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

[PoorMansCamaro]

Despite being part of the 4 car accident, I still had a great time. Cars will get fixed. No one was hurt, so that's what matters.

[Dznts]

I enjoyed the cruise for the most part, but between trying to shift and turn off my hazards when I was braking to keep the car e from taking me out it was very white knuckle driving.

[stikSS]

I was part of the mid atlantic group from Fredricksburg to Dayton and onto Indy... and I can say Wednesday... I was one of the handful that jumped in the other lane and took off... I'd rather take off and get away from what was and did happen because it was in the making early on... I nearly hit the car in front of me a few times and was nearly hit a few times from the rear.... the best example I can give is this...

Put yourself traveling on the interstate like everyone else around you, running approximately 75mph and then out of nowhere and no known reason everyone in front of you slams on the brakes and drops to 35mph or less in feet.... not a slooowwwwinnggg down method.... just absolute stand on the brake pedal.... That is how it went, and I'm sure most who were in it can contest to that.

So with that said.... If I pissed anyone off by jumping out the line and taking off.... then I'm sorry, but my car is home and intact. Thats not a low blow to the ones who were involved in the wreck, but it was a disaster waiting to happen.

[PoorMansCamaro]

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.

[HDRDTD]

This is one of the main reasons none of our group from Detroit chose to participate in the cruise.
The more cars you have in a cruise, the more chance that someone will start showing off, or local's who still need to get where they want to go will end up changing lanes right in front of someone.
Add to the fact that most of us are from out of town and are not familier with the local roads.
Those of us from Detroit are used to the chaos that sometimes happens during the annual Woodward Dream cruise, and as popular as that is, the number of cars that were expected to be at Camarofest III and the Tursday night cruise, well you get the picture.

We simply chose to stary in the parking lot nice and safe and sound and enjoyed the pizza.

Overall we had an awesome time at the fest itself, even if we opted out of the cruise.

[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...

[MarylandSpeed]

Back in the day, there used to be a 4th gen F-body show at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. What they did is pick 2-3 scenic routes and do cruises in groups of like 25 throughout the day. This seemed to work well. I did the cruise @ the first Camaro5fest and that was crazy enough to make me say never again.

[Redemption]

It was crazy enough last year for the Cali team. And we had chp shutting down the interstate for us. I can't imagine how crazy this was. The videos were scary enough.

[pikSkip]

From what I observed, most of the drivers in the Dayton to Indy caravan were driving like they had common sense. I did observe several "sphincters" pass me on the right and dangerously cut in and out of traffic. When we got into the area with the ISP, I felt that the three cars (I was one) pulled over by one officer would not have been ticketed if they were not in a group. He, the ISP officer, was just determined to give out tickets to someone, no matter if they were driving like a jackass or not. (Giving the ISP the benefit of the doubt, perhaps this was their way of a 'show of force'.)
Yes, I was driving with the flow of traffic (no excuse) and "slightly" above the speed limit and the ticket was warranted because of that but.....again, I felt that we took the bullet for those AH's that drove like idiots. I'll never caravan with another group other than my club.
Besides this incident, I had a great time! Perhaps I should wait to comment until after I've found out how much the citation will cost me.

[Overflow]

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

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by AdamZ

It was on a down hill grade so I could only see the back of the car infront of my. So I couldn't see if traffic infront of him was slowing down. That was the case for all 4 of us. Trust me I was not about to take my eyes off the road.

Yeah - exactly my point. You dont have to be young and texting to get into an accident. Even when you pay as close attention as possible you can end up in a sketchy predicament. I had two experiences that terrified me between Hagerstown and Dayton and I knew I didn't want to risk it the next day when the group was even larger.

[TBone]

Originally Posted by AdamZ

The Indianapolis PD did a spectacular job.

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 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.

[edog]

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

[dorfmac]

Originally Posted by edog

Adam, and others who shared their feelings, thank you. I appreciate you letting us know how you feel and will consider your feelings in the future.

Long caravans can work, but as we figured out this time, they do not work as well for long distances. What i learned was, if the caravan is going to be that large, it should be broken into smaller groups and brought together at a meeting place close to the destination for arrival. For those who felt that they are disasters waiting to happen, you also learned about your comfort zone. In the future i am sure you will make decision based on your experiences.

I am very proud of my group, from the beginner to the expert, we all came together to do something difficult and trying for the sake of togetherness. Mission accomplished.

Fyi, the speeds in the front were below posted speeds 95 percent of the drive. As you stated, reaction time became very dangerous the closer we got. Also, fyi, no one at the front of the caravan got pulled since as we went through Indy the leader never broke 50 mph. Not taking your post personal, but i was there the whole weekend, and never received feedback face to face from you until now. I would have shared my learned lessons then.

Thanks again for the thread.

FYI - I certainly do not hold you accountable. Your organization and time devoted to the event in preparation is commendable! For part of the trip I was up front maybe 4 cars behind you and the front was certainly a comfortable and safe place to be. It was only once you were halfway or further back that it got scary - way outside of your purview.