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View Full Version : If you didn't laugh you'd cry!



Scalem
10-07-2006, 09:00 PM
On my way up the Sunshine coast highway towing my camper trailer, I was being particularly careful about moving with the traffic - that is, the Turbo deisel Pajero is more than capable of doing the speed limit, and if I spyed anyone in the rear view mirror wanting to get past me, left or right hand lane, I would move or accelerate or whatever it takes to help traffic flow. #For whatever reason I think that when people see a trailer in tow, it does not matter what speed it happens to be doing, most people JUST HAVE TO GET PAST!!!. #Maybe that's just what I think, but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Then.... Flash!! #A bright red commodore screams past me like I was standing still... #Hang on :o, as I look down on my speedo... #I am on cruise control at a touch over 100K and I didn't even see where this guy came from. #I commented to my family " It helps if your car is red, they go faster! :-/

15 mins further, the traffic comes to a crawl and there's an accident up further. #Guess who tail ended someone in the right hand lane? #Yep! #My mate in the red commodore. #But this is not one of those ordinary bitch session posts about every day events that happen. #The guy ran into the rear of a 5 meter whaler ( twin Hull design) boat with a 120hp Tohatsu on the back.

Ouch!! [smiley=bigcry.gif] #Imagine heading off for your fishing trip, and someone ploughs into the back of your boat, and hits the leg of the motor?? #I get shudders just thinking about it, but there it was, right in front of me!!

You idiot !!! [smiley=hammer.gif] [smiley=wut.gif] [smiley=wut.gif]

By the time I was idling past, the bonnet of the commodore resembled a smiths crisp barbeque crinkle cut chip, but they were inspecting the prop, which obviously still turned. #Another 5K along the road and the right lane traffic had caught up with me. #The boat (gee they are tuff!!) looked none the worse for wear, but guess what? #Two cars behind him was the same clown, still tailgating the car in front of him. #I give up [smiley=worried2.gif]

At this point I just laughed, and both he and his passenger were wondering why the people in the Pajero were waving bye bye!! [smiley=vrolijk_26.gif]

Daft pillock!!

Scalem

Great_White
10-07-2006, 09:37 PM
It just makes you wonder Brian, these people driving rocket ships never seem to learn. #>:(

We take our boat up to Caloundra every 3 weeks as Janine's parents live up there. See a lot of agro on the roads and it's not as if we are hanging about. I try and do the speed #all the way 100 to 105 in the 100 zone and 110 in the 110 zone. But get overtaken by alot of people in cars with the he's towing and I have to pass him attitude :-/

I think family safety is most important and to drive to conditions and what you and your car / trailer are #capable of doing :)

The old saying slow and steady wins the race normally work. #I have seen many a car take off at a great rate of knots at the traffic lights only to be caught by me or even overtaken by me at the next set of lights. As I have timed my run better at a consistent pace, even helps with the fuel bill with thinking ahead.

Might add 5 or so minutes to the total trip but it's all worth it :D

Peter.

Murks
10-07-2006, 09:42 PM
Great story Scalem,
I'm am on the road all the time and I see it all too often....Unfortunately some of those idiots also have boats......i ran into three such idiots screaming around the jacobs well ramp just after dark in high powered ski boats no lights and no bloody brains [smiley=angryfire.gif] or respect for other people....nearly ran up the back of me...
Any way great story,
Murks

choppa
11-07-2006, 01:05 AM
must have been something in the air today,,,, my scenario happened coming home from caloundra,,, sitting on 110-120k,,, approx 1-2 k's from moby vics when another 4b comes up the rear,,, TOWING a 15 footer tinnie,,,,

diesel nissan cab chass,,,sitting on nothing under 130,,, brisbane bound,,, we played a bit of i'll overtake you,,, then you overtake me before i broke off at toorbul exit and he kept going,,,gotta say the trailer didnt budge,, ;D ;D ;D ;D

StevenM
11-07-2006, 06:08 AM
Yes I shuder every time when I am towing the boat in traffic, When the road come to a crawl I go as slow as to ensure and hope no one runs into the out board.......eeeeeee

DNO40
11-07-2006, 06:14 AM
Thats one of my biggest fears when towing the boat, some "Daft Pillock" as you put it running up the arse of me.


DNO

Scalem
11-07-2006, 08:19 AM
There's no excuse running into my rig, the trailer is not braked, so how in the heck would you have the excuse of not being able to stop in time behind me? [smiley=argue.gif]

I know!! The guy's brakes on the Whaler boat must have been adjusted up too sensitively, and stopped too abruptly for the red commodore. That's what must have happened!

It's funny how, even when people are blatently in the wrong, they will find some poor excuse to blame someone else. People towing boats shouldn't be in the right hand lane anyhow ;D

Stupid git!!

Scalem

Poseidon
11-07-2006, 08:50 AM
It's been a worry of mine too for some time, the outboard being shunted from behind by some clown. With this in mind I find myself braking very early and giving vehicles behind as much notice as possible of the impending halt.

