ESP Saved My Life (And My Car)

[MariusGT]

....

As for NEVER driving beside a truck — if you've done much travelling on major highways you'll know very well that there's often no choice, dropping back only puts you beside the one behind him. I agree that it doesn't do much for one's nervous system to be running alongside a wheel that's head high and less than a metre from your right ear, but such is life on the road these days.

And I think even that is less nerve-wracking than to be trailing one behemoth and being tailgated by another — far too often I've felt like the meat in a sandwich.

i'll start by saying a big BRAVO to the ESP for helping you out in a very dodgy situation. nice work VW!

while technically you may not have been in the wrong as far as rules of the road apply... i think driving even remotely near any ones blind spot is crazy.

especially on freeways where people do become lax and comfortable cruising along and forget the same principals of daily commuting (like checking your blind spot).

on a recent drive south i had cruise set to 110 and a guy in a commodore slowly overtook me. just as he inched in front he seemed to reset his speed. that left me smack in HIS blind spot.

rather than wait for him to move (ie: merge left, accel or brake) i backed off - waited for him to move across to left lane and then i moved around and well past him. i'm not a fan of being any where NEAR a driver as lazy as that when i'm doing 110.

if the commodore had of been a truck..... well --> i would have done the same but maybe more quickly.

i think being proactive and looking after yourself is the most important thing - don't EXPECT other drivers to do the right thing.

[Nathan_B]

Big fan of ESP - thankfully i have never had to test it in a situation similar to yours!

[Idle]

i'll start by saying a big BRAVO to the ESP for helping you out in a very dodgy situation. nice work VW!

while technically you may not have been in the wrong as far as rules of the road apply... i think driving even remotely near any ones blind spot is crazy.

especially on freeways where people do become lax and comfortable cruising along and forget the same principals of daily commuting (like checking your blind spot).

Please, will those implying it was my own fault get this: I WAS NOT IN HIS BLIND SPOT — nor even near it. I could see him (and the front and side of his truck) in my RH mirror and he could see the white TDI (and me driving it) through his windscreen.

He simply forgot I was there, glanced in his LH mirror, didn't see anything close and pulled over without further thought. I had no reason to even suspect he was about to do the unexpected, plus he WAS behind me.

As for not travelling alongside another vehicle, regardless of its size, isn't this the fundamental purpose of multi-laned highways? There's nothing ornamental about them...

[MariusGT]

take it easy.

the fact is that people get lazy on freeways.

overtaking/being overtaken on them is all good and well however i don't think traveling along at 100/110kms/h side by side (slightly in front OR slightly behind) is a good idea.

i know i wouldn't be happy with an 18wheeler coasting along over my shoulder on a freeway.

[triode12]

I'm with Marius, I wouldn't want to be sitting in the wash of a big 18 wheeler for too long. While our cars are stable enough, one can still feel the buffetting from the turbulence cause by a large truck, making the car feel unstable and that can't be good for fuel economy either.

[Bushranger]

also a big fan of the ESP and abs

[Maverick]

Mav, could you link to the list please? I'd be really interested to have a browse.

Just posted it - Recommended tyres for the Volkswagen Golf Mark VI

Mark V info will go up in the next week.

Kumhos are pretty good Mav, I'd rate them.

Maybe at first but once the tyre starts to wear it's a different story and many also buy the semi slicks which are not suitable for everyday road use.

It's the Wanli, Iron Horse, Firestone, Nexen, Maxxis, Bob Jane Out-of-Rounder, Xenon that scare me. Hell, even the brand name offerings can be a worry (Goodyear F1 GSD3 springs to mind).

The first GSD3 was good (German made) but the subsequent Australian and Chinese made where the problems which goes to show tyres from China and Australia really don't rate all that well generally (IIRC).

Could be worse, people could be fitting retreads & tubes - that used to make up 15% of the market back in the '80s ;-p

They should have shredded their licenses on the spot!

[John Deere]

I'm with Marius, I wouldn't want to be sitting in the wash of a big 18 wheeler for too long.

\

18 wheelers and neither big, nor that common in Aus. 22 is whats on our roads as a "semi trailer"