Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
I suspect that the main thing the truck driver did wrong was to drive much too fast for the road conditions. If he had been going much slower, he might have slid and gone off the road but hopefully would not have crossed the median into oncoming traffic. One ought not to be going 65 mph just because the sign says that is the limit. People today just seem to be in such a hurry that they are prepared to risk their own lives and that of others on the road without giving it a second thought. Randy -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Werner Fehlauer Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 5:15 PM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or just sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be reduced substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, and not issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can lose it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing something stupid. Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs and Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a very minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a driving test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize that they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them loose without proper training and in too much of a car? That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by a driver that was never taught how to keep from losing it. Its wrong to pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the driver in the skid did something wrong. Werner - Original Message - From: R A Bennell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 6:09 PM Subject: [MBZ] what are your odds? A bit of a gruesome subject but on my mind these past few days. My next door neighbors' daughter-in-law was killed last Friday morning on her way to work. She was driving a Ford Escort and was hit by an F250 4X4 that lost it and spun accross the median and right into the driver's side of her car. A fraction of a second either way and the truck should have passed in front of her or behind her. I have to wonder if she had been driving a more robust vehicle, if she might have had a better chance. Can't help but think of that little video of the old Mercedes being crash tested. Maybe it was just her time and it wouldn't have mattered what she was driving? A bit of a sad thing for everyone though. She was 34 and she and her husband have a toddler who is not yet 3. Randy ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
With sand there are two approaches, go fast or go slow with less pressure in the tyres. The fast approach should only be used by people who know what they are doing, flipping a car in sand is ooh so easy. - Original Message - From: Curt Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Diesel List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 2:28 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? I belive you, people hit sand and get stupid fast... Apparently you only go sensible places. I've been lots of places a 2wd would never get to... Although with a differntial locker a 2wd will go lots of places an unlocked 4wd will not. Thats part of my plan when I build a Jeep station wagon. 4bt under the hood, airlockers in the diffs, 31 tires so it doesn't look jacked and goofy. -Curt
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
My thoughts are that DE should be started as early as possible, work up from pedestrian safety to bicycle safety to automotive safety. Also professional driver training should be standard with a minimum criteria including highway driving and dirt road driving. This coupled with a school based theoretical program which highlights why there is a need to be careful behind the wheel and the importance of vehicle maintenance. A fostering of positive peer group pressure is also needed, with a slogan like Only losers speed or If you love your friends, don't kill them. It is also important than any sort of TV ad campaign has the input of the target audience so the message gets across. Another thing that must be drilled into youngsters is that operating a vehicle on public roads is a privilege and not a right. Another problem that I can see is that the time that young people learn to drive is also the time they learn to drink alcohol, well it is over here where the legal drinking age is 18 and the age at which you can get your license to drive solo is 17. That is why I feel that the driving age should be lowered, provided a top class DE program is initiated. Another possibility is to use simulators to show what can happen on the road, especially in unfamiliar territory, these simulators may also be used to judge the competency of learner drivers. - Original Message - From: Chuck Landenberger [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Cc: Werner Fehlauer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2007 7:49 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? Well, I obviously already sent it to the MBZ list Mea culpa! So, opinions solicited from all about how to improve driver education! Be careful, Chuck Phoenix AZ ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
