Please read: Weekend message....

[fbodfather]

Good afternoon, Camaro Comrades, Firebird Friends and Corvette Cousins............


Another great Summer Weekend is upon us ---- time to get behind the wheel and have a great time with friends and family...........


I may sound like a broken record when it comes to safety... (...for you young'uns....that's what we had before CDs and I-pods..) when it comes to safety, but I hope you'll understand that I do it to save lives..........because I CARE about you.

I posted this back on the 10th of July on the SSOA board -- It's been on my " to-do " list -- and so
I'm now "To Doing" it! --

I hope you'll share it with everyone that you care about.......

Here goes:





Hannan Road in Canton Township, Michigan is a contradiction in many ways……


There are warehouses --

--there are housing developments --

………..and yet there are also acres and acres of green fields and trees.

The fields and woods give this area a sense of peace.

That peace was shattered earlier this week when 1 young lady and four young men had their lives suddenly ended……all because of what appears to be a disregard for common traffic laws.

Jessica Sadler was only 14 -- she was riding with her friend, Eddie Gross. Joining them were brothers Sean and Terrance Harris. And driving the Black Ford Fusion was 19 year old Dan Broughton.

It was a warm July day -- not too hot, not too cold -- sunny -- a day of promise.

Coming from Pontiac, Michigan -- and traveling at over 60mph was Amtrak #353 -- heading to Chicago with 170 people on board. Many of the passengers had been in Michigan to attend a conference on Blindness -- many of them were, in fact, accompanied by their seeing-eye dogs.

The Norfolk-Southern Tracks intersect with Hannan Road.

A white SUV saw the lights begin to flash -- and the gates to drop -- and thus came to a complete stop.

What will never be known is why the Driver of the Black Ford Fusion decided to ‘blow by’ the white SUV -- at least 20 seconds after the gates had dropped………

The Amtrak engineer was following all protocols -- and of course blew the horn on the engine as required before every grade crossing.

We Camaro Enthusiasts have a good friend, "Turtle" Young.... who is a Railroad Engineer and lives in Austin, TX. He tells me that it’s unbelievable as to how many people try to outrun a train….and barely make it. I can’t imagine what it must do to a Railroad engineer’s adrenalin system each time this happens………..


As fate would have it, a video surveillance camera was operational at a nearby building and captures the horrible moments……..

……..one can see the white SUV stopped --

………..suddenly the black Fusion appears traveling at a high rate of speed……

…………….it swerves around the SUV ……….still moving at a high rate of speed…..


…………..and then there’s the Amtrak train --

…………………and it hits the Fusion squarely in the B-pillar -- carrying it down the tracks for nearly 1,000 yards before the train can come to a complete stop……the Fusion practically ‘welded’ to the front of the train.



…………and you have to ask yourself: “Why is it that intelligent people refuse to pay attention to traffic signs and signals?”


Five young lives snuffed out in an instant.

Four Families grief stricken.

Several communities in shock.


………and I cannot imagine the horror that the Amtrak Engineer has had to endure -- even though he is faultless.

It would be easy to say: “well -- it’s fate”

……..and it would be easy to say “….oh no, more senseless deaths….” -- and then go on with our lives.

---which, of course, brings me to my rant:


People are becoming more and more lax in their driving habits.

I’m tired of seeing people “slow” to 10 miles an hour at stop signs and then just roll through them................

(IT SAYS STOP!!!! SO STOP!!!!! COMPLETELY!!!)

I’m tired of people blowing thru red lights.

I'm tired of people who have evidently never been formally introduced to the turn signal lever in the car or truck in which they're driving.......

I’m tired of seeing people ‘yammering’ on their cellphones while driving…..

…………and don’t EVEN get me going on those who think it’s their God-given right to ‘text’ while behind the wheel -- or read their mail -- or put on makeup…….

Stop signs and Traffic Lights and Railroad Grade Crossing signs ARE NOT SUGGESTIONS!!!!



It’s time for us (…that’s you and me…) to lead by example.

It’s time for us to call out our friends and acquaintances for their bad behavior. (and don’t try to tell me that you or anyone else is capable of talking on a cell-phone and driving at the same time….I’ll bury you with facts and video!)

** note - in the original post, I did not specify "Friends and Acquaintances" -- which I should have -- doing this to a complete stranger MIGHT escalate into something dangerous..........***

.......

I was walking out of a Kroger Store this evening with my arms full of groceries…..

Luckily I’ve learned to look both ways -- even on a one-way street --

…….because sure enough -- a Lexus SUV was coming into the parking lot THE WRONG WAY on a one-way street…the driver ‘yammering away’ on his cell-phone.

I called out: “YOU’RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!…”

(…………no, I did not use any bad words -- which, I must say, surprised me....…..)


The Driver of said SUV gave me the finger………..


What happened next was absolutely priceless:

A woman who appeared to be in her 70s marched over to the SUV and proceeded to tear this guy apart verbally…….. And as she did, several people applauded her…..(me being one of them…)


So -- how ‘bout it?

Are you tired of reading about senseless deaths and injuries due to negligence?

It starts with us. (…….that’s you and me…….)

Speak up!

Talk to your children!

Talk to your nieces and nephews and neighbors!

..but do NOT think that it’s an ‘age’ thing.

People in their 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s are just as bad if not worse!

So call them out!

You MAY just save a life.......



It starts with us.....

[FenwickHockey65]

[Rookie13]

about the thought of this...

