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This is why I speed!


cremmenga

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Years ago, when I lived in Iowa, my first wife and I were returning from a concert held at Iowa State University @ Ames. We were in a hurry to get back, so we took the back roads back to Marshalltown and proceeded to zip along @ 90mph or so.

A friend of mine was in his Camaro up ahead of me, and he was advising me on the CB of any hazards/traffic etc.. On the L O N G straight roads, I could just make his car out, so I knew he was only a half mile or so ahead of me.

Iowa isn't perfectly flat, and the land does roll up and down a bit. As we popped over the top of a gentle roll a male pheasant jumped up just in front of my grill. I was driving a 74 Mercury Capri II and that bird literally exploded all over the front of the car.

The grill was gone, the hood had a dent and the radiator had taken the rooster's beak right through a couple of the combs in the radiator. The impact of this 8 pound or so animal was enough to shake the car as well as cause the damage mentioned. I calculated that we were only doing 75 or so (had just slowed down for traffic a bit back) and I was just getting back up to "speed".

We were lucky, I didn't lose control of the vehicle, and we were able to make makeshift repairs to get back home. I don't even want to think what might have happened at 90mph or if, as sometimes happens, more than one bird had been on the road.

When I called my buddy on the CB and told him about my "fun", he was surprised as he had not seen ANY birds.

But it goes to show that unexpected things DO happen.

Now, change the speed to 130 mph....

FWIW

E

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When Chris started this thread I just couldn't help adding my two cents worth of advice.

After reading through the posts in this thread it's obvious that Chris and a few others still believe it's O.K. to speed on the open road provided you're "careful". LOLLOL

I can't help but wonder whether Chris and the other speeders have ever seen, close up, the aftermath of a high speed head on prang or the results of a tyre blowout at speed and seen first hand the damage that such accidents can cause to the human body.

Driving at speeds in excess of the posted legal limit is for fools.

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

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I too frown on speeding, about five years ago I was driving too fast around a cornern when suddenly I was sideways and then flipping, I rolled four times with four of my best friends in the car, stopping less than a metre from a large tree. We all escaped without any lasting injuries, however there were broken bones and a compressed spine in my case. The injuries however were nothing compared to the massive sense of responsibility I felt when I realised I had come so close to ending any one of my friends lives, let alone my own, no one has a right to put others peoples lives at risk.

I do not speed at all these days and I consider myself extremely lucky to still be able to enjoy driving my z (when it is running).

Besides, the Zed provides by far the biggest adrenaline rush and appreciation when it is in the curvy stuff.

Drive safe people.

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OOhhh, Lachlan,

Not very pretty at all. Good shot though, right in the hay diddle diddle. LOL

Kendall,

I'd say that your guardian angel was working overtime on that occasion mate.

Good to see that you've learned your lesson .

You know, ... with all the underage and binge drinking that plagues the youth of today, they don't seem to understand that it's quite possible to have a good time and enjoy yourself without getting drunk in the process.

The same applies to driving. You don't have to drive fast and dangerously in order to enjoy the drive.

If I topped a hill and saw the clear, open road stretching out into the distance, would I be tempted to put my foot down ???? Definitely not. I'd be enjoying the scenery to much. But then, .... I was TRAINED to drive, not simply taught.

C'mon now you speed demons, answer my question. Have you ever seen, first hand and close up, the result of excessive speed and the damage caused to a human being through the stupidity of driving too fast.

I reckon speed freaks should be required to accompany police to accident scenes and made to look at the resulting carnage. It might wake some of them up to the fact that having a drivers license is not a right, .. it's a responsibility.

Rick.

:devious: :devious:

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Hey Enrique, seen these pictures??

I'm very sorry for your loss Gary. I feel for you -

Lachlan

Hey, any information on how fast this guy was going when he hit the pheasant? That had to scare the crap out of the driver and/or passenger when it hit... wow. Does febreze take out that rotting stench of pheasant guts?

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Lachlan: No, I had not seen those pics. Yikes, what a mess!

Chris: From the tone of your post it's obvious that this thread has become a laughing matter to you. Your signature states that you are a "Poor College student now excepting donations", (by the way, it's ACCEPTING, not EX-cepting...but I'm sure that you knew that) which says that your car isn't in the best of conditions. Then you state that you will be modifying the heck out of it...hopefully with / by someone that knows what they're doing. Then you justify your "need to speed" by the length and solitude of the roads in Nebraska.

Since it is obvious that you will not listen to the reasons, examples, stories, and other cautionary advice being given to you, then at least make sure there are a bunch of video cameras both in the vehicle and on the road. That way when you cream yourself against the back of a combine doing 12mph, or a tractor with a trailer full of hay, or take a pheasant through the windshield, we can see the video on "Maximum Exposure", probably on their "What were they thinking?" segment.

2¢

Enrique

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He is just showing his age . He is still at the age when he thinks that he is bullet proof. If he lives long enough he will come to his sences. MAYBE . He is just acting like that brat on the T V show FILTHY RICH . If you have seen the show you will know who I mean . The guy that is so full of himself that he has no reguard for others . Gary

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