I get around great in my pickup truck. Alot of it has to do with who is driving I suppose, if you do not know how to drive a truck on slick roads, it will not do very good. Curt Raymond wrote: In any kind of bad weather a pickup truck is about the WORST vehicle to have. The pickups of today are especially bad. Big engines, light rear ends and bad gas mileage. But wait you say, how could bad gas mileage make pickup trucks more dangerous? I know this one because I've been there. Bad gas mileage gets worse in four wheel drive so some pickup truck drivers will try to get away without being in four wheel drive in conditions where they really should be using it. A pickup truck in slippery conditions in 2wd is downright dangerous, especially an automatic transmission truck, especially an overpowered automatic transmissioned truck (which is like 90% of pickups being made today). Don't get me wrong I love having a v8 in my Dodge Dakota but having taken on a guardrail while traveling sideways at 60mph up Rt 95 at the tail end of a snowstorm I've learned to be vary wary... We were going up a fairly small hill, anybody who's driven 95 in southern Maine knows its made up of mostly gently rolling hills. The snow had quit an hour or so before and the roads were mostly clear so I'd shifted into 2wd to save some gas. I was young and dumb. I was going a bit faster than was prudent (young and dumb) even though the back end of the truck had kicked out a bit a couple times before. So finally the back end kicked out so bad I couldn't get it back. The big problem was that I was used to driving a manual transmission which doesn't shift by itself. On those hills the auto would shift and the increase torque would send us skittering. I've since learned to manually take it out of overdrive in those conditions. Oh and I drive slower now too and gas mileage be dammed I keep it in 4wd. Anyway my story ends pretty well, we slid down the crown of the road into the guardrail which was fortunately covered in snow. Bounced off, slid 180 degrees and came to a stop without getting hit by traffic. The bumper was dented up and some plastic trim damaged but still intact. I've left it that way as a reminder... Note that at this point I'd been driving for 6 years and had logged probably 90,000 miles, much of it in the snow. The problem was that I was inexperienced with that vehicle and fueled with a bit of remaining young man testosterone invincibility... I'd bought the Dakota myself with my own money... -Curt -- Kaleb C. Striplin/Claremore, OK (2x) 91 300D 2.5 Turbo, 90 420SEL, 89 560SEL, 87 300SDL, 85 380SE 5.0 Euro, 84 190D 2.2, 81 240D, 76 240D, 76 300D, 72 250C, 69 250 http://www.okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or just sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be reduced substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, and not issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can lose it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing something stupid. Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs and Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a very minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a driving test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize that they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them loose without proper training and in too much of a car? That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by a driver that was never taught how to keep from losing it. Its wrong to pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the driver in the skid did something wrong. Werner - Original Message - From: R A Bennell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 6:09 PM Subject: [MBZ] what are your odds? A bit of a gruesome subject but on my mind these past few days. My next door neighbors' daughter-in-law was killed last Friday morning on her way to work. She was driving a Ford Escort and was hit by an F250 4X4 that lost it and spun accross the median and right into the driver's side of her car. A fraction of a second either way and the truck should have passed in front of her or behind her. I have to wonder if she had been driving a more robust vehicle, if she might have had a better chance. Can't help but think of that little video of the old Mercedes being crash tested. Maybe it was just her time and it wouldn't have mattered what she was driving? A bit of a sad thing for everyone though. She was 34 and she and her husband have a toddler who is not yet 3. Randy
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
I have to wonder if she had been driving a more robust vehicle, if she might have had a better chance. That is the reason Marshall Booth is on this list. Perhaps he will elaborate once again. Rick Knoble '85 300 CD '87 190 DT
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
Howdy - Have had several kinds of things like that lately - a second or even a split second either way can mean the difference between seeing the next sunrise or not. It's like long distance sailors crossing the Pacific - the largest piece of water on earth - and small sailboats moving at 5 knots occassionally occupy the same space at the same time as a large cargo ship doing 15 knots - the cargo ship never knew anything happened and one more sailboat goes missing after not arriving at the expected time with never an explanation. . I very strongly believe MBs strength in a crash have enabled a lot of people to walk away who normally wouldn't. I've walked a few junkyards looking at MBs and other makes - I don't recall seeing *any* MB damaged so badly the doors couldn't be opened. In many cases all the window glass was still intact. I'm referring mostly to older MBs - say, pre '95 - haven't been wandering junkyards lately - so I don't know if things have