Rants about the Thursday Night Cruise + Mid atl. Cara.

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by RaayRaay

Well for the blue car that started the crash to end up underneath the TRANS4MR, he wasn't paying much attention thats for sure, especially when everyone else managed to stop.

Maybe something in the water up there in canada gives you the power of foresight, but when the car in front of you never puts on its break lights and just swerves into the other lane at the last second leaving a car at a dead stop In front of you while traveling at highway speeds it makes it kind of tough...

As many others have said, if you were on the cruise, you know how close the calls were.

[markssylver]

There was a lot of close calls especially in the construction zone with no shoulder an the traffic going from 70 to 0 in the blink of an eye I almost tapped the person in front of me as to passing on the right and getting back in I did it to get from behind people, that seemed to keep p hitting the brake for no reason why ride behind someone who keeps hitting the brakes if there is a free and clear lane beside you you might have seen me as most people called me by my tag HVYHTTR

[MS3DALE]

Originally Posted by AdamZ

Those hazard lights though...wow. Coming from an ex-leo... that was ABSOLUTELY unacceptable. The danger we brought to the high way was outrageous. I witness 3 very near misses including one of my own.

Then when regular motorist got behind some Camaros with the hazards on...that was even worse. I saw many many close calls.

I think this was just a mistake on someones part. They just didn't think of what could happen. I understand. It was probably the IPD.

Agreed,Hazard lights should NOT be used for traveling at highway speeds as everyone was doing during the cruise,they should only be used if your stopped along the road,or traveling at a slow rate of speed on the highway (IE-moving at 30 mph on a highway with a speed limit of 55-60 mph)

[TAG UR IT]

Looks like we have two "cruises" we're talking about here.

Can't comment on the mid atl cruise, but I will more than comment on the fest cruise.

Yes...Mike, Joe, and I did talk. Never again. Not on an expressway. Not like that. Our TX crew really knows how to drive (not in any way, shape, or form poking any fingers at anyone else...promise). But seriously, our Texas crew really knows how to drive. We NEVER have close calls. Why? We ALL travel with walkie talkies. We give distance to the guys in front of us. If someone cuts us off, it affects ONE of us....because the others have enough distance behind them that they don't necessarily have to hit the brakes. They just let off the accelerator. Is this type of driving really that difficult to do? Of course not!

This is why I wasn't worried with the fest cruise. "If people use common sense, we'll be okay." Well, .... ....yeah, moving on. Apparently, some folks think they have to ride the guys bumper in front of them.


Valdosta, GA was ALL back roads. SINGLE LANES IS THE KEY. With single lanes, no one can pass....no one can cut in.....it's just you and teh guy in front of you you have to worry about. As long as that guy pays attention to the same rule you do, you'll all be fine. Should we ever do this again, it's going to be like Valdosta....all back roads again.

Originally Posted by grocerygetter

well i wasnt mch for all the cruise but i liked the beginning and end.
now forthe group rolling in wednesday...
i caught the tx crew in KY and rolled in with them. we made good time averaging pretty good speed...no probs there...it was fun. lol...in a dream i may have saw triple digits playing catch up in traffic a couple times. lol. i thought i was bad then i saw tagurit do a fly by on the tower in the right lane. LMAO. (i was in the white vortec car out of AR)

Notice the bolded red....

And I don't know if I should comment on the last part....

Were you that white blur?

Originally Posted by aSSian

Well to be fair, the first 3 cars were stopped with no collision. It was the 4th car that caused the others to get pushed forward.

ah....so this was in the mid atl crash. Dang, man...sorry to hear about that. :(

Originally Posted by KILLER74Z28

Doug, Joe and I talked about the issues that arose... I too felt like I had a death grip on my steering wheel and a dent in my floorboard under my break pedal. I was at the front and we never went faster than 45 MPH but there was a lot of quick slow downs. We all agreeded and we will never do a cruise on the freeway.

On a positive note, the officers informed us that the cruise was over five miles long...

Never again.... I was going NUTS in that cruise. Dana and I didn't talk either. I was WAY too focused.

