64 replies to this topic

[Spunout]

Ok some "light-hearted" stuff: you all watch F1 races and see drivers trying to find limits of their cars. Have you ever tried driving a bit too fast and ended up losing it (because of watching too much f1 or without). I´m asking this because I´m a boring (=slow) driver myself and therefore only time I have "lost it" was in driving schools winter driving practise track where our teacher pulled handbrake in a corner to test our reactions and to show us what spin feels like (it was unfair because he didn´t release it!) . My "wildest" driving was in my second winter as a car owner. It was a bumpy, snowy and icy road where we were going approx 130 kph (I was following my friend). After going a bit sideways couple of times (20 years old RWD car) I decided to slow down. Boring? I agree. Now let´s see do you have something more interesting to tell. There´s nothing good in driving too fast or losing control (especially when risking others) so don´t go driving rally today to have something to tell here

The more embarrassing story you have the better! No one will laugh at you...

(If this subject does not belong here in your opinion please inform me...)

[daveturbo]

For many people it's easier to say when they HAVE been in control of their cars ! There are often more people dangerous at 30mph than at 100mph !

[Ross Stonefeld]

I live in Wisconsin

I have several big moments a winter, but ive not wrapped myself around any trees or anything. More embarassing than anything

[mkane]

I live in Southern California. It doesn't rain much at all. One day it did rain, and I decided to play Jean Alesi. I was passing cars left and right. I drove faster than when it was dry.

I approached a freeway off-ramp which was a sweeping right hand curve that ultimately went under the freeway I just came off. About mid-way through the curve, the back end of my fwd car decided to lose traction.

I was prepared for this, having several similar incidents in my off-road truck. However, the backend kept going. Before I knew it, I was in the center of the infield portion of the off-ramp, which was overgrown with vegetation. It was almost as bad as a gravel trap.

After a brief pause to make sure I was still breathing. I restarted the motor and did a little rally style drive to get the hell out of there before the police came.

Matt

[GerhardP]

Well..er..try to get to a skiing resort in the Bavarian alps over a little, icy and snowy road which climbs up the hill before the snowplough could clean the road in the early morning because you want to be the first there and let it be one of your first drives after you have finally a driver's license and it gets very, very uncomfortable... I'll never try that again, and am driving very cautiously since in general. But I still have too little experience for some hairy situations...

[Spunout]

"For many people it's easier to say when they HAVE been in control of their cars ! "

Very much true. Losing control is sometimes considered "embarrassing" here and not all my friends admit their mistakes...For example one of my friends (who drives like a wacho) went backwards 90 kph but insisted he did it "on purpose" and never lost control...I thought it would be easier for people to tell about their mistakes online. I really want to see am I the only "boring" driver here. After all this IS racing-related forum! I´m sure here are some Verstappens present...

"There are often more people dangerous at 30mph than at 100mph ! "

Well...I can agree with you only partly...

[Mr T]

Every winter I have quite a lot of spins, mostly intentional, and when there is no traffic around me. But I've only had one big crash, when I went of a small dirtroad at about 85 mph and rolled. This was when I was a newspaper delivery guy in the dark forrests of Sweden and I was really on the limit. Stupid move to go off like that but noone was injured and it wasn't my car. However, it was embarrassing to call my employee and explain what had happened.

[Ross Stonefeld]

I think ive spun once on a pure 'mistake' the other times were intentionally driving too fast, trying to drift the vehicle, etc

[Peeko]

I've had quite a few close calls, but never anything major. I used to deliver car parts around the city, and the company had 2 Chevettes as part of their fleet (Man, those cars are Sh*t kickers!!! And a ball to drive in the winter!!). It was around 5 pm, and I had a friend in the car with me (against company policy), the road was slick with a little rain and coming on an intersection where I needed to make a right I decided I'd pull the handbrake just to get th car a little sideways under braking. I pulled up, only to find I couldn't get the brake down and the back end swung right around and I was facing the other way right in the middle of the intersection! The car stalled, and luckily there weren't any cars behind me. Of course, had there been, I wouldn't have attempted the hand brake.

