could teens behind the wheel be any more idiotic?

[i_baked_cookies]

to start off, lemme say that im 16; but unlike most teenagers who drive, i know whats going on.

okay, today was a rainy day. the roads were soaked (no puddles), and it wasnt raining at the moment. I was waiting in line to get out of the parking lot, and i was behind this kid in an Acura Legend. He the kind of kid who thinks hes cool driving around in an Acura, so he always speeds out of the lot, screeching and whatnot. so i pull out of the lot behind him, and we head off about 500 feet down the street to the very tight onramp to the highway. the recommended speed limit around it is 20, and while of course noone does 20 around it, keep in mind the roads were wet and the streets crowded. So, before he gets on the onramp, he slows to like 10 to get distance between him and the guy in front of him; and at the same time, making me and the people behind me slow down pretty hard. then he speeds up rather quickly, to about 30-33. i didnt ride his arse, but i kept up at a pretty safe distance. now, i know my volvo can do the off-ramp at 35 in the rain. i am well aware of my cars capabilities, so i went in the turn as fast as he did- 35. then i noticed his car's tail end start to wobble a little, then alot- and i know he felt it. so... what does he do? gives it more gas. absolutely retarded. then his tires loose grip for like 3 seconds... but he doest give it a touch on the brake to regain control... he doesnt even let off the gas. he thinks his little front wheel drive car can pull his sliding arse around the turn.... but obvioulsy he failed physics class, and common sense class as well. so his tail end turns all the way around, he spins out completely: his headlights in my face. by this time i had almost stopped.... i slowed down once i saw his tail end wobble. he continues to spin into the center divider (which is like a 10 inch high concrete sidewalk thingy with plants and stuff in it), bottoms out his suspension, and taps a road sign.

what makes me mad, though, that he intended to go into the turn that fast and try to get his car to slide. there were tons of cars all over the place, and if it werent for that divider, he could have killed someone. its exactly what you see on the news when kids crash their cars into trees and stuff... only i never expected to acutally see some kid try to pull a move that could put him into a tree or whatver. i think kids these days need gain some common sense and stop trying to show off.

any related stories?

[Warewolf50]

Yea there are some idiots out there that kinda ruin the reputation of all of us responsible teen drivers.

[Mango]

So make a thread about it.

[DiSoRdeR]

Yes I agree that some people should not have a license, and how they get It I do not know... I ride my bike right now, and I constantly see people either getting into or almost getting into an accident. I also see alot of people who can cause alot of accidents, Ive almost been hit numerous times because people simply do not look.

[Mr.mike]

i was at a party friday night and we had nothing to do so we all went for a walk and we got pretty far away so we had a mother come and pick 3 people with cars (they left me out ) to come pick the rest of us up
This is all backroads too which are 25 mph limit and it had just been raining out and the streets were covered with leaves, so they come down the road all doing between 60-80 and almost hit us, the first guy went sliding and barely missed taking out a mailbox
and yeah

[Kevn 419]

My friend is a horrible driver. The day he got his licsense he got into a wreck, 2 weeks later another one, another one not too long after that, then just recently he ran into the wall of a gas station.

[Warewolf50]

The only wreck i have been in was i was driving home a lil past curfew ( which i know is irresponsible, but i was doing the speed limit, i even had my cruise control on). Well on the highway on the way home i was doing 65 and got rear ended by a guy doing over 100, no other traffic on the road, and 4 lanes open to the left of me. He jsut came flying up behind me and SLAM.

[i_baked_cookies]

there should be a national committee to ban all moronic drivers until they have undergone some serious common-sense training.

[Chipper]

there should be a national committee to ban all moronic people in general until they have undergone some serious common-sense training.

Fixed.

But I must say, as soon as I am able to I am going for my learners, becuase I want to spend as much time behind the wheel as possible before I get my license.

[Lethargic]

You know.... idiotic as it may sound, what he did was almost correct in a REAR WHEEL DRIVE car. In that case, accelerating would have been perfect for what he was attempting, which I assume was pulling a drift ala Initial D. Alas, in a front wheel, heavy as all else Legend, that must have been comedy. Good find.

