964Patrick

Today,

Had to go for some groceries after work. Just for dinner, nothing fancy. Run into my neighbor and have a quick chat. I get back to my car and hop in. Start the car, and relieved that there are no weird noises this time. With some easy of mind I back out and drive off. While I'm just on my way, a black Audi comes round the corner rather wide.

I'm thinking to myself, "another lazy driver". No matter. I'm expecting the driver to quickly return to its own side of the road.

... But it doesn't. So I brake, but the Audi is still not returning to the right side, getting too close for comfort!

As I cant go any way, I'm getting visions of busted bumpers, changing headlights and worse, dealing with insurance companies.

Just before running right into me, I suddenly get noticed and the Audi quickly pulls aside. The driver waves at me in apology, apparently just as shocked as I am!

Of course I'm not mad, she really did not notice me (probably distracted), but it sure made my heart skip a beat!

So, what recent experience made you skip a beat?


Patrick

akmarocco

Backing out of my garage with the minivan, in a hurry. Forgot that I left the 964 in the driveway, had just been washed.. My wife didnt notice either, too distracted by the kids. I turned my head and saw the 964's side view mirror at the last moment, less than an inch from the van's side rear panel. I almost soiled myself. Imagine bashing your own pride and joy. You can imagine my wife's snickering, as im always on her for her inattention while at the wheel.

altarchsa

Showing off for the young interior designer co-worker in the passenger seat of my pristine '75 911S Targa.

We worked together at a Houston architect's office. It was all her fault - she wanted to rush back to the office after a morning presentation to meet her boyfriend for lunch. She gave me the excuse to punch it (the car) as I pulled off the main feeder onto a secondary street, a long block from the office.

Just one car in front of me on the narrow 4 lane residential condo street. As I hit about 55 (speed limit 30), I swerved out to pass on the right in the outside lane. No problem.......until I saw the PARKED CAR on the curb immediately in front of me!!!!!!!!

I slammed on the brakes, but there was not enough room to stop. Luckily the car that had been in front of me, and which was now on my left, didn't react. They kept going the same speed, oblivious to the crash that was about to happen at their right side door. Well, Porsche brakes worked once again. They slowed me just enough, and the car on my left continued ahead just enough, for me to swerve back in behind it at about 40 mph, missing the parked car by no more than 6 inches.

I'll bet that designer still remembers that morning as well as I do. After all, she had an even better view of what almost happened on her side of the car.

I don't drive like that any more. Unfortunately, I don't drive like that any less, except that I never do it where other people or cars could be involved.

Porsche brakes, there is no substitute. And the 964's are even better than the old Targa.

tbennett017

Similar story.. I was leaving a meeting in a coastal Oregon town (Astoria) Foggy, damp, and dark. The rear windows of the car wouldn't clear off no matter what, so I rolled down the windows and did my best. Backing out was a complex set of turns back a driveway full of parked cars. While focusing out my driver's side on the Subaru to my left, I sensed something to the right, the client's brand new 330Ci, and I couldn't have slipped a dollar bill between the cars, as I had just barely missed the entire side of his car.

Ack..no traded paint at all.. It turns out that the client had left a notebook in the car that slipped on the "all windows down+ open sunroof+ button.. sometime during the rainy night.. and the car was totalled anyway.. inches of water in the car.. but fortunately had nothing to do with my near miss.... I guess the gods had it out for him that night...

MisterRisky

I was riding in a land cruiser on a back road in Ethiopia about 30 miles from Adas Ababa . I had a local driver, I was in the passenger seat and an Australian bloke was in the back seat. This local "bus" (mini van with 20 people + 5 chickens and 3 goats) comes hauling *** toward us. The bus is all over the road bouncing dang near from ditch to ditch and I hold my breath as we meet thinking he is about to side swipe us. He corrects just in time so that the mirror on the land cruiser slaps the mirror on the bus resulting in shattering plastic as the bus' mirror shatters and goes flying. Our driver pulls over to deal with this and I start getting nervous. A few local kids are gathering around to see what happens. The bus backs up and 5 angry guys surround our land cruiser. My driver is about 70 so I whisper to the Australian that if this turns violent I have a pocket full of small bills which I am going to throw up in the air as a distraction and he and I are going to run like hell to the local police station about a mile back. The driver of the bus clearly thought the accident was on the fault of our driver and they begin a heated argument. One of the passenger from the bus picks up a hunk of pavement about the size of a basketball and begins waving it over the land cruiser as if he is going to throw it through the wind screen. I am fingering the bills in my pocket trying to determine if I run when they grab my driver or if I weight for an actual punch. Finally my driver produces some Ethiopian currency and pays the driver and everyone gets much calmer. After we pull away and our butts lost that pucker feeling I asked him how much he had to pay to get out of that. He did the calculation in his head, rubbed his chin, and said, "about two dollars and fifty cents in US dollars."

