note to self :never hoon on the road
Discussion
after following a crane and a lorry for most of my journey home
i decided to take a little 2 mile detour in persuit of some enjoyment
i was following a focus at an average speed,
we approached a corner that can be done at 50 easily enough
we were both doing about 30
i noticed some liquid on the road there was alot of it so it thought it must be water
and even if it was deisel/petrol i thought i was going slow enough to deal with it (witch i was really)
the focus got round the corner fine but i got a little bit of drift,
must of only slid about 2ft, i just dipped the clutch and regained grip and carried on.
but it made me think what if i wasnt behind the focus and was going faster
would i have noticed it in time to slow down and avoid lauching my beloved motor into a field
also made me think this sort of thing could happen almost anywhere therefore there isnt really any oportunities to drive fast on the road safely
i decided to take a little 2 mile detour in persuit of some enjoyment
i was following a focus at an average speed,
we approached a corner that can be done at 50 easily enough
we were both doing about 30
i noticed some liquid on the road there was alot of it so it thought it must be water
and even if it was deisel/petrol i thought i was going slow enough to deal with it (witch i was really)
the focus got round the corner fine but i got a little bit of drift,
must of only slid about 2ft, i just dipped the clutch and regained grip and carried on.
but it made me think what if i wasnt behind the focus and was going faster
would i have noticed it in time to slow down and avoid lauching my beloved motor into a field
also made me think this sort of thing could happen almost anywhere therefore there isnt really any oportunities to drive fast on the road safely
Nothing is completely safe. All manner of sudden changes of conditions or mechanical failures can spit you off the road into a field, however slowly you're going. Of course it requires less of a change to tip you over the balance if you're driving faster; I'd hope that's something that everyone who drives quickly on the road takes into account.
I had a catastrophic tyre failure a number of years ago. Fortunately I was only doing about 20-25mph around a roundabout at the time that it went (and I still through 180 degrees). If it had happened two miles earlier on the single carriage A-road I'd been on, it wouldn't have been pretty.
I had a catastrophic tyre failure a number of years ago. Fortunately I was only doing about 20-25mph around a roundabout at the time that it went (and I still through 180 degrees). If it had happened two miles earlier on the single carriage A-road I'd been on, it wouldn't have been pretty.
cris654321 said:
no i didnt supose i should of done really, and yes i pressed the clutch down therefore dipping it why should i have powered out? lol
Dipping the clutch is a fairly sensible thing to do when you lose grip. It never makes matters worse and usually helps. Yes there is often something better that you could have done, but in reality few people would be able to do anything more effective in most situations and many people would do something that would make the situation worse. cris654321 said:
Rotary Madness said:
I think the PH answer will be something along the lines of drift around it whilst simultaneously getting head off a pornstar and stroking your goatee...
Counting your company directorships and checking the bookings for your next few cage fights.
cris654321 said:
no i didnt supose i should of done really, and yes i pressed the clutch down therefore dipping it why should i have powered out? lol
If you were cruising into the corner no problem. But if you were accelerating when the drift began, then lifting off or dipping the clutch will transfer the car's weight away from the back wheels, giving them less grip and therefore making the drift worse. It's called lift-off oversteer.calibrax said:
If you were cruising into the corner no problem. But if you were accelerating when the drift began, then lifting off or dipping the clutch will transfer the car's weight away from the back wheels, giving them less grip and therefore making the drift worse. It's called lift-off oversteer.
If you can persuade the back end of a modern FWD hatchback to let go under acceleration, I'd be impressed. Even RWD road cars will tend to under steer at neutral throttle (or with the clutch down, obviously). Years ago, I used to drive round this every morning:
I think the priorities were marked differently then, I don't remember any give way line. Anyway, one day I drove round it at exactly the same speed as every other day and ended up running wide, mounting the kerb opposite and parking the car against the hedge. Barely a scratch on the paintwork, but shook me up, and I couldn't understand the loss of grip. I got out of the car, stepped onto the road and nearly went over on my arse - it was covered in oil. Spillage, apparently, from a truck picking up used cooking oil from catering establishments. Glad I wasn't on a bike.
I think the priorities were marked differently then, I don't remember any give way line. Anyway, one day I drove round it at exactly the same speed as every other day and ended up running wide, mounting the kerb opposite and parking the car against the hedge. Barely a scratch on the paintwork, but shook me up, and I couldn't understand the loss of grip. I got out of the car, stepped onto the road and nearly went over on my arse - it was covered in oil. Spillage, apparently, from a truck picking up used cooking oil from catering establishments. Glad I wasn't on a bike.
calibrax said:
cris654321 said:
no i didnt supose i should of done really, and yes i pressed the clutch down therefore dipping it why should i have powered out? lol
If you were cruising into the corner no problem. But if you were accelerating when the drift began, then lifting off or dipping the clutch will transfer the car's weight away from the back wheels, giving them less grip and therefore making the drift worse. It's called lift-off oversteer.and also if i carryed on accelerating by your principel there would be less weight on the front
and if there was any corner left to get round i would of understeered into the field
i think the trick in most of these scenarios is quick thinking+reaction and abviously car control skills
correct me if im wrong in any way im all for learning about driving at my age and (front wheel drive btw)
Dipping the clutch and coming off the throttle are 2 completely different things with totally different consequences.
Dipping the clutch completely cuts off the drive, and in this instance was the right thing to do. On an oily surface there is no grip at all, so one has to hope that the tread of the now freewheeling tyres find some tarmac, putting the motor back on its intended line.
Coming off the throttle is the worst thing to do, you are in effect applying braking forces to the driving wheels which will only cause these to drift more off line. That is lift-off oversteer.
Powering on through is rarely an option given the millisecond of aforethought you have in a situation like this.
Or I may be talking pish
Dipping the clutch completely cuts off the drive, and in this instance was the right thing to do. On an oily surface there is no grip at all, so one has to hope that the tread of the now freewheeling tyres find some tarmac, putting the motor back on its intended line.
Coming off the throttle is the worst thing to do, you are in effect applying braking forces to the driving wheels which will only cause these to drift more off line. That is lift-off oversteer.
Powering on through is rarely an option given the millisecond of aforethought you have in a situation like this.
Or I may be talking pish
Question for the OP
Did you report the spillage ?
There is a court case going on where I live regarding an oil spill from a mobile crane. A woman driving her two kids to school skidded into the path of an oncoming car and the woman and both kids were killed.
Would be good to get it sorted before someone else is not as lucky as yourself.
Did you report the spillage ?
There is a court case going on where I live regarding an oil spill from a mobile crane. A woman driving her two kids to school skidded into the path of an oncoming car and the woman and both kids were killed.
Would be good to get it sorted before someone else is not as lucky as yourself.
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