending somebody because I looked after a hot blonde on the sidewalk. Since that time, knock on wood, no accidents, not even on the race track (and I really did some nasty stuff ).

Speaking of speed limits: there are speed limits on the german Autobahn too from time to time, depending on the traffic and region. I always respect the speed limit. Not because I'm such a law obeying citizen but because I don't want to loose my driver's license. 

As to Australian or US highways being "capable" of higher speeds, I may use the explanation a US highway patrol officer once gave me before he let me go with a warning only: "The drivers over here aren't used to such speeds." Nothing more to add. 

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

WAY:
Bigbuzuki, the only reason why we have a speed limit like that is because idiotic politicians can't get their head around anything more than 110. Tell me the Hume doesn't put you to sleep at 110 when it is straight road for hours!

When driving from Miami to Orlando or Orlando to Miami on Florida's Turnpike, I always almost fall asleep because of the speed limit. Very dangerous.

Driving the same distance from  Munich to Karlsruhe for example keeps my adrenalin pumping and I never feel tired. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

2003 Cayenne Turbo

Germans usually move to the right lane when others come from behind, driving fast. We have however a lot of "teachers" who don't move to the right because they don't want other people to drive that fast. What many people don't know: it is the law on the german Autobahn to move to the right lane after finishing passing other cars. Unfortunately some people don't care about it, I had an Audi A6 SW driving on the left lane for at least 10 km without a single car on the right and he wouldn't move to the right. Passing him on the right ? Well...it is forbidden in Germany (something many foreigners don't know, it is a serious offense to pass others on the right), with one exception though: if there is a lot of traffic left and right, you are allowed to pass on the right but only at a very slow speed compared to the cars on the left.

Surprisingly, french drivers seem to be the most civilized regarding high speeds: I usually drive a bit faster in France and the drivers there always move to the right side when they see me coming. If they don't move to the right, they are usually German tourists...or dutch. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 997 Turbo, BMW X5 M, BMW M3 Cab DKG, Mini Cooper S JCW

Hahaha oh the goold old Dutch, I remember the things you mention about traffic in europe RC. I find it WAY more dangerous on Canadian highways, simply because the speed limits are so low people drive all over. Passing on the right is VERY common but everytime i do it im SUPER careful.. it is just so dangerous. People have ZERO incentive to move right, it should be a law IMO. German Autobahns are way more efficient, and less casualties occur as well so it's crazy. I do have to say we have mountain passes and more engaging elevations, speed limits should be adjusted.

indeed shifting is ancient technology - so is a fuel burning engine..  I happen to like both :) 

All about education and training. Over here in North America even anybody can get a license, any idiot with a brain of a 3 yrs old. But in Germany they have the strictest licensing exams, people who have license are really capable of driving.

Whoopsy:

But in Germany they have the strictest licensing exams, people who have license are really capable of driving.

Quite often I really doubt that.

The secret of life is to admire without desiring.