Originally Posted by Overflow

Alright mods, new cruise plan for Camaro5 Fest 4; Line everyone up and just do circles around the hotel.

Originally Posted by TBone

I just want to make you aware of two things.

One, it was IPD's idea to turn on the flashers for the cruise.

Two, It was Chevy's mistake for not making the brake lights functional while the flashers are on. There are two lights on each side, one could flash and one could be a brake light. Just an option for the future.

I feel bad because I was one of the ones getting everyone out of the parking lot and asking everyone to turn their flasher and lights on. I was out of breathe and my arms were sore by the end but it was fun watching everyone go by. Had I known the chaos asking folks to turn their flashers on would cause, I would not have done it in hind sight.

However it was hysterical watching a lot of people look to the left to try to turn the flashers on.

T.

FLASHERS. Had it come to mind, I would have told them no. I was yelling for flashers too (since they told me to have everyone put them on along with their lights). Once I figured out the brake light thing, I knew it was too late. Never again... I was literally praying in the drivers seat of my car to let everything run as smoothly as it could. Nope...never again with those darn flashers (and why did GM wire up their brake lights like this in the first place??? That's NUTS!)

Originally Posted by 2010 Indy Pace

Being a local - we do a few police escorted caravans to the track each year around the races. Even with 50 cars or less it is quite dangerous on 465 with all the merging traffic and people crossing 5 lanes of traffic .

Once I got to the host hotel and saw all the cars I decided to pass on the cruise. In fact several locals bailed out early on and came back to the hotel after "near death" experiences. We even have police officers in our group that did not feel safe, if that tells you anything! For the record I did post beforehand that I felt cruising 465 would be challenging at best. Flashers on was just beyond stupid.. For the volume of cars there were nowhere near enough IMPD escorts.

And for anybody wondering, IMPD does not do these escorts for free - so props to whoever picked up the cost to pay them

Totally agree. Not enough officers. I'm an officer too and I just knew it could have been handled better.

But let's remember. Never again on the highway. Hey...we learn, right?

And you are correct, they don't do these cruises for free. Just so everyone knows, we paid these guys TWO GRAND to do this. I would MUCH rather put that money towards something else next year....a BBQ pit for the host hotel parking lot, beverages and coolers along with snacks at the autocross, cut down the participation fee for drivers...SOMETHING other than a towards a cruise that was truthfully scaring the crap out of me!

Guys, we live and we learn. The only other experience was a cruise through Valdosta which ran PERFECTLY. No accordion crap...no near death experiences, no rocks flying up on windshields, NO other traffic to merge in. This is the only way we'll do it again. Again, we learn.

for those that enjoyed it,

That's the whole point of the weekend.....FUN!

[Jay_LHD3]

^ I can't comment on this cruise as I wasn't there, but I can agree with Tag that the Valdosta cruise was a BLAST even on back roads. I was in the middle of the pack and the amount of people standing in their front yards waving and cheering was awesome. And the look on all the kids faces seeing a couple hundred new camaros going down the road was priceless!!

[TAG UR IT]

Exactly.

THIS is what we wanted....and quite frankly, I felt let down. This is the only way we'll ever do it again. I'm sorry guys. I feel like I let a lot of people down. :(

[pikSkip]

"Ticket Fees Without Deferral Amount Select
Subtotal of Fee(s) $152.00 :(
Pay now through IndyBiz* $157.08 Select
The pay now option includes the $152.00 that will be remitted to Traffic Court for payment of your ticket(s).

--OR--

Your violation qualifies for the deferral program*. By participating in the program, you will avoid a traffic conviction and any possible points against your license that may increase your insurance premiums. For questions about the traffic deferral program, please e-mail Shanessa Walker at Shanessa.Walker@indy.gov. If you do not have access to a computer, you may call 327-8500 for additional information.
Ticket Fees With Deferral Amount Select

Fee w/Deferral Amount $223.00
Pay now through IndyBiz* $229.50 Select
The pay now option includes the $223.00 that will be remitted to Traffic Court for payment of your ticket(s).

