Drive "defensively"

Discussion in 'Off-Topic' started by Dorean Clarke, Oct 6, 2020.

  1. Dorean Clarke

    Dorean Clarke Well-Known Member

    1. Be aware of what other drivers around you are doing, and expect the unexpected.
    2. Assume other motorists will do something crazy, and always be prepared to avoid it.
    3. Keep a 2-second cushion between you and the car in front of you.
    4. Make that 4 seconds if the weather is bad.

    ~Always drive with care~
     
    BillLin likes this.
  2. EdwinTheMagnificent

    EdwinTheMagnificent Legend In His Mind

    Two seconds ? If I don't leave 4 or 5 seconds , I might have to touch my brakes.
    And I don't want THAT.
     
  3. litesong

    litesong litesong

    Safety? Now that I’m doing more astronomy & piloting my telescope at night thru the Universe, I find that I’m driving the cars less on the Earth during the day. That’s a safety factor.
     
    BillLin likes this.
  4. BillLin

    BillLin PV solar, geothermal HVAC, hybrids and electrics

    Just try to dodge that less than one in a quadrillion chance of getting hit by space junk while you're watching it come at you. :eek:
     
  5. litesong

    litesong litesong

    Decades ago during a meteor shower, I set up my telescope to view the “radiant” of the Leonid meteor shower(direction from which the shower proceeds). Thought I might see a stationary blip of a meteor coming at me before it burned up in the atmosphere (or burned through my head!). But, I didn’t have motor tracking & had to keep moving the telescope, to see “nothing happening”. Got bored & just watched the meteor shower across the sky. At one point I saw 4 simultaneous meteor streaks in the same part of the sky. That was wild.
    At the Washington State “Star Party”, I was observing celestial objects in which only red lights are allowed, to preserve night vision, while a meteor shower was in progress. Took a break & was talking with 3 people in the dark, of which I could only see their dark silhouettes. Then a bright white light occurred behind me. I first thought someone had turned vehicle headlights on. I was miffed, & didn’t turn around, so I could preserve my night vision. But, it was a meteor burning through the sky. Suddenly, it hit the lower atmosphere & it was like a huge flash bulb illuminating like daylight, the whole region for 15 miles all around. Startled, the 3 people’s dark silhouettes turned pure white in front of me. I turned toward the meteor flash, but all I could see as I rotated were the 3 pure white silhouette after images against the night sky, left on my retinas. My eyes recovered a bit & I saw the last remnants of the meteor burning out. That got proclamations of “wows” from the entire Astro Field.
    At the Oregon State Star Party one year, I had my 20x80mm binoculars set up on a tripod. Fortunately, a meteor burned across the sky & I quickly could see it in the binoculars, till it died out. That meteor got lots of ohh’s & ahh’s. But, beyond that I could see the smoke left behind by the meteor as it cooled in the air with the binoculars. I hollered in the dark that I could see the smoke of the meteor! People shouted in the dark, “No you can’t”. I shouted back, “Yes, I can”. People then started coming out of the dark to look through my binoculars. Then, they said, “Yes, I can, too”. After a few minutes of excitement, people drifted away, back to their own activities on the Astro field. Ten minutes passed, since the meteor burn & I could still see the meteor smoke. I shouted again, “I can still see the meteor smoke”. People shouted back, “No, you can’t”. I shouted back, “Yes, I can”. Then, people trickled out of the dark to view in my binoculars, “Yes, I see it, too”. Then, they drifted away again. 20 minutes after the meteor burn, I could still see the meteor smoke. I shouted again, “I can see the meteor smoke”. But, this time, no one came out of the dark to binocular view.

    How short is fame!
     
    Last edited: Oct 8, 2020
  6. Dorean Clarke

    Dorean Clarke Well-Known Member

    Well, you can adjust it as long as you know the defensive way of driving.
     
    RedylC94 and BillLin like this.

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