ChuckG

Last Saturday about 5:45AM - it is still dark. I am on my way to Cars and Coffee in Irvine; I pull onto the South 110 at 60th street in Highland Park. This is one of the oldest stretches of freeway in the country - narrow lanes, twisty, no onramps (stop signs control access). Actually a fun stretch of road to drive the Porsche on when traffic is light. As I round a rather tight corner, I change lanes into the center of the three lanes to allow others the opportunity to get on the freeway (it is tough entering without an onramp to get up to speed). Just as I have changed lanes I notice a dark object whoosh by in the right lane (the lane I had just been occupying). As I pass the object I realize it is a rather substantial weight/exercise bench! If I had waited just moments more before changing lanes, I would have run straight into the bench.

deep_uv

Once, years ago towing a 20 foot bassboat with a 1/2 ton Extended cab 4WD pickup, I had a harrowing tank slapper caused by an emergency lane change that used up all 5 lanes of an undivided highway. I was traveling in the right lane taking a look at the mirrors and suddenly my wife blurts out, "What are you doing?!" I look up to see a minivan in front of me going 10mph in the right lane with me barreling down on it. I instantly steer to the left missing it by inches. I remember waiting for the trailer to get past it thinking, "It's gonnna hit, it's gonna hit." Then suddenly I was going sideways to my left side. I remember thinking, "Hmmm, do you steer into it while towing like you normally would?" I was already doing it and the answer is yes. I see cars coming my direction, they are running off the road to their right avoid me. Then suddenly the trailer whips to the right side. Then back to the left, back to the right, back to the left. Each time I keep steering into like I knew what I was doing. Each time I see cars swerving to avoid me. Each swing is a little less violent and finally I get ahold of it and get pulled over. How I got it back under control, I'll never know. I just knew we were dead the whole time. Even my wife who is totally unimpressed with anything I do looked over at me and calmly said, "Now THAT was impressive."

Cody D

I was driving my girlfriends moms car down the highway in pitch black, my girlfriend in the passenger seat, her mom and grandparents in the back, everyone but me sleeping. It was late and I was tired, all of a sudden I saw legs nothing else, it didn't click for a second, then I swerved very hard at the last minute waking everyone up, barely missing two moose, they were huge, I really think that we all would have died.

Moose are big... http://www.funnysnaps.com/imoosecar.html

biglicks

a little different, living in France I have UK reg plates. I was following the usual round of Renaults and Peugots along a 90km/h stretch, at approx 100km/h. I decided as the road split into two lanes, I could overtake and lather off down the road like a bat out of hell. When over-taking I hit 170km/h, and still pushing. At this point my heart stopped when the unmarked car switched on his blue flashiing light (in France they confiscate cars if you are over the speed limit by a large margin).

I had one of those, should I realy put my foot down moments, and sensibly decided I best stop and take my medicin. Fortunately I think he either had other things to do, or didn't want to deal with an English speaker. When I stopped he swtiched off his lights and drove on past me.

Needless to say I drove home at the speed limit after that, until the following morning that is.

Steve

kalujo

Similar experience to you Steve,whilst following the same convoy of Renaults & Peugeots along a 90kph stretch,road opened up in to two lanes (still 90kph!)went passed probably 6 or 7 cars at 150kph followed by a white Mondeo estate,he followed for a couple of K's,then proceded to stick the blue flashing light on the roof.Now my car is French registered so I was hit with a 90€ fine,but because I still have my British licence,no points.
Marc.

demonfish

i cut it very close with an overtaking manouvre, to the point where i really had to pull it in quick, i must have had a few feet between the two lanes of traffic to move in, when i went back past the day after, i could see the marks where i'd nearly lost the back end in the swerve

scary moments

pat056

Coming over a hill at 75 and seeing a cop.

Getting pulled by a cop at 82 in a 55 and having him let you go with a tongue lashing because:
"I know these Porsches can go this speed pretty safely but 55 IS the limit"

biglicks

very lucky your local law appreciate the cars we drive

altarchsa

If we're talking Police Officer comments....

There was the time my 18 year old daughter called me in Boca Raton from San Antonio and said she had waited long enough for her boyfriend to ask her to marry him. She was ready to come "home", which was what I had been waiting to hear for months. She had inherited my little Fly Yellow 924 that I had restored for her Senior year in high school, but I wanted to go get her and help her drive to Florida. I wanted her to know how much I wanted her to come home.

To tell the end of the story first, I got the call at work in Boca Raton at 9:30 and was waiting for her in San Antonio when she got off work at 5:00. It involved making the flight arrangements, driving 12 miles home to Delray Beach, packing, then driving back past my office to Miami, 50 miles away to make the flight. (Yes, this was pre 9/11.)

The interesting Police Officer comment was from a motorcycle cop who was sitting under a tree, radar gun in hand. I had screeched from 85 (in a 35) to a dead stop right beside him. He barely had to move. We both knew he had me dead to rights and I think he was a little appreciative that he didn't have to get on his bike and start chasing me.

His comment was, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first?". He said "I know you were doing at least 85, but I only clocked you at 55. It took the fine from being a "take out a loan to pay it" to an "empty the checking account to pay it".

The other interesting thing was that he had caught me half a block from the entrance to the subdivision. My back yard was literally 30' away from the point he stopped me. When he asked where I lived, I pointed "Right there".

frankvan

Didn't skip a beat, I think the ol' ticker actually came to a standstill...

A few years back was stopped at the red light at a highway intersection (ie, the cars on the highway are going 100+ kmh). LARGE pickup truck stopped next to me in the left lane blocking view of crossing highway traffic. Light turns green. I start to go and was going to do my usual brisk acceleration, but for some reason -I think the fact that the pickup truck didn't move forward at all - I let up on the gas. Next thing I see about two inches from the front bumper is a wall of sheet metal as a Semi blows through the red light at somewhat considerably more than the speed limit. Not that his speed mattered, if I had gone my usual speed I wouldn't be here writing this note.
Drove somewhat calmly the rest of the way home, hugged the kids, kissed the wife and phoned the trucking company to give the driver a blast of ****. COmpany said they couldn't do anything because I didn't catch the license plate number (sorry, I was too busy converting to any sort of religion at that moment).
Now I always pause and look before I proceed through any intersection (call me old). Often I'll let the car or truck in the lane next to me go half way into the intersection before I "give 'er".