You can mail your ticket to the agency or deliver it in person to Traffic Court, 8115 E. Washington St., Indianapolis, IN 46219. Please keep in mind there will be an additional cost if you choose to pay your traffic ticket fee using methods other than cash or check over the counter or via mail."

Nice option* and cheaper than a lawyer, but makes me wonder if $$$ is doing some talking here.....

On the other hand, I thought the C5FIII was a great experience. I'll attend another one if I can.

[KnightRiderSS]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

Exactly.

THIS is what we wanted....and quite frankly, I felt let down. This is the only way we'll ever do it again. I'm sorry guys. I feel like I let a lot of people down. :(

Don't feel bad...a lot of it had to do with those camaros who couldnt help but to drive like anal pores and weave in and out cutting around us then slamming on their brakes after cutting back in...that was the only close call i had...i gave myself plenty of stopping space from the car in front but kept getting waved on to move faster even though i was already going 10-15 over...flashers didnt help..just glad no one got hurt, especially the motorcycle police

[Heaven_is_inferno_orange]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

Exactly.

THIS is what we wanted....and quite frankly, I felt let down. This is the only way we'll ever do it again. I'm sorry guys. I feel like I let a lot of people down. :(

Dont feel bad. You guys put in alot of work to do this for us. I for one enjoyed the cruise.
It was a live and learn experience for sure. What people need to understand is that you can't drive up someone's rear and expect to not have a close call. I drove with several car lengths between me and the car in front of me and never had an issue, I was also lucky enough to have the driver behind doing the same. If you are having to slam your brakes to stop you are driving too close. No reason to think just because youre in a cruise or caravan that you need to be right up there with the guy in front of you.

[HINEY1]

Originally Posted by dorfmac

Maybe something in the water up there in canada gives you the power of foresight, but when the car in front of you never puts on its break lights and just swerves into the other lane at the last second leaving a car at a dead stop In front of you while traveling at highway speeds it makes it kind of tough...

As many others have said, if you were on the cruise, you know how close the calls were.

I guess it's a question of observation, speed, distance and reaction
Observing what's happening in front of and around you
Speed usually is a factor
The distance between vehicles
Your reaction or ability to control the vehicle
It was obvious that everyone was pushing the limits on all these issues
It pisses me off because most of us don't drive like that but, we were caught up in the excitment
and no one wanted to lag behind (including me)
It really sucks this happened

[MS3DALE]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

Exactly.

THIS is what we wanted....and quite frankly, I felt let down. This is the only way we'll ever do it again. I'm sorry guys. I feel like I let a lot of people down. :(

No problem Doug.....you did NOTHING wrong,you were just trying to help with what everyone else wanted to do.........cruise.

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by HINEY1

I guess it's a question of observation, speed, distance and reaction
Observing what's happening in front of and around you
Speed usually is a factor
The distance between vehicles
Your reaction or ability to control the vehicle
It was obvious that everyone was pushing the limits on all these issues
It pisses me off because most of us don't drive like that but, we were caught up in the excitment
and no one wanted to lag behind (including me)
It really sucks this happened

Bingo. Everyone was caught up in the excitement and like I said, could have been any one of us that ended up in that position. Yours was my favorite one out at the fest so thank goodness it wasn't you!

[strych9]

I wasn't there, but I have experienced the same "white-knuckle" cruise in a similar environment. TAG is right...if the cruise had taken place on a back road, single-lane roadway all problems are alleviated. The mentality on the freeway is to stick close to the bumper in front of you so that Joe Sixpack doesn't cut into your line. You give him enough of a gap, and he'll shoot it anyway. Then the brakes come on in a hurry.

I'll be participating in a local cruise that promises to be 1500 cars or so. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Also, I do hope to make next year's C5 event.

[edog]

Originally Posted by TAG UR IT

Exactly.

THIS is what we wanted....and quite frankly, I felt let down. This is the only way we'll ever do it again. I'm sorry guys. I feel like I let a lot of people down. :(

Thanks a lot TAG!

I must say, the cruises if too long and too big become work. I will consider all these post the next time. The size of the highway (lanes) make a big difference. 4 lanes were less of an issue, but two lanes were insane. The cruise home with 7 others was awesome. We worked in sync and made great time.