[PQ]

Good to read at this point. I'm in the process of teaching my 15 yo. son how to drive. I'm very thorough but more reenforcement is allways good.

[24FAN]

I would love the opportunity to operate my 2010 Camaro in a safe and enjoyable fashion, its just that GM doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get me my car that was produced over two weeks ago!!

[CWI]

Originally Posted by 24FAN

I would love the opportunity to operate my 2010 Camaro in a safe and enjoyable fashion, its just that GM doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get me my car that was produced over two weeks ago!!

Relax, it will get to you and it will be worth the wait. Many of us on this forum waited months and months after we ordered and still waited after the car was built. Myself waiting 8 weeks after my car was built. Once I got it, all that frustration just dissapeared. Believe me, it really is worth the wait.

Just drive it safely once it does arrive.

[tsg1391]

Originally Posted by 24FAN

I would love the opportunity to operate my 2010 Camaro in a safe and enjoyable fashion, its just that GM doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get me my car that was produced over two weeks ago!!

dont start that in this thread

[Hoddi]

Thank you for posting this.

I witnessed a horrible accident just the other day.

Light was red. We stopped. PT Cruiser next to us did not.
Driver was chatting w/her passenger. Light had been red for at
least 7 seconds. Car coming the other way was not paying
attention either. I could not get to my horn fast enough.
No one slammed brakes. Car hit PT Cruiser on the back side and
sent it over the center divider and the PT flipped upside down.
It was an elderly couple. Passenger got out. Don't know about
the driver. Too many looky loos so we left.

My heart was pounding out of my body. I could barely dial 911.
Thank goodness it was only three numers.

Be safe everyone and pay attn please.

[djsnoflake]

Originally Posted by 24FAN

I would love the opportunity to operate my 2010 Camaro in a safe and enjoyable fashion, its just that GM doesn't seem to be in a big hurry to get me my car that was produced over two weeks ago!!

Not really the place for this much?


As to the topic of this thread, I hear that texting while driving is actually as bad or worse than driving drunk. And I have seen some of the younger people (Like now I am feeling old at the ripe old age of 27) texting away and many 'near miss' accidents.

Guys, you are driving almost 2 TONS of metals and plastics that can do a lot of damage, and also put you into situations that, even with all the safety equiptment in the world, there is no way the human body can survive.

Is that phone call you have to make really that important that you can't pull over and talk or maybe wait for 10-20 minutes until you are at your destination?

I am an ex-cell driver, and I just kinda decided after hearing all these reports and reading about distraction related vehicle accidents, it just isn't worth it.

Pay attention to your driving, and pay attention to the people around you driving, cause you might be the only one NOT on the phone/doing makeup/texting in this day and age.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and turn down your stereos! Yesterday on the way home from work, an ambulance was stuck behind a car for 4 BLOCKS before the driver noticed the flashing lights and screaming sirens behind him. I was a bit behind this guy and the ambulance and I could hear his stereo thumping in my car. With the windows UP and MY radio on a bit.

[qbert48]

quote :Guys, you are driving almost 2 TONS of metals and plastics that can do a lot of damage, and also put you into situations that, even with all the safety equiptment in the world, there is no way the human body can survive.

Is that phone call you have to make really that important that you can't pull over and talk or maybe wait for 10-20 minutes until you are at your destination?

I am an ex-cell driver, and I just kinda decided after hearing all these reports and reading about distraction related vehicle accidents, it just isn't worth it.

Pay attention to your driving, and pay attention to the people around you driving, cause you might be the only one NOT on the phone/doing makeup/texting in this day and age.


EDIT: Oh yeah, and turn down your stereos! Yesterday on the way home from work, an ambulance was stuck behind a car for 4 BLOCKS before the driver noticed the flashing lights and screaming sirens behind him. I was a bit behind this guy and the ambulance and I could hear his stereo thumping in my car. With the windows UP and MY radio on a bit.

[Scrapppy666]

I live in an area where there is pretty thick traffic in most of the area. You can't take even the shortest drive without having to deal with someone on a cell phone, texting, too busy talking to (and looking at) their passenger, drivers changing lanes unsafely without signaling, running stop signs, people driving huge SUV's when they couldn't accurately judge the size of a Prius nor see over the hood, or my biggest annoyance, people driving directly up the middle of the road because they can't judge how close they are to the cars parked on their side....

[SleepWarz]

I let Darwinism take its course.

Less warning labels and safety stickers!

This winter my dad had a semi try to pass him on a blind corner, he head on into a semi coming the other way. I'll leave the rest to your imagination. Its pretty rough, nobody has patience anymore.

[themossman]

I had the pleasure of being in Atlanta this weekend with my father and taking him for his first ride in the Camaro. During the course of the drive he talked to me about responsibility and behaving on the streets and that he would love to take me to some track events to 'shake things out' and really enjoy my car. I'm 37 and he's 64...


I told him I would follow his advice...if he would follow it himself...he's got a C5 that's putting down ~425rwhp.


You're never too old to have these conversations...

[KJS]

...if the number of incompetent drivers keeps multiplying each year at the rate its been for the last several years, the chances of us - (we who really do drive like our and everyone else's lives depended on it) - are pretty much guaranteed to be involved a horrific accident in the next 5 to 10 years.

Our being hyper intense about what is happening around us, our relatively good drving abilities, a very safe car (and luck) will make the difference whether its a fatal one or not.

Driving is NOT a right! It is a PRIVLEDGE that is EARNED!


Its scary, really scary out there.