Another time we got chased by someone I had egged (I used to egg on coming traffic while dirving. Yes in case you're wondering, those days a far behind me...). Turns out we were doing about 140km/h (for those in the Ottawa area, we were on Colonel By Drive). After we turned off Colonel By(and going much slower) I tried to take a right hander, only to find the car severly understeering!! As I began to feel the front tires grip agian, they caught the sand that builds up along the curbs over the winter and the car slammed into the curb sending the hub cap flying and knocking 3 bolts off the rim!! The chasing car didn't bother stopping, I guess thinking I got what I deserved. The irony of this all is that about 1 month later at my cousins place for dinner, he began to tell a story to us about how he was driving along one night on Colonel By Drive when all of a sudden an Egg hit their windsheild...

If I didn't have the extra weight of 4 BIG guys in the car, I'd have made that turn:smoking:

[GerhardP]

Originally posted by Spunout


"There are often more people dangerous at 30mph than at 100mph ! "

Well...I can agree with you only partly...

I remember famous Austrian TV commentator and "GP-Story"-writer Heinz Prüller commenting on Alain Prost having been speedtrapped on a motorway where there were only 80 kmph allowed with 180kmph the following way:"But an F1 driver surely has his car better under control while doing 180 kmph than a normal driver while doing 80 kmph".
I always believed, F1 drivers where also human beings?

[Limey]

My first was going round a right hand bend on to a 4 lane highway in a Lotus Elan (45/55 weight distribution). The back end broke to the left so I corrected, probably a bit too much as it swung the other way and I did a 4 drift across 4 lanes (empty thank goodness) and ended on the other side going the correct direction.

The second was in a Ford Capri at 40 mph when I went to overtake another car. The back end broke free and I did a 360 ending up on the other side of the road going in the correct direction. This one was a patch of black ice.

[daveturbo]

In a perfect world there would only be 2 driving offences; driving without due care and driving without insurance. Unfortunately in an imperfect world we have to have a multitude of 'catch all' laws of which speeding is a neccissary one.

I always considered speeding as the rule by which the police could prosecute for driving that they considered to be 'unreasonable'. Most police seem to use it this way aswell, so I thoroughly disapprove of speed cameras. At least the British govornment have admitted that it's purely a new tax on motorists.

[Ross Stonefeld]

I was driving my dad's jeep home one night from his house. It was about 1am and it had been drizzling slightly all evening. This was in February so by the time I was out it was really icey. Its a pretty high HP high weight vehicle. I pull off the side road onto the highway and give the throttle a good tap to test the traction. No problems. So i accelerate at full, no wheelspin at all. Im cruising along at 60mph in a dead straight line and it snaps about 70 degrees to the left. I somehow corrected it and ended up in the opposite lane going in the same direction. I had really no idea what had happened. I was suddenly inthe opposite lane and I had to think back to what just happened. I slowed down a bit and a few miles down the road there was a massive accident. Highway bocked off by state patrol, and at least three ambulances. I put that sucker in AWD and tip toed home. I was just lucky there was no one in the oncoming lane when everything went tits up

[molive]

I lost it once and it was very scaring.

It was a bit like mkane´s, only that it was my dad´s car. I was late going to school (after dropping my old man at work) and I was too fast in a bend right before a overpass. I went into a double 360 spin that ended up with me facing the wrong direction in the other lane, and I barely missed jumping over the guard rail, which would probably be it for me and my dad´s ford... Luckily, the car was undamaged and I never told this little story to my father Of course, I learned the lesson and never again I´ll push a car to its limits in the rain.

[Spunout]

"But an F1 driver surely has his car better under control while doing 180 kmph than a normal driver while doing 80 kmph".

No doubt. However losing control is not the only danger when driving so fast. Obviously it´s also about conditions too: it doesn´t require any skill to drive fast with a decent (or even with a bad) car on virtually straight and dry road. For example when my speed-loving friend (who doesn´t have as good car control as he thinks) drove 180 kph on icy road and was very close to lose control it was quite scary. When his car started to "fishtail" (which was obviously a result of a steering mistake) I really hoped it would have been Alain Prost driving his car instead of him!

[Mellon]

The only time I've been unintentionally out of control when I aqua-planed doing 140 km/h while overtaking a Russian semitruck in a slight left turn. It was pretty hairy for a while, drifting slowly towards a huge truck, but I kept cool and held the front wheels straight until I felt them grip. Afterwards I've wondered how far off the road I would have ended up if I had kept turning the wheel until the car turned, probably quite far.

[GerhardP]

But a F1 driver is also just a human being! Maybe he can do about 20 or even 30 kmph more than a normal driver, but he cannot react more than two times faster than a normal driver when doing 100 kmph more if something happens and he has to brake suddenly or so.

