big Fu**in trucks, will be the death of me

[skippytheleglesshobo]

i live in winston salem.
it is summer. summers here are hot. there isn't supposed to be seatle type rain storms every frikkin day.
these are facts.
however, we have had nasty rainy weather for about 6 days, and there is more comming


the south is full of rednecks right. now i am from the south, but this is still true.
rednecks like big trucks ( i swear this is going somewhere)
especialy big fords.

these are also facts

now durring this nasty rainy weather i have been driving my bus, day in day out. it's my only running car, so it gets driven rain, or sun, snow or hail,
it's on the road.
so here i come, tearing down the main road to my house at a cool 50 mph, a decent speed for a 1600 pushing a ton. the rain is beating on my windsheild, wipers moving, headlights on.
now, we all know what a ford truck looks like, but this is an oddball. i have seen it around before and i had even had the priviledge of getting to check out it's rediculous body lift kit, of over 12 inches, i saw the gigantic tires in person. mind you, this was no normal suburb truck, it is a ford F-450 dually crew cab. ambulance size. but i saw all of this at a gas station. the second time i got to see this was tonight, driving home. crossing into my lane, right at my steering wheel. i had about 500 feet to do all my thinking, i started thinking about the best way to take an inevitable hit. i'd swerve onto the shoulder and risk a roll over, yes, surely that is safer with a head on with car with tires taller than my van. so here he comes, closer and closer, i was softly riding those drum breaks to keep them from locking. i just had to slow down enough that i wouldn't lose control when i hit the wet grass. he was about a hundred feet away when i swerved. i felt like i was doing a barrel roll, but didn't quite make it. i hit an embankment and stayed on all fours. i bounched back up on the road, crossed traffic, and got back into my lane, slowed down, and got back on the shoulder.

he didn't even slow down. i got out and checked for damage real quick, and headed home.

to think, i could have lost my pride and joy, hell
i coulda lost my life, just cause some redneck was chaning the tape in his deck.

that's frightening.



sorry for such a wordy post, but i felt it had to be said.


chris

[turbo_g]

Damn dude, you paint a hellish picture. Glad you and your bus are ok. I have bad dreams about getting head on in my 66 Custom Kombi, **shudders**....

[VWAdam]

Air Cooled VWs get no respect on the road. It sucks. People love to just run you off the road, tailgate you like there's no tomorrow, or what seems to be their favorite(at least with me) is to pull right out in front of you.
I usually have to stop and sit for a minute to catch my breath for a minute after something like that happens. By the way, I drive a Bug day in and day out, regardless of the weather.

[AndrewM]

I think these fucking rednecks forget that you are driving a vintage vehicle because of the negative stigma of hippies vs. rednecks. That and the fact that to the untrained eye a bus is a bus is a bus. They all have they same breadbox shape from 1950 to the 70's. A hillbilly would cut off a 1953 barndoor and not give it a second thought but would give a fucking ford torino the thumbs up cause it's got a V8 just like his dually. HEE FUCKIN HAW! I've been cut off and flipped off too many times to count in my 1960 bus. If these people only knew that the only thing seperating them and an ass beating is the fact that they can get away from me they might think twice. I feel that someday soon something is gonna finally push me over the edge and i'm actually going to do something to one of these local yokels at a stop light. Hey Skippy, I live in the mountains in Boone. You're right about this weather, it sucks.

[UncleBob]

Hey. Just wanted to add something. My daily driver is a Full Size 4WD Bronco. 6" suspension lift, 33" tires. I live in the south, and eat grits. Does that make me a redneck?
In traffic, the Bronco gets respect. I can see everything. I feel safe with my 5month old son in the car seat. I can go places on the beach that would sink most cars, or drive back through the forest if I need to. Plus, it has AC, power everything, and is very comfortable.
Yeah, VW's get no respect on the road. But, not just from jacked-up trucks. I've been cut off by Hyundais, Kias, and especially riced out Hondas, when in a VW. It's not the car, it's the driver. But, these little Jap cars don't seem to pull out in front of me when I'm in the Bronco.
Had you been in a safe car when the above happened, would you be taking it so personally? Driving a bus, I think you are taking a huge risk anytime you drive it.

[UncleBob]

By the way, I also drive a '64 Panel (for sale here), and am building a 2180cc Manx Clone, and about to finish a single seat Funco Rail.

[79SuperVert]

I would have still felt the same way as Skippy even if I had been in a "safe" car because when monsters like the one that ran him off the road are around, the only safe car is one just like it. Clay, I'm glad you like your truck, and that it feels safe. I also don't hold it against you that you own it, because they are perfectly legal to own, and the auto makers can get away with registering personal use trucks and SUV's as "light" trucks. But to me your truck is a menace, because it doesn't conform to auto safety standards. I recognize that people who need a truck to earn a living have to have one. But people (and maybe that's not you, Clay) who own one just because they want one as a daily driver are endangering the lives of those who drive "normal" cars. We can't all drive trucks. There isn't enough room on the road, and there isn't enough gas in the world. When we return to more sane standards that recognize trucks should not be registered primarily as daily personal-use drivers, we'll all be safer.

[bljones]

another good reason to upgrade your horn.

[Andrew]

Amen 79Super. Skippy and Andrew M, I'm in upstate SC. It's pouring like there's no tomorrow here.

Andrew
'60 European Beetle
'67 Deluxe Bus(my daily driver, not matter what the weather)

[UncleBob]

"But to me your truck is a menace"

Why? Because you choose to drive a smaller car?


"because it doesn't conform to auto safety standards."

So, what you're saying is that your superbeetle is safer than my Bronco?

