There are Drivers, and there are Passengers Behind The Wheel

My brother is of the opinion that "there are drivers, and then there are those who simply ride around behind the wheel". You know what? He's 100% correct.

Forgive me if the following makes me sound like a Cranky Old Bastard, but my POV is this: it's only going to get worse.

Back in the day, if you wanted to drive a car, you had to drive it. You had to know the basics of car control, and you had to know how to respond to emergency situations, or you were ordered out of the gene pool.

We didn't have ABS, so if you didn't want your tires to skid, you let off the brakes when the tires locked up. And you didn't follow so closely in the first place.

We didn't have Traction Control, so if you didn't want your tires to spin in the snow, you put proper snow tires on it and you learned how to properly manage the throttle.

We didn't have Electronic Stability Control, so if you didn't want to spin out, you didn't do anything stupid with lane changes, and you learned how to control slides.

We didn't have Navigation Systems, so if you wanted to find out how to get somewhere, you asked first, or you used a map.

We didn't have Tire Pressure Monitoring systems, so if you didn't want a blowout on the freeway, you checked your tire pressures every once in a while...and if you DID have a blowout, you didn't sue the tire company, the tire manufacturer, nail manufacturers, the car dealer, the dealer's mother trying to project your lack of responsibility onto them.

We didn't have Park Assist, so if you wanted to park without banging into anything, you put your goddamned coffee down, hung up the phone, and paid attention.


No, actually, we didn't do that, because back then, we didn't have cupholders in cars, and we didn't have cell phones.

No longer. We have been trained, by equipment and by legal precedent, to expect that our vehicles will always get us where we want to go without ever letting us get harmed in the process. We are being trained to let the vehicles and their manufacturers take all responsiblity for their operation. We're being trained to take the "driver" out of "driver's license". And why not? We've already been trained that such license is a right instead of the privelege it really is.

So now, the current whipping-boy Toyota has issued a "stop sale" order on their Lexus GX 460 SUV because the no-driving nannies at Consumer Reports have said it's rollover prone.

Why is it rollover prone, you ask? Because if you suddenly lift off the gas in the middle of a sharp, fast corner, the rear end slides out and the vehicle goes sideways. GASP! The horror! Physics are being applied and reality will not bend to our whim! And because it's a Stupid Useless Vehicle with a high center of gravity to make 105 lb soccer moms feel like they're on top of the world, it'll flip pretty easily when sliding sideways.

I'll say it again: This is a fault of vehicle type and of driver input. But because we've been trained to believe this shouldn't be possible, and because other manufacturers put Stability Control on heaps like these in an attempt to keep people from spilling their latte's in life or death situations, Toyota is taking heat that their ESC is not preventing the behavior.

Watch the video for yourself:



You know what would have solved that problem with an absolute quickness? STEPPING ON THE GAS A LITTLE BIT. Yes indeed. Give it a little gas, and the acceleration will cause the vehicle's weight to shift rearward, giving the rear wheels more traction, and stopping the slide.

Drivers know this, almost instinctively. Sheep riding around behind the steering wheel don't know this, and don't want to hear it. They just want to sue somebody.

Learn to drive, folks! It's fun, and it could save your life.

Street Survival for young adults
Highway Survival Training for all drivers

And see your SCCA, PCA, BMWCCA, Audi Club, and many more for similar courses in your area.