[daveturbo]

It was the 2nd from last stage of a 2 day rally and I needed to win to stand any chance of taking the championship. I was leading by a small margin but there was a tiny bump on a fast 90 left. I lost the back and was heading for a brick wall on the right. Had to keep the power on, missed the wall but went off on the left, front first, into a big ditch. Took out 2 concrete posts, under barbed wire and finished, engine stalled, looking up at the sky. I thought, there goes the championship and the works drive. But the engine started, it drove straight back onto the road and we lost only a handful of seconds! I've never had so lucky an escape before, never will again, and never needed it more than then. I went on to win the championship!

[mkane]

An F1 driver might not react much faster, but when the F1 driver reacts it might be a better reaction. Inexperienced drivers might throw the wheel all the way over to avoid a sudden obstacle, where an F1 driver might have the car control to avoid the obstacle and not get in any more trouble. That is a lot of mights, but I think that is the point.
Matt

[Spunout]

GerhardP

I agree, when you have to brake a car takes certain distance to stop. That´s what I meant when I said losing control is not the only danger when going too fast...If an average driver needs a second to react (when one has to brake for example) it doesn´t help if your reaction time is 0,5 secs if you go too much faster.

mkane

Good point.

daveturbo

All I can say is WOW!

[GerhardP]

Originally posted by mkane
An F1 driver might not react much faster, but when the F1 driver reacts it might be a better reaction. Inexperienced drivers might throw the wheel all the way over to avoid a sudden obstacle, where an F1 driver might have the car control to avoid the obstacle and not get in any more trouble. That is a lot of mights, but I think that is the point.
Matt

That's right!

[Mellon]

And a F1 driver is so much better at never getting in to trouble:
Remember how far ahead of the car you were looking when you first drove a car (in city traffic)? 20-30 meters? What about now? 70-90m? How much safer is your driving? How far ahead (and how wide) does a F1 driver anticipate situations? A lot further than you ever will.

You may want to pop over to the Nostalgia Forum for a thread called 'Grand Prix drivers on the open road': http://www.atlasf1.c...&threadid=17270

[magic]

daily.

a few big ones;

1983.
with 6 (six) fellow-students off to paris.
driving a ford taunus wagon companycar from a one of the student's father.
halfway, in the middle of the night the backdoor swung open, 3 of us sleeping in the back.
then at 7 in the morning it was my turn to take the wheel.
we were at the 'place de la concorde' when a local hothead in a simca 1100 rallycar overtook us from the wrong side.
i had to pursuit him.
we did a 100+ kmph on the champs elysee and the tires were protesting very loud when we took the 'arc de thriomph' circle in 3rd gear.
half of the passengers were cheering, the other half a bit worried by then.
in the end we lost the french driver (prost?) and we were on the periferique.
we then decided to return to the center and took a intersection.
to my surprise it wasn't 90 degree turn but a hairpin.
we carried too much speed.
after our little sprintrace the brakes were goners and with 7 people plus luggage on board we helplessly oversteered into the concrete barrier.
the rightside of the car was damaged, we had a puncture and a few bended wheels.
afterwards the car was stolen, found back ( police), we traded some wheels with a north african, and we limped back to holland but not before travelling 400 kms in the wrong direction till the police stopped us.

end of part1.

[GerhardP]

Originally posted by Mellon

...You may want to pop over to the Nostalgia Forum for a thread called 'Grand Prix drivers on the open road': http://www.atlasf1.c...&threadid=17270

Thanks, I will have a look on your link (Sorry to all, if I lead the whole discussion a bit into the wrong direction..)

[daveturbo]

How many parts are there, Magic?

Thanks, Spunout.

[magic]

ther are 2 totals coming up, davet.

[daveturbo]

These are stupid, but they're completely true;

I navigated for a novice on his 1st rally and he lost control on a very open hairpin right, we snaked back and forth as he struggled to regain control. I wasn't worried as I'd worked out that at worst we would only go over some grass and hit a bank on the left. We reached a point where we had all the wheels straight and we were going in the right direction, moment over. Unfortunately he didn't realise that the moment was over and we had another equally as big moment as he lost control on the straight for absolutely no reason!