And for those of you saying teenagers are retarded and can't drive, go die. Seriously. I hate your drivel, and you aren't going to change anything. Save yourself the righteous indignation. If anything, get all the people that go too slow off the roads

EDIT: I looked it up, and all Legends after 91' are FR, meaning rear wheel. Your "idiot" was doing the right thing to compensate. He just did it either too late or incorrectly. In a rear wheel drive vehicle, accelerating will push you through the corner, and doesn't carry with it the danger that comes with hitting the brakes when you don't have traction. (you know, the whole spinning, crashing, dying thing) I'm not saying he did it correctly, but at least he had the right idea. I think you're wrong here, unless there is more involved. Now don't go hating on people based on their cars. Be glad he ruined his ride and not his AND yours, as him braking suddenly would have. I don't think your volvo would have had the stopping power to stay away from him if he decellerated too fast.

Anyways, I may be way off, but unless it was a way-old legend, he more likely trying to save himself than do an ultra-cool drift.

[Konigballer]

"You know.... idiotic as it may sound, what he did was almost correct in a REAR WHEEL DRIVE car."



thats true, and I'm sure that moron knew that from playing Grand Turismo......unfortunately, his dinky front wheel drive car is not the $500,000 Viper GT race car in the game. oops....

[drg]

Actually it's the other way around. If it was indeed a front-wheel drive car, the proper thing to do when the *** gets loose is to gas it. It IS best to use the front wheels to "pull" the rest of the car through the turn. It's half-***, but racing FWD is half-*** to begin with.

Now in a rear-wheel drive car, gassing it when the *** gets loose is the opposite of what you should do, which is slack gas to keep the rear end from coming around. Alternatively you could countersteer and enter a drift situation, but you need to be going fast enough to get the front wheels to break traction too, and you have to be skilled enough to ride the limit. From what it sounds like, this was not the case.

In no case should you use the brake to correct anything except in a last, last ditch effort -- that's a quick way to get sideways (which this guy did anyway).

So here's what I surmise, assuming this was a RWD Legend: 1) The guy was trying to drift the car "Grand Turismo" style or whatever, and, lacking the proper skill level, lost control of the *** of the car. 2) Being handicapped by prior experience "racing" a FWD car, this guy thought he should stay in it when the *** got loose rather than modulating the throttle to help steer the car. Instant spin-out.

*** = "back-end"

[Lohman446]

. so... what does he do? gives it more gas. absolutely retarded. then his tires loose grip for like 3 seconds... but he doest give it a touch on the brake to regain control... he doesnt even let off the gas. he thinks his little front wheel drive car can pull his sliding arse around the turn.... ?

Im hoping your Volvo has ABS with this style thinking when it snows. Yes the kid was an idiot to get in the situation in the first place. But when you start to loose it to a slide one of the worst things you can do is use the brakes. Braking on a car is not 50/50 front to rear, its more to the range of 70/30 front to rear. This means the front end slows quicker - if the rear end is not behind the front end and already loose this can just help it come around quicker. Contrary to what you may think, in a front wheel drive car (which despite the comments in the thread I beleive the majority of Legends on the road are today) it is often necessary to "pull" the vehicle out of a slide with the front wheels - the same theory as when your pulling a trailer and it starts to fishtail. Your also comparing your driving style in a Volvo, that if at all modern has some of the premier safety features, ABS, and traction control systems available and I am willing to bet good tires. to what was likely an older Legend without them.

Contrary to the idea "Im 16 Im not like other 16 year olds I know everything" which is not what you said but a lot of the attitude I found its best to look at others mistakes, find out why they made them, and try to avoid them, same with your own. If you understand why people do, try, beleive things you can learn a lot from them, even if you disagree in the end.

I learned a lot when I finally grew up and realized I was just like everyone else, had a lot to learn and did not know everything. Its something everyone has to do at some point.