Fwd: Re: Allroads are hitting the showrooms

[isham-research.freeserve.co.uk at pop.pol.net.uk]

> In the last scene, the camera was in the Explorer.  The tire
> "blew," the Explorer tracked straight, and both the driver's
> hands were in the air the whole time.  (Well I exaggerate, the
> thing did drift a little after a few seconds and he corrected,
> but it was very gentle-- nothing your mother wouldn't have done.)

But he didn't do something your mother would very likely have done -
he didn't brake.

How to handle high-speed blowouts is taught in Germany as part of the
standard driver training.

We are currently going through 'harmonisation by stealth'.  Our civil
servants keep coming up with these wonderful ideas, claiming to have
just thought of them.  In 100% of all cases, it's either something
most continental countries do already, or something one of them does
that makes sense.  So I contact my German friends, and they tell
me it's happening to them too, and it was a French idea.  Or it was
already standard practice in Germany.

There's a huge difference in training between the UK and Germany as
regards motorways.  You cannot get a licence in Germany without
producing proof that you have had formal instruction on a motorway for
so long - I think it's two hours.  Plus you have to plan and execute
a longish cross-country drive on non-motorway roads, drive for so
long at night, etc.

In the UK, learner drivers are comprehensively banned from motorways.
Once they have a licence, there are no restrictions and it is assumed
that they will be perfect text-book motorway drivers from the instant
they hit the end of the on ramp.

Germany teaches how to handle high-speed blowouts.  Basically, wait
and let the vehicle deal with it, then see what you need to do.  The
best vehicle (IMO) in which to have a front wheel blowout is a Mercedes,
because of the neutral castor - watch how a Mercedes front wheel turns
when the car is being parked.

The UK doesn't teach this, and most people's reaction is to brake
hard.  WRONG - especially if the problem is at the front.

--
 Phil Payne
 UK Audi quattro Owners Club
 http://www.isham-research.freeserve.co.uk/quattro
 Phone +44 7785 302803   Fax: +44 7785 309674