1999 SL 500 Brakes comming in handy
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,181
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From: Abbotsford, BC, Canada
1999 SL 500 & 2011 E 550 4Matic
1999 SL 500 Brakes comming in handy
A couple of weekends ago I was driving with my wife back to Vancouver from Whistler.
Lots of single lane each way, twisty highway with the occasional double lane that opens up for passing slower cars. The more agressive drivers take full advatnage of any passing opportunity.
It was late afternoon with the sun being very bright. Light to medium traffic.
An Infinity G35 came roaring up behind us ... two 30 something guys obviously out to have some fun on their drive.
Being one to not like to be out performed easily ... I booted it into the next passing section and caught them by suprise leaving them in the dust.
The next single lane section they were a couple of cars behind. The next passing section, I again boot it but quickly get to the limit of how fast I wanted to drive this road (with my wife in the car) ... and pull into the lane for slower cars.
The guy driving with his buddy in the G35 were then going to show me ... and had little or no limit on how fast they wanted to go. So the next single lane section they were about 4 cars ahead of us.
Speed and competition can be intoxicating, so of course I wondered how I could catch up or of over take them next time.
Next passing lane they were still ahead ... but all cars prematurely merged into the left lane near the end of the passing lane, leaving the slow lane free of cars for a few hundred feet.
So I take the slow lane and punch it to pass a few cars before a last second merge (at worst there is a shoulder to run out onto).
The G35 must have seen me start this manuver and pulled out of the line up of cars, into the slow lane and punched it just as I had done.
He was a safe distance ahead of me as he pulled out into the slow lane ... but I had built up some pretty good speed relative to him.
He had gunned it and I presumed we would both soon be doing about the same speed ... both be doing a last second merge, or runout on the shoulder.
Thats when I should have let offf the gas and merged like a normal driver ... but the testosterone & adrenaline were flowing.
As the merge / slow lane was coming to a quick end, there was a gentle right hand corner in the road. The position of the sun change, trees on the shoulder set up a strobe light effect for the sun hitting my eyes, in essence for a split second I was blinded while in the midst of a very aggressive driving manuver in tight quarters.
Unkown to me (because I had been blinded and did not see his brake lights) the G35 had lost his nerve and had slowed quickly to do his merge.
In a split second while I was more or less blinded, in my concious mind I was still going for it ... without thinking I (it must have been pure instict or divine intervention) ... I jabbed the brakes hard!
The excellent brake system slowed us instantaneously from + 25 mph to the speed of the adjacent slower vehicles.
This all happened in a milli second. As my eyesight and consiousness were regained, the first thing I saw was that the G35 was about an inch away from my front bumper!
I just narrowly avoided rear ending him at + 25 mph.
When I had begun the last minute, inside lane passing mauver my wife had begun to scold me for driving too argeesively.
When it was over ... 1" away from the G35 and still doing like 45 miles per hour to do the final merge ... we were both silent. Nothing more was said. We were both likely in shock.
I realized that I foolishly had come very close to piling up our car.
This is a new car for us (purchsed Dec 02) I really must learn to be more carefull as to when to unleash my aggressiveness.
I do thank MB for having good brakes!
Lots of single lane each way, twisty highway with the occasional double lane that opens up for passing slower cars. The more agressive drivers take full advatnage of any passing opportunity.
It was late afternoon with the sun being very bright. Light to medium traffic.
An Infinity G35 came roaring up behind us ... two 30 something guys obviously out to have some fun on their drive.
Being one to not like to be out performed easily ... I booted it into the next passing section and caught them by suprise leaving them in the dust.
The next single lane section they were a couple of cars behind. The next passing section, I again boot it but quickly get to the limit of how fast I wanted to drive this road (with my wife in the car) ... and pull into the lane for slower cars.
The guy driving with his buddy in the G35 were then going to show me ... and had little or no limit on how fast they wanted to go. So the next single lane section they were about 4 cars ahead of us.
Speed and competition can be intoxicating, so of course I wondered how I could catch up or of over take them next time.
Next passing lane they were still ahead ... but all cars prematurely merged into the left lane near the end of the passing lane, leaving the slow lane free of cars for a few hundred feet.
So I take the slow lane and punch it to pass a few cars before a last second merge (at worst there is a shoulder to run out onto).
The G35 must have seen me start this manuver and pulled out of the line up of cars, into the slow lane and punched it just as I had done.
He was a safe distance ahead of me as he pulled out into the slow lane ... but I had built up some pretty good speed relative to him.
He had gunned it and I presumed we would both soon be doing about the same speed ... both be doing a last second merge, or runout on the shoulder.
Thats when I should have let offf the gas and merged like a normal driver ... but the testosterone & adrenaline were flowing.
As the merge / slow lane was coming to a quick end, there was a gentle right hand corner in the road. The position of the sun change, trees on the shoulder set up a strobe light effect for the sun hitting my eyes, in essence for a split second I was blinded while in the midst of a very aggressive driving manuver in tight quarters.
Unkown to me (because I had been blinded and did not see his brake lights) the G35 had lost his nerve and had slowed quickly to do his merge.
In a split second while I was more or less blinded, in my concious mind I was still going for it ... without thinking I (it must have been pure instict or divine intervention) ... I jabbed the brakes hard!
The excellent brake system slowed us instantaneously from + 25 mph to the speed of the adjacent slower vehicles.
This all happened in a milli second. As my eyesight and consiousness were regained, the first thing I saw was that the G35 was about an inch away from my front bumper!
I just narrowly avoided rear ending him at + 25 mph.
When I had begun the last minute, inside lane passing mauver my wife had begun to scold me for driving too argeesively.
When it was over ... 1" away from the G35 and still doing like 45 miles per hour to do the final merge ... we were both silent. Nothing more was said. We were both likely in shock.
I realized that I foolishly had come very close to piling up our car.
This is a new car for us (purchsed Dec 02) I really must learn to be more carefull as to when to unleash my aggressiveness.
I do thank MB for having good brakes!
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 3,445
Likes: 3
From: WOT somewhere in the Bay Area
1951 Caterpiller D6
Never follow a guy in a Lexus/Infinity/whatever. He didn't have what it takes to buy a real car, what made you think he had what it takes to drive? 
If you leave ego and testosterone in the garage, you'll enjoy life more!
Mercedes brakes!
If you leave ego and testosterone in the garage, you'll enjoy life more!
Mercedes brakes!
Last edited by E55AMG99; Sep 14, 2003 at 01:09 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 1,935
Likes: 0
From: Ohio
It's good you're OK and the car wasn't squashed. And yes, I do think that you and the Infiniti driver were just a bit nutty for doing that stuff around so much traffic. [but i can't say too much, since i'd almost certainly be doing the same thing if our car had >189 hp]