Later we came down a steep hill to a complicated junction which I carefully described. He said "say again" but we were too close so I said "follow the car in front". The car in front then accidently went off, across the grass, missed a post and got back on to the road. My driver only deliberately went off after him. There was no need, it was obvious where the road went, but he was so focused. He later complained that I shouldn't be laughing in the stages!

[Bjorn]

I was a pizzadelivery man in my hometown of Akureyri, Iceland a couple of years ago. Pizza delivery is perhaps oversimplifying it, I actually worked for a restaurant that happened to make pizzas, and had a delivery for those, as well as proper cuisine food. Anyway, one winter evening I received a call and was asked to rush down there. Everything was crazy and they needed more drivers to take some of the tension of the regulars. I reluctantly agreed, because the weather was ****, to say the least. When I got down there, I was informed that all the cars were being used, I'd have to use one of the bakers' cars: an old Mitsubishi about to fall apart. Anyway, on my first tour I had to drive a relatively short distance, "but be quick, we've got more work for you when you get back!" Now, the roads were all covered with snow, but because of all the traffic some rather deep wheeltracks had formed making the road look like this: ---_/-------_/--- (you get the idea )Everything went fine at first, I was careful not to get stuck in these tracks as it's a real pain getting back out.

The Action Starts:
On the way back I was driving rather fast when suddenly (on a fast left hander ) I felt the rear end starting to slide down the hole. It was too late to do anything, and the car went sideways 90°. I slammed the breaks to avoid hitting the banking (of snow. This was late winter and the accumulated snow left by the snowploughs had formed into a rather big heap between the lanes.) that zoomed past scarily close to the front of the car, glanced to the left (because that's where I was going) and noticed a lamp post getting closer and closer. I probably wouldn't have hit it anyway, as it was like I was on rails with the wheels in the tracks, but I panicked: opposite lock, pedal to the metal...!! ... and the car got out of the tracks, spun around and got back into the tracks on the other side of the road. I'd turned 180°. A second later I saw the lamp post zooming past some 10 cm from the front of the car. Well, I came to my senses there, lifted, turned and got out of the tracks. I slid some 20 meters, 10 on either side. *phew*


So it all went rather well, and it got better. I got to use the manager's car for the rest of the night, a brand new Land Rover with EVERYTHING Of course, I didn't tell them about that incident...

[ehagar]

Several times...

I've had more problems on the road than I've ever had as a pilot, knock on wood.

Once a friend of mine had a seal on his Subaru leak. Made a terrible noise as the right front differential started misbehaving. Anyway, he got it fixed, and the shop didn't do up the wheel properly. Later on at 100 km/hr on the highway, off flew the wheel! Fortunately it was early in the morning.

Then there was the time I hit a deer... The weather was terrible so I slowed down. In spite of that, I had virtually had no time to react. It just seemed so bloody improper to go under 70 km/hr on the highway. Anyway, the car was a total writeoff. Unfortunately, as I was figuring out where the deer was, someone else drove over its carcass and ended up being launched into the ditch. Guess it shows you just because you don't see anything doesn't mean its not there. I altered my driving habits after that. No more early morning/late drives. Too dangerous with the amount of deer out there.

Then there was the time my rear brake seized, sending the car into a nasty spin.

Then there was a time my front brakes failed, fortunately, no spin there...

Then there was the time someone rear ended me at a red light... My first instinct, in spite of my body being launched forward (it was quite the hit...) was to extend my middle finger at the guy...

I've learned to be a better mechanic and to not trust garage mechanics through my exploits... So far though, I've been damn lucky.

[Hi Test]

Never.

Once fell asleep at about three in the morning driving a TR6 on Interstate 5, north of Seattle.

Woke up doing some off-roading about 50 yards off the freeway but maintained complete control the whole time.

[arcwulf7]

Yup I have, just outside Lillooet in central BC Canada, on dirt road with a cliff edge on one side and a straight drop of about a 150 metres into a roaring river on the other -- in my sister's borrowed Civic, and an open bottle of Jack Daniel's in the passsenger seat. I hit the Cliff wall, went through the windshield. Was rescued and put up by some members of the Salish(?) nation, who took me to the local medical centre and then put me up for the night -- few stitches, nothing more. I had to buy my sister a new car (she wasn't insured) -- some years ago but to this day I do up my seatbelt and I do NOT drink and drive. (all a true story)

[theMot]

Ive lost it 4 times.