changed with newer cars. Also, the use of air bags has saved a lot of lives. My wife is one of them. It's also the reason we bought a W124 with airbags. Werner's suggestion about better/tougher licensing is something that's long over due. But todays over-indulgent parents will never allow it. They see driving as a right and not a privilige. As soon as a state proposes more stringent drivers ed or more difficult testing the lawyers will decend upon them. Everybody from the ACLU to the AAA and the SPCA will attack any plan to require real driving training. There's an excellent History Channel special about the Autobahn - the question about an equal type of highway in the US came up and the comparision about the lengthy licensing requirements in Europe as well as expensive, costing as much as $2000 Vs less than $20 here. Quite a disparity. That's also the reason many people take driving so lightly. Heck, it takes as many as 3 DUIs before a persons license is suspended. Someone has to die before someone actually goes to jail. Then, a prison term of 5 years for *killing* someone is not unusual. My brother-in-law was killed in '04 when he was hit by a drunk on the way home from *celebrating* his birthday. There was a great State Farm commercial on TV a few years ago about an agent refusing to insure a 16 year old who was given a new Camaro for his birthday - he said more kids are killed/injured in Firebirds and Camaro's than any other and he said the parents might not want to hear it but kids that age are not mature enough to manage 300 or 400+ HP. And they end up dead against a tree one night. Very sorry to hear about your neighbors D-I-L -- their life will never be the same. Larry T (67 MGB, 74 911, 78 240D, 91 300D) www.youroil.net for Oil Analysis and Weber Parts Test Results http://members.rennlist.com/oil PORSCHE POSTERS! youroil.net Weber Carb Info http://members.rennlist.com/webercarbs Porsche Road Test http://members.rennlist.com/roadtest/ . - Original Message - From: R A Bennell [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 6:09 PM Subject: [MBZ] what are your odds? A bit of a gruesome subject but on my mind these past few days. My next door neighbors' daughter-in-law was killed last Friday morning on her way to work. She was driving a Ford Escort and was hit by an F250 4X4 that lost it and spun accross the median and right into the driver's side of her car. A fraction of a second either way and the truck should have passed in front of her or behind her. I have to wonder if she had been driving a more robust vehicle, if she might have had a better chance. Can't help but think of that little video of the old Mercedes being crash tested. Maybe it was just her time and it wouldn't have mattered what she was driving? A bit of a sad thing for everyone though. She was 34 and she and her husband have a toddler who is not yet 3. Randy ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
In any kind of bad weather a pickup truck is about the WORST vehicle to have. The pickups of today are especially bad. Big engines, light rear ends and bad gas mileage. But wait you say, how could bad gas mileage make pickup trucks more dangerous? I know this one because I've been there. Bad gas mileage gets worse in four wheel drive so some pickup truck drivers will try to get away without being in four wheel drive in conditions where they really should be using it. A pickup truck in slippery conditions in 2wd is downright dangerous, especially an automatic transmission truck, especially an overpowered automatic transmissioned truck (which is like 90% of pickups being made today). Don't get me wrong I love having a v8 in my Dodge Dakota but having taken on a guardrail while traveling sideways at 60mph up Rt 95 at the tail end of a snowstorm I've learned to be vary wary... We were going up a fairly small hill, anybody who's driven 95 in southern Maine knows its made up of mostly gently rolling hills. The snow had quit an hour or so before and the roads were mostly clear so I'd shifted into 2wd to save some gas. I was young and dumb. I was going a bit faster than was prudent (young and dumb) even though the back end of the truck had kicked out a bit a couple times before. So finally the back end kicked out so bad I couldn't get it back. The big problem was that I was used to driving a manual transmission which doesn't shift by itself. On those hills the auto would shift and the increase torque would send us skittering. I've since learned to manually take it out of overdrive in those conditions. Oh and I drive slower now too and gas mileage be dammed I keep it in 4wd. Anyway my story ends pretty well, we slid down the crown of the road into the guardrail which was fortunately covered in snow. Bounced off, slid 180 degrees and came to a stop without getting hit by traffic. The bumper was dented up and some plastic trim damaged but still intact. I've left it that way as a reminder... Note that at this point I'd been driving for 6 years and had logged probably 90,000 miles, much of it in the snow. The problem was that I was inexperienced with that vehicle and fueled with a bit of remaining young man testosterone invincibility... I'd bought the Dakota myself with my own money... -Curt Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:14:43 -0400 From: Werner Fehlauer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or just sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be reduced substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, and not issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can lose it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing something stupid. Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs and Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a very minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a driving test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize that they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them loose without proper training and in too much of a car? That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by a driver that was never taught how to keep from losing it. Its wrong to pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the driver in the skid did something wrong. Werner - Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel to find your fit. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Mar 14 14:18:00 2007 Received: from web32812.mail.mud.yahoo.com ([68.142.206.42]) by server8.arterytc8.net with smtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) id 1HRUIh-0002E2-Pl for mercedes@okiebenz.com; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 14:18:00 + Received: (qmail 95867 invoked by uid 60001); 14 Mar 2007 14:17:54 - X-YMail-OSG: LT1wWoYVM1mLraDhu.opEOVHPDZh_HeCWgi3XtvDtOpfxKff7LB8Xa24liTZwxaQU.SWvQzCYJmsSHdpEV0iOApdOEorruDZM3V3hVZJeKDTzVxmwwPuH3O.QP1lS0cKHT1_9ZtjMKycjaA- Received: from [198.51.119.130] by web32812.mail.mud.yahoo.com via HTTP; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:17:54 PDT Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:17:54 -0700 (PDT) From: Curt Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Diesel List mercedes@okiebenz.com MIME-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-Antivirus-Scanner: Clean mail though you should still use an Antivirus Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.9
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
Simple solution.Throw some sand bags in the back. No more light rear end. Grew up driving 2wd Chevy trucks. My Dad didn't believe there was any need for a 4WD truck. I'll take a RWD anything with a little weight in the rear and good snow tires over a FrontWD of any sort. That's just my preference though. Mike - Original Message - From: Curt Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Diesel List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 10:12 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? In any kind of bad weather a pickup truck is about the WORST vehicle to have. The pickups of today are especially bad. Big engines, light rear ends and bad gas mileage. But wait you say, how could bad gas mileage make pickup trucks more dangerous? I know this one because I've been there. Bad gas mileage gets worse in four wheel drive so some pickup truck drivers will try to get away without being in four wheel drive in conditions where they really should be using it. A pickup truck in slippery conditions in 2wd is downright dangerous, especially an automatic transmission truck, especially an overpowered automatic transmissioned truck (which is like 90% of pickups being made today). Don't get me wrong I love having a v8 in my Dodge Dakota but having taken on a guardrail while traveling sideways at 60mph up Rt 95 at the tail end of a snowstorm I've learned to be vary wary... We were going up a fairly small hill, anybody who's driven 95 in southern Maine knows its made up of mostly gently rolling hills. The snow had quit an hour or so before and the roads were mostly clear so I'd shifted into 2wd to save some gas. I was young and dumb. I was going a bit faster than was prudent (young and dumb) even though the back end of the truck had kicked out a bit a couple times before. So finally the back end kicked out so bad I couldn't get it back. The big problem was that I was used to driving a manual transmission which doesn't shift by itself. On those hills the auto would shift and the increase torque would send us skittering. I've since learned to manually take it out of overdrive in those conditions. Oh and I drive slower now too and gas mileage be dammed I keep it in 4wd. Anyway my story ends pretty well, we slid down the crown of the road into the guardrail which was fortunately covered in snow. Bounced off, slid 180 degrees and came to a stop without getting hit by traffic. The bumper was dented up and some plastic trim damaged but still intact. I've left it that way as a reminder... Note that at this point I'd been driving for 6 years and had logged probably 90,000 miles, much of it in the snow. The problem was that I was inexperienced with that vehicle and fueled with a bit of remaining young man testosterone invincibility... I'd bought the Dakota myself with my own money... -Curt Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:14:43 -0400 From: Werner Fehlauer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or just sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be reduced substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, and not issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can lose it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing something stupid. Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs and Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a very minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a driving test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize that they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them loose without proper training and in too much of a car? That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by a driver that was never taught how to keep from losing it. Its wrong to pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the driver in the skid did something wrong. Werner - Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000 destinations on Yahoo! Travel to find your fit. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