Does anyone tie a bright red flag or rag to there outboard leg to assist with visibility ?

Regards Cameron.

major-defect
11-07-2006, 10:04 AM
I have thought about it!

Dirtysanchez
11-07-2006, 10:32 AM
Mate I see this all the time with my camper trailer too, it weighs about 1100KG so it answers back a bit on the back of my 4wd, so I take it easy, but as you say, even on straight flat roads where doing the speed limits aren't a problem, they just seem obsessed with overtaing me. :o

Had a mate who got hit from behind once while towing his boat, despite having the leg repaired it was never the same, the drive shaft must have been bent and they only repaired it when it should have been replaced. >:(

Sigh, they are everywhere nowdays on the road !

skippa
11-07-2006, 08:01 PM
Last year I towed my boat from Sydney ( where I bought it from) to Brisbane. A few months later we towed it from Brisbane to Cains and back. I found the most courteous drivers where in NSW ( come on don't laugh ) I'm serious they where, thats on the open road and country towns only tho ..... Sydney it's self, forget it. Back home in Qld, Brisbane and Mac Kay forget it ,open roads and country towns, not bad.

I recently bought a camper van .... geez what a difference, EVERYBODY , just has to get past no matter what. Had my first 'gotta get past' experience about 2 k's from where I bought it from up at Mango Hill. I was coming onto the hwy approaching 100K speed to merg into the traffic when ... this irriotttt in WRX, who came from nowhere, squeezed between me and the car in front of me who was already on the hwy.

We took the Jayco down the coast last weekend, same sorta issues there and back. Geez it wasn't like I was going slow either, sticking to the speed limits and staying in the left lanes where I could. And I'm not even a 'grey nomad' either ..... ::)


Cheers,
Tony 8-)
PS red rag/flag is a good idea on the ob too.

Owen
11-07-2006, 08:13 PM
I do a lot of miles for work and see it all the time.
If it's a truck, a caravan or boat they HAVE to pass no matter how fast it's going.
Personally if a semi is doing near the speed limit I stay behind him as long as posible. I figure if some idiot does an overtaking move in the other direction, he's got to come through the truck before he can head butt me ;)
I do get frustrated with caravans that sit on 85-90 k/hr though >:(
In CQ there's not a lot of places where you have the room to pass safely without having to peg 130k's to get past.

cheers,
Owen

imnotoriginal
11-07-2006, 08:34 PM
If I have a 4wd or a trailer, truck, camper or whatever in front of me I do like to get past them, but not because you're going too slow. It might not be as obvious from the helm of some of those massive 4wds but when you're driving a sedan or hatchback that sits far lower to the ground you can't see past these "big rigs". Most driving instructors will tell you that you want to be paying attention not just to the car in front, but to what's happening well in front of you so you can prepare for any danger. I appreciate the efforts most people will make to stay in the left lane and at the speed limit while towing larger loads, but I was taught to pay attention to whats well in front of me as well, hence I don't like being left blind to what's further on. I'm not condoning tailgating or anything like that, but the shoe can be on the other foot. Driving from Brisbane to Caloundra I was recently tailgated by some idiot driving a massive Ford Utility carrying two trailbikes in the tray and lugging a jetski behind. This is in the 110km zone, following behind my old hatchback which no doubt would have been crushed should I have been forced to hit the brakes in an emergency. I'm sure it must be frustrating for you to be doing everything to help other cars out on the road and still have idiots like the commodore driver make life difficult for you, but I hope you can appreciate that it's also frustrating for other drivers when they can't see past you to observe the traffic safely. That's my reason at least for wanting to overtake. Just my opinion fellas.
Joel

Sean
11-07-2006, 09:04 PM
I have all my own opinions of certain drivers....do you want to hear them? I thought you would!! ;D
I am, and always will be a QUEENSLANDER. I grew up in Brisbane and lived most my life there.
I do disagree with skippa, I think Sydney...yes Sydney drivers are by far the most courteous drivers on the whole. Sure there is a lot of traffic, I think this is the reason. Driving in Sydney you know you aren't getting anywhere in a hurry so they all work together. Next time anyone is in traffic in Sydney put your indicator on to change lanes, I will 99% guarantee the next car will drop back to let you in.
Now comes to my point which may not be too well received here.....put you indicator on in SE QLD to change lanes and I will 90% guarantee all of a sudden each car in the lane you want to enter will be about 1-1.5cm's off the car in fronts rear bumper!! Its not much better here in Ballina but I have to say QLD drivers as a whole.....and I'm not saying all are the same....get a big thumbs down from me VIC. are the worst though. Sorry if I have offended anyone. Just my experiance.......I do think in QLD too you seem to get a lot more people willing to go incredible speeds over the speed limit. That is, most people will sit on and around the speed limit, and quite a few seem to travel a lot faster than that...say 150 in 100 zones..Don't know why?
I will always love Queensland though!!! I called the radio station here in ballina last thursday, He answered 'hi this is ZZZ greg speaking' And I screamed 'QUEENSLANDER' down the line and hung up. Made me feel good anyway!! :)

charleville
11-07-2006, 09:33 PM
#I commented to my family " It helps if your car is red, they go faster! :-/

I have had a number of red cars in my life but the only time that I have been booked for speeding was when I was driving a yellow one.