Once on the road at night, in fog on bald tires i lost it into a tree and almost killed myself

THe other 3 times i lost it on a race track pushing like a maniac

Ive also lost it in karts a few times. and probably 20 times on my 4 wheeler motore bike when i was younger.

[Chris G.]

Losing control of a car is the best way to learn the limits of that car and driving in general.

Several times. Before getting a license I was driving a friends Mom's car and pulled into a parking lot. I hit the gas instead of the brake and stopped against another car. A screwdriver and a quick 2:00am trip to the dealer took care of mangled front turn-signal assembly.

Going around a long sweeping corner on Kessler in Indianapolis (snow on ground) put me into a 100 yard 360 power slide. But, I ended up on in my lane facing the right way. That wasn't a lesson on how to drive, rather a lesson not to drive drunk.

[Mr T]

Last summer I was in a car with one of my best friends, who was driving, and our girlfriends. It was his fathers new car, bought only the week before. It was a lot of traffic and the speed was probably about 30-40 mph. As usual my friend was to close to the car in front when suddenly it braked. There was no chance in hell we were going to be able to stop so we smashed into the rear of the car in front. That car in turn flew into the car in front it.

Suddenly everything was very still. We made sure everyone in the car were alright and got out to check the others involved (all were ok btw) when we realised the third car involved was a policecar.

That took a while to sort out. The policeman was completely crazy. When he asked us about the cars registrationnumber I had to go out in the middle of the road to pick up the bent plate and hand it to the officer.

[petrohed]

I can't remember any embarrassing driving errors, though I have had a few near miss scares.
I was taught to drive 28 years ago by a former UK Police pursuit driver. Quite unusually at that time he encouraged some pupils to take further lessons after passing their driving test, in adverse weather, night driving, high performance and motorway driving. I had further lessons on a skid pan and on motorways in his Mk 2 Jaguar 4.2.
It must have worked has I have not had a moving vehicle accident for which I was fully to blame in that time and I am not a slow driver.
I think the time I most frightened myself while driving was in the mid 70's while I drove a Triumph GT6 Mk3 (2ltr 6 cylinder in a Spitfire). At this time I worked for a newspaper group, our van driver had set off to the press unit to take the last of the artwork, but had left without it. As I had responsibility to make sure we met deadlines sending someone else was the only option, it fell on me to get it there on time.
Most of the run was a fast uneventful drive, though at one point I had two slow cars in front and a clear run downhill on a straight road, I past the first quickly then the one in front decided to make a right without signalling or obviously using mirrors, somehow I got the car across the road and down the inside of this car without hitting anything, I recall that the back end of the GT6 was fishtailing but keeping the line. I did sustain an injury in my back from this, feeling a tearing pain from the sudden change in direction.
Incidentally I beat the van driver there by over 10 minutes, he set off some 5 minutes before me but he went by the nearby motorway, I went the most direct road route.

[Williams]

Driving my first car, a little red 72 Celica, late one night along a straight on a two-lane highway between Toronto and Ottawa, I was doing about 75mph when I hit a patch of black ice. The car simply started doing 360s down the middle of the highway. Luckily it went straight down the middle of the highway. I couldn't do much more than watch as I saw the right ditch rotate past, (the ditches were about 10 ft deep) then the highway back the way I had come, (I noted the headlights of a car on the road about a mile back) then the left ditch, then the road ahead (another set of headlights about a mile ahead), the the left ditch again... I think did about 8 360s, the car slowly losing momentum, still travelling along the middle of the highway. I would up exactly in the middle of the road, facing in the right direction. I sat still for about 5 seconds, thought to myself "wow !", turned up the Lynrd Skynrd a bit, and carried on.

[JForce]

Until recently I had a Toyota Supra--3Litre Turbo!! RWD!! Heaps of fun in the rain, but one night i went round a 90' left hander, and she just kept spinning (it was raining). It was the middle of the night, so no one else was coming, but i ended up doing the coolest slow 360 all the way around, before taking off again. Ive also face planted my friends rally car--i came over a ridge with a slight left, and the back of the car swung out and clipped the edge of the road, and launched us into the air......we came down nose first, and skidded like that for about 10 metres....no damage though!!!!!

[404KF2]

The best thing I ever did, months after getting my driving license in 1977, was to take my dad's 504 and R5 up to Cypress Bowl parking lot in W. Vancouver in the winter. It's a large snowy area and perfect to practise vehicle control at night before they developed night skiing. A friend and I spent hours up there learning how to control RWD and FWD cars in slippery conditions. That did not stop me from having some moments in road cars, though.