Back in the 50s on the coast of NC, we would use old 2WD Fords and Chevys to drag the 4WD Jeeps out of the sand on the beach. I made my spending money that way. I have NEVER had a need for a 4WD yet, and I have been driving for 50 years. Tom Potter -Original Message- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mike Canfield Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 9:51 AM To: Mercedes Discussion List Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? Simple solution.Throw some sand bags in the back. No more light rear end. Grew up driving 2wd Chevy trucks. My Dad didn't believe there was any need for a 4WD truck. I'll take a RWD anything with a little weight in the rear and good snow tires over a FrontWD of any sort. That's just my preference though. Mike - Original Message - From: Curt Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Diesel List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 10:12 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? In any kind of bad weather a pickup truck is about the WORST vehicle to have. The pickups of today are especially bad. Big engines, light rear ends and bad gas mileage. But wait you say, how could bad gas mileage make pickup trucks more dangerous? I know this one because I've been there. Bad gas mileage gets worse in four wheel drive so some pickup truck drivers will try to get away without being in four wheel drive in conditions where they really should be using it. A pickup truck in slippery conditions in 2wd is downright dangerous, especially an automatic transmission truck, especially an overpowered automatic transmissioned truck (which is like 90% of pickups being made today). Don't get me wrong I love having a v8 in my Dodge Dakota but having taken on a guardrail while traveling sideways at 60mph up Rt 95 at the tail end of a snowstorm I've learned to be vary wary... We were going up a fairly small hill, anybody who's driven 95 in southern Maine knows its made up of mostly gently rolling hills. The snow had quit an hour or so before and the roads were mostly clear so I'd shifted into 2wd to save some gas. I was young and dumb. I was going a bit faster than was prudent (young and dumb) even though the back end of the truck had kicked out a bit a couple times before. So finally the back end kicked out so bad I couldn't get it back. The big problem was that I was used to driving a manual transmission which doesn't shift by itself. On those hills the auto would shift and the increase torque would send us skittering. I've since learned to manually take it out of overdrive in those conditions. Oh and I drive slower now too and gas mileage be dammed I keep it in 4wd. Anyway my story ends pretty well, we slid down the crown of the road into the guardrail which was fortunately covered in snow. Bounced off, slid 180 degrees and came to a stop without getting hit by traffic. The bumper was dented up and some plastic trim damaged but still intact. I've left it that way as a reminder... Note that at this point I'd been driving for 6 years and had logged probably 90,000 miles, much of it in the snow. The problem was that I was inexperienced with that vehicle and fueled with a bit of remaining young man testosterone invincibility... I'd bought the Dakota myself with my own money... -Curt Date: Tue, 13 Mar 2007 19:14:43 -0400 From: Werner Fehlauer [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original There will always be some risk in any activity, driving, flying, or just sitting at home. But the danger on our highways could really be reduced substantially IF we required drivers to actually LEARN how to drive, and not issue licenses out of cracker jack boxes. It takes about 2 years in Europe to get a driver's license, and you can lose it for a long time and pay heavy fines if you are caught doing something stupid. Here in the USA, in some states we have 16 and 17 year olds (given BMWs and Caddy SUVs by indulgent parents) on the road legally after passing a very minimal written test, and they may or may not even have to pass a driving test. And that test is usually more about parking than knowing how to safely drive at legal speeds. One has to wonder if the parents realize that they are seriously jeopardizing their children's lives by turning them loose without proper training and in too much of a car? That spinning 3/4 ton truck was probably either driven carelessly or by a driver that was never taught how to keep from losing it. Its wrong to pre-judge without knowing the facts, but IMO, 9 times out of 10, the driver in the skid did something wrong. Werner - Now that's room service! Choose from over 150,000 hotels in 45,000
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