"We can't all drive trucks."

Says who? Last time I checked, there wasn't government regulation on making you drive a specific type of car.

"When we return to more sane standards that recognize trucks should not be registered primarily as daily personal-use drivers, we'll all be safer."

So, what should those standards be? Careful, now, don't alienate that 20 year old strutted air-cooled in your garage.

"I also don't hold it against you that you own it"

Whew. For a minute there I thought a super beetle owner was about to make fun of someone else for a change. Thanks for not holding it against me.

[79SuperVert]

In a crash, my Super is more likely to kill me than I to kill someone else with it. In a crash, your truck is more likely to kill someone in a car that meets current safety standards, than they are to kill you. Someone who drives a truck for a living is assumed to be a better driver because they do it all the time. That's why I drive in the truck lanes on the turnpike. But lately, because light trucks and SUV's are being driven by ordinary folks who don't earn their living by driving, when one of them makes a driving mistake in a light truck, it's more likely to be a fatal one if the other vehicle is a car. The reason the government set bumper height and crash absorption standards for cars was because there were many more cars than any other vehicle on the road at the time and they were trying to reduce the number of fatalities between mismatched vehicles. My Super is not a menace. A light truck driven by someone trying to keep a crying kid happy or who's speeding to a show is most definitely a menace to someone in a car. I would like each state's Motor Vehicles department to set higher license fees and to require additional driver certification for any light truck being operated as a personal use vehicle and not as a commercial vehicle. The insurance companies are way ahead of me: they already require higher premiums for drivers of SUV's because they are more likely to kill other people.

[fknbrkn]

let's just get one thing straight. i'm in the south and i'm far from a redneck. but there are rednecks everywhere. the only difference between the ones down here and the ones up north is the way they talk. i don't think i've heard anyone say "hey bo" up north. they still drive the big ass trucks, go fishin, watch nascar, and even eat nasty ass grits.

[UncleBob]

79 Super, you make valid points. But, you have to understand mine.
To me, it's about safety for me and my family. If I get in wreck with a 'normal car', I have a better chance of living, thus, increasing my chances of reproduction, passing along my genes. Only the strong survive. Adapt. Eat-or-be-eaten. Yeah, I like driving my VW, but on the weekends, nice days, etc. Not in highway 80-MPH merge traffic, in a storm, which I just did.

FKNBRKN, I don't know which part of the south you are from, but I have never heard anyone say "Hey Bo". What is that?

Grits are yummy. Especially with cheese.

[fknbrkn]

i'm near raleigh NC. i can't believe you haven't ever heard anyone say that. i guess it's a redneck way of sayin bro?

[skippytheleglesshobo]

i think this needs to be said.
this was no ordinary SUV, it is a mamouth truck! a double cab w/ full bed, it's probably taller than my house! this isn't about someone trying to be safe. it's about some dumbass, be them rednecked or not, driving a menace of a car and trying to kill anyone is his way.
and yes, i think i'd still be taking this treat on my life seriously even if i was driving a honda. a honda would only be a ramp for this thing, and last time i checked, honda's are considered safe cars right?

[[email protected]]

I live in NW Oregon, the same thing! Trucks with lift kits, big tires, Cavin peeing on a logo, driven madly on narrow winding roads by toothless mullet clad hillbillies. They like to go into abandoned quarries in the mountains and shoot shit. They like to go mudding. There are abandoned cars and refrigerators in their yards. Their wives are ugly, their kids are ugly. Their dogs are ugly. But they have a fake chain around their license plate. I got no problem, folks is folks, but damn, ya gotta drive that big piece of machinery with that impossible center of gravity like an asshole? I can drive my Ranger or my bug or my 69 bus, don't matter, always riding my ass on twisting mountain roads...natural selection will do it's bit. I wish them nothin but peace, but damn, like Snuffy Smith says "BACK OFF".

[Rob]

I'm in Seattle - same thing, but not as frequent as when I lived in Michigan. (Sure suprises the ones that chase you down when they find out they're trying to push around a black belt - hee hee). I've found that stupid is stupid and there simply is no way of avoiding it. Its a shame, but what can you do?

My problem is with the regular suburban type (often housewives) in those Lincoln Stupids - I mean 'Navigators'. Your're right, at least a Chauffers license should be required for anyone to drive one of those things. They drive them like they were cars! The one that really gets me is when they hang just off my rear quarter (on a highway or multi-lane road). I can't see 'em because they're in my blind spot, but I can feel 'em pushing me over. I think its unique to busses how that works - a big enough car can make my '63 go all funky just by hanging there.

Nice to get that off my chest. Good thread!

[UncleBob]

"toothless mullet clad hillbillies"
Nice. LOL

Rkoscik, that was priceless. I would like to correct your one error though, if I may. Snuffy Smith (Smif) never said 'Back Off'. Yosemite Sam coined that phrase.

Skippy, it was a good story.

[79SuperVert]

It was nice exchanging views with you, Clay. We kept it above board and civil. Not like some threads here. Thanks.

[j.pickens]

Whenever I'm out driving my bus, I just assume that EVERYBODY will pull out in front of me from side streets and parking lots. No matter that my bus has pretty good acceleration and travels "with traffic" on local roads, the other drivers just assume that my bus is "slow" so they have to get out in front of it.
I was driving my brother-in-law in the bus for the first time and he just about jumped out of the passenger seat the third time a car peeled out and turned into the lane in front of us. I didn't even notice it until I saw him jump, I'm so used to it happening. Once I explained it to him, he counted four other cars doing the same thing. We were driving around town for less than 15 minutes. Sheesh!