The first time was in 1979, in my Renault 5 TS which had HD Bilsteins but no other suspension mods, driving back from Whistler to Vancouver. There is a really tight left hander not too far south of Squamish that's posted as 40 km/h and OK to make at 60-70. I entered this corner half in the opposing lane at about 120 km/h, realised too late that I was carrying too much speed. So I lifted right off the gas, didn't brake, and the rear of the R5 stepped out of line just enough to scrub off some speed at the entrance to the corner. The front followed in a sort of 4 wheel drift towards the cliff and Howe Sound (salty, wet area!). In the end we made it through the corner, how I'm not sure, and the car's lowest indicated speed was 100 km/h. Renault 5s are very forgiving and good handling cars, despite the enormous body roll. So I guess I could argue that I didn't lose control that time, but I almost did.

The second time was definitely a loss of control. Imagine a 1965 Renault Dauphine with a 1300 cc R-10 engine stuffed in the rear, that was my wheels in 1982. 30 more HP and 45 more lbs.ft than nature intended, driving through 135-15 tires. This car was quite entertaining to drive, and a more predictable roadholder than a regular Dauphine due to the R-10 radius rods fitted to the swing axles. One day, returrning home to N. Vancouver from university in Burnaby, I overdid it on a rainy street while turning left and lost it to the rear-engine pendulum effect, creaming into a parked TR6. To my amazement, the TR6 was undamaged (I kid you not) but my poor Dauphy had literally formed a negative impression of the TR6's huge bumper over-rider in its nose/hood panel. I swore off rear engined cars after that!

There are a couple more stories, but I'll spare you.

[BlackCat]

I did some rallying when young and it's quite exactly 22 years now from the day I overdid some. Rolled 3 times - and limped for a month. Felt claustrophobic in cars after that for long time and drove only bikes
Winters can be quite slippery here, once had a FWD and BWD car in the same time and the difference was quite big In the same 90 degree corner FWD turning 60 and BWD 270 degrees - it was easy to mess things up...

[stevew]

Not a “Losing it” scenario, but a very humbling one...

I live in Indy and in the winter of 1994, we had a big snowstorm. I had about a 35-mile commute to work, mostly on the Interstate. For three days, it was very slow going because the city was having problems getting the snow cleared off the roads. Finally, one evening, the Interstate was clear, albeit wet, but I could drive my normal 70-75mph. The exit ramp I took on my way home was a quick right-hand kink, followed by an uphill run of about two blocks (1000ft) to a right-hand bend. After driving most of the way home, I blasted onto the exit ramp at 70mph only to suddenly find that the Indiana Department of Transportation didn’t plow the ramp itself! The ramp was still snow-covered with just wheel-tracks. When I hit this, my car, an ’84 Honda Accord started behaving like a Rally car. I thought I was going to lose it to my left and slide back onto the Interstate, then I thought it was going into the guardrail on the right. I stayed with it and somehow saved everything, managing to get it down to about 40mph... just in time for that right-hander at the end of the exit ramp... then I thought I was going into the guard rail there!

I got home OK, but...

I remember reading a quote from a driver who raced back in the ‘60s who said “driving a road car on the road has nothing in common with driving a race car on the track”.

I think he meant it as a “skill-level” thing, however, the hazards that can appear on a daily commute...

[markzed]

In my first car (see the 74 Toyota Corona in the car photo thread), I used to travel to my Aunts house in Lower Portland (near the Hawkesbury river). A nice 40 minute drive from Liverpool on the limit!

The last 5 kilometres to the outpost of civilisation where she lived was a nice, wide dirt road.

I regularly tested my rally-type skills there and had the car sideways quite often.

I came unstuck one day on the return trip when I came round a "Left 3" corner and there, sprawled across the middle of the road was a huge grader (the one with the big blade that scrapes the road).

Panic and adrenalin kicked in, followed by some fancy twirling of hands on steering wheel and my brain wondering where I should put the car. I ended up on the left embankment parked 2 metres away from the grader.

My cousin (strapped in the passenger seat) was impressed. The grader operator was apologetic. I was a bit stunned but generally happy with the outcome.

I lived to play another day!

[obi-one]

My first car was a stock Datsun 510, I was
seventeen and constantly racing with friends.
My first performance upgrade, stupidly, was
to KYB gas rally shocks leaving the stock 155
tires and rims on.