It takes ALOT of weight to tame my Dakota. The best thing I've used so far for winter weight is a snowmobile. 400# and if you get stuck you've got alternate transportation... Not real practical to keep in there though and its no good for gas mileage, the normal disappointing 14mpg goes to around 10. Better to just slip 'er into 4wd when its bad out. I think a manual transmission would be better, or the v6 ahead of the auto. When the v8 gives up if the body is still worth anything I might investigate a 4BT swap, less HP but way more torque. Your dad apparently never went offroad much. My camp is a 4wd manditory place for most of the year. 2wd vehicles are too low generally, although I bet I could take a 240D in there if it had good tires. I walked my '83 240D into some pretty surprising places. From about April when the snow melts until late june our camp road will be pretty sloppy although this year I'm going to cut some new drainage. Hopefully it'll just drain the water and not take all the raod with it too... -Curt Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:50:40 -0400 From: Mike Canfield [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original Simple solution.Throw some sand bags in the back. No more light rear end. Grew up driving 2wd Chevy trucks. My Dad didn't believe there was any need for a 4WD truck. I'll take a RWD anything with a little weight in the rear and good snow tires over a FrontWD of any sort. That's just my preference though. Mike - Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food Drink QA. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Mar 14 15:58:42 2007 Received: from web32801.mail.mud.yahoo.com ([68.142.206.31]) by server8.arterytc8.net with smtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) id 1HRVsA-0003u7-4w for mercedes@okiebenz.com; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:58:42 + Received: (qmail 10728 invoked by uid 60001); 14 Mar 2007 15:58:36 - Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] X-YMail-OSG: ndaH6HAVM1mZpU_oN2wDbNK2XlB_ImZYYtpSfTEgfxjo54_o8WcAj0WkM04GTTMiuUhTGnPGgjEdnN_mgnnkEHpfBBkCBkhwkerd.E4LEPgaq2qqG8H35NzNAFyvIyQeGhd5JIAA0CarhLuvIcziO5qCJQ-- Received: from [198.51.119.130] by web32801.mail.mud.yahoo.com via HTTP; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:58:36 PDT Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 08:58:36 -0700 (PDT) From: Curt Raymond [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Diesel List mercedes@okiebenz.com MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Antivirus-Scanner: Clean mail though you should still use an Antivirus Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Content-Filtered-By: Mailman/MimeDel 2.1.9.cp2 Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? X-BeenThere: mercedes@okiebenz.com X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.9.cp2 Precedence: list Reply-To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com List-Id: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes_okiebenz.com.okiebenz.com List-Unsubscribe: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Archive: http://okiebenz.com/pipermail/mercedes_okiebenz.com List-Post: mailto:mercedes@okiebenz.com List-Help: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] List-Subscribe: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com, mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] X-List-Received-Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:58:42 - I belive you, people hit sand and get stupid fast... Apparently you only go sensible places. I've been lots of places a 2wd would never get to... Although with a differntial locker a 2wd will go lots of places an unlocked 4wd will not. Thats part of my plan when I build a Jeep station wagon. 4bt under the hood, airlockers in the diffs, 31 tires so it doesn't look jacked and goofy. -Curt Date: Wed, 14 Mar 2007 10:12:02 -0500 From: Potter, Tom E [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [MBZ] what are your odds? To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Back in the 50s on the coast of NC, we would use old 2WD Fords and Chevys to drag the 4WD Jeeps out of the sand on the beach. I made my spending money that way. I have NEVER had a need for a 4WD yet, and I have been driving for 50 years. Tom Potter - Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. From [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wed Mar 14 15:59:10 2007 Received: from rwcrmhc12.comcast.net ([216.148.227.152]) by server8.arterytc8.net with esmtp (Exim 4.63) (envelope-from [EMAIL PROTECTED]) id 1HRVsc-0003wi-6A for mercedes@okiebenz.com; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:59:10 + Received: from aceraspire (c-69-243-211-95.hsd1.va.comcast.net[69.243.211.95]) by comcast.net (rwcrmhc12) with SMTP id 20070314155904m1200imtc8e; Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:59:04 + Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: LarryT
Re: [MBZ] what are your odds?
Well, I obviously already sent it to the MBZ list Mea culpa! So, opinions solicited from all about how to improve driver education! Be careful, Chuck Phoenix AZ
[MBZ] what are your odds?
A bit of a gruesome subject but on my mind these past few days. My next door neighbors' daughter-in-law was killed last Friday morning on her way to work. She was driving a Ford Escort and was hit by an F250 4X4 that lost it and spun accross the median and right into the driver's side of her car. A fraction of a second either way and the truck should have passed in front of her or behind her. I have to wonder if she had been driving a more robust vehicle, if she might have had a better chance. Can't help but think of that little video of the old Mercedes being crash tested. Maybe it was just her time and it wouldn't have mattered what she was driving? A bit of a sad thing for everyone though. She was 34 and she and her husband have a toddler who is not yet 3. Randy