A Yellow cab in fact - about 30 years ago. I had a car full of jabbering passengers going across town and I was a little unsure of the way and in all of the confusion of looking for road signs and with a backnoise of all that jabbering, I missed seeing the speed sign.

I was easily doing 100KM in a 60Km zone but the cop was good to me and put it down as being 74 km - one km short of a heftier fine and points penalty.

I currently drive a red car but it is LPG powered so I rarely burn rubber - well in fact I never burn rubber ;D - those cruise controls are great aren't they? :)

The really funny thing is that all of my neices and nephews think that I drive a really cool car because it is red. They don't look to see that it is the absolute bottom of the range Falcon with LPG. They are used to seeing me in Holden Statesmen and Ford Fairmont Ghias and maybe have just made some assumptions. However, this year it is better for me to spend the extra $ that those cars cost on bait, petrol for the boat, new fishing gear etc etc etc. ;D ;D ;D

My wife always accuses me of speeding though. :-/ Must be that "red effect" again. ;D

warrior
11-07-2006, 10:03 PM
heading home from the coast a couple of months ago absolutely pissing down ,couldnt see twenty feet in front of you ,i have a commodore so close behind trying to pass i ended up trying to pull over but couldnt find the edge of the road.two ks up the road he is still there and an overtaking lane comes up he flies past ,one minute beside us then goooone,straight across the other side of the highway aquaplaining a hundred metres into a paddock doing three sixties,had a glance as i drove past and kept going.good lesson i hope for him.
bet he had to enpty his dacks out when he got out.

imnotoriginal
11-07-2006, 10:17 PM
Someone's gotta say it.....bloody holden drivers!!! ;D ;D ::)

skippa
11-07-2006, 10:50 PM
I will always love Queensland though!!! I called the radio station here in ballina last thursday, He answered 'hi this is ZZZ greg speaking' And I screamed 'QUEENSLANDER' down the line and hung up. Made me feel good anyway!! #

Sean, Love it #;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D


I do disagree with skippa, I think Sydney...yes Sydney drivers are by far the most courteous drivers on the whole.

Mate no dramas, only going by my experiences when I towed the boat back home. Car for car your probably right, I found it a little different with the boat in tow tho. I do however feel that as a whole, NSW drivers are more courteous than us ........

But we still won the SOO this year #;D ;D


QUEENSLANDER


Cheers,
Tony # 8-)

ttone
11-07-2006, 11:11 PM
Hi Guys, # re the red flag idea, I did something similar. I folded up a small sheet of aluminium and fixed 2 rather large brake lights to it, then clipped it on the outboard. Certainly brought the braking attention to the cars behind even more evident. Works for me!!
Cheers Rod

Herm
12-07-2006, 01:19 AM
We were coming home from my folks place at Caloundra about 18 months ago in a hail storm, and figured that the as the car was not worth that much anyway, we would just keep driving slowly but surely to get home. #

We got to the Boondall exit on the gateway motorway when the traffic slowed to a crawl. #It remained like this until we reached the Nudgee exit and we saw what the cause of the holdup was! #Stopped under the overpass, out of the rain and hail, was a Commodore wagon with a 15ft (approx) tinny sitting half on the trailer and the bow up and over the rear windscreen! #

From what we guessed maybe it was not tied down well enough and they braked hard and up she came! :'( #

What a mess! It always makes me ask Pete if the boat is tied on properly! I am sure that he is well and truely sick on me asking! ;)

:)Janine

Eddy1
12-07-2006, 10:34 PM
Was towing a 15' quinnie through Brissy a while back, had just bought a new 50 hp merc and that was on the back. I was heading to Pinkenbar so I was keen to get to the ramp so I could catch the tide. I pulled up at a light in the city and a git skegged-slammed me (thats the same as being back-ended only towing a boat) :'( :'( :'(
To say the least, I was angry >:( >:( >:( , jumped out to inspect the damage and to my delight, my skeg and prop were perfect, but he had opened his bonnet up like he had used a can opener on it ;D ;D ;D, I couldn't believe my luck...luck was on my side as the motor was positioned straight up and down and not laying on one side..phew.
Made the tide and caught some bream......ed

Scalem
13-07-2006, 07:10 AM
"I couldn't believe my luck...luck was on my side as the motor was positioned straight up and down and not laying on one side..phew.
Made the tide and caught some bream......"

Mate it amazes me how tough these outboards are. #I hit a turtle in the bay once when I thought the impact would have ripped my prop and gearbox clean off!! #Not a Mark! #Turtle swam away too :D

This whaler boat and the Tohatsu survived similar to what you describe, it certainly opened up the bonnet of the commodore, making a real mess!!

Scalem