While testing the "improved" handling on a
winding road behind the local community college,
I was pushing the limit of both the tires and
engine revs. The road straightened out between
two parking lots that were full of students going
to their cars.

Fortunately, the scream of the engine warned
everyone to stay off the road and to stand in
great position to watch me do a 540 degree spin
coming out a crested right hander. To top it off
I stalled the engine too.

[Zawed]

Spun my old man's car along a gravel road. Luckily it was in the middle of the intersection and the road was wide enough at that point so I did'nt hit anything. It even allowed the car following (full of my brother's mates)room to pass me as I was facing the wrong way.

[Mr. Salty]

If you haven't EVER lost control of your car, you shouldn't be a fan of racing. Some are faster and stretch "the limit", but all race fans have passed "the limit" at one time or another. How the hell else are you to know where "the limit" is???

I've spun a few times on twisty roads, and once off of an entrance ramp to I-75 in the rain. I don't drive like that any more, but I'm glad I did when I was younger. Fond memories.....

[theMot]

Originally posted by Mr. Salty
If you haven't EVER lost control of your car, you shouldn't be a fan of racing. Some are faster and stretch "the limit", but all race fans have passed "the limit" at one time or another. How the hell else are you to know where "the limit" is???

WORD

If you dont spin at least as many times as i have in your life your not trying hard enough!

[OssieFan]

I haven't had any major accidents since I've started driving (4 years ago) but a couple of years ago I had a small lose.

I was driving the long way back from a video shop around some of the nice twisty roads. It had started to drizzle and some of the road was wet and as exited a 3rd gear left hander the back end got away from me. My immediate reaction was to correct it which I did but ended up over correcting a bit and luckily on the side of the road was a space before the trees so I ended up on that facing the right way. It was the first time that I'd been in that situation. I gathered my thoughts and a few corners later, another left hander, there was a car coming the other way which lost control and avoided hitting me by a foot! One day I'll do an advanced driving course!

[prettyface]

License exams should include when NOT to touch the brakes, and planning curves instead of just reacting to them. Doing only 40 km/h in the rain on a coastal mountain road can be exciting: I merely feathered the brakes at the beginning of a downhill lefthander and the corolla, full of people, started to slide its tail toward the edge. Everybody ducked down and braced for the big tumble as the car went into the only patch of grass that didn´t have a tree, fence or ditch to stop us from falling off the cliff. Luckily, the car scrubbed most of its speed on the tarmac before hitting the grass, stopping about two meters from the drop. Everybody alive, not a scratch on the car. I though I used up all my luck that day but I still had some more. Lucky bonehead!

I was driving a old 1981 Chevrolet Malibu (A poor man' s sedan, the worst handling car ever by Chevy. A police car, really: The rear windows don't open!) doing less than 100 km/h behind a truck on a long right hand bend on an avenue in my hometown. The truck slows a bit, but I'm a bit too close to it so I have to brake a bit harder. Not real hard, mind you; just a bit more than usual. The car, with most of its weight on the front by bad design, locks the rear wheels and starts sliding first to the left, then to the right, then to the left again; poor me turning an overassisted, two full turn steering wheel from lock to lock repeatedly until the car stops neatly beside the truck at the stoplight at the end of the bend.
I look at my passenger and ask him "How did you like that?" . He says: " I'll give it a 9.5". The truckers laughing their asses at us.

Boneheads! Licenses are too easy here.

[markzed]

Zawed - Nice Avatar!
I actually managed to crack the stock steel rim on the left front of my Corona through 'advanced driving'.
HAR!

[Dsilence]

Here in Finland on winter there's alot of slippery roads, so it's not so hard to spin and lose control, but I never crashed, even if i spun around alot ..

[Dazed and confused]

During winters, I have a habit of losing it at least once a week. When I visit my hometown Rovaniemi, which is located on arctic circle here in Finland we usually start our day with some training on icetracks. There are plenty of those ecspecially after january when race number one in the finnish rally championship, the arctic rally is over. There's plenty of room for errors and soft snowbanks to slow you down when you lose it. I drive a 15 years old BMW 320 (not very economical to drive sideways on slippery surfaces) and with the current gas prices it's getting too expensive. Maybe I'll switch to karting, I tried it a few times last summer and found it to be very exciting, fast and tough for your wrists and ribs. Ouch.