Audi 100 Non- Quattro Avant - stability under emergency braking - bouquet for designers

[David Boyd <john@dboyd.demon.co.uk>]

Had a very severe fright indeed yesterday:

Following three large lorries and approached a stretch of single carriageway
with a single, central overtaking lane. The road markings here indicate that
vehicles in the other direction are free to use the central lane, whilst on
my side  they indicate that overtaking is OK using the same central lane
only if it is clear of oncoming traffic. It *was* clear, all the way up to
the roundabout which ends this stretch of road, so I pull out to overtake
said lorries. Just afterwards, a convoy of vehicles comes in the opposite
direction from the roundabout. One of them immediately starts to overtake,
so both of us are in the central lane, on a collision  course. It dusk,
almost dark, and I can only assume that the other driver was not familiar
with the road layout and thought there were two lanes my side too. For
whatever reason, he just kept on coming at me, accelerating all the time,
whilst I was abreast of a very long lorry trailer with nowhere to go......I
thought this kind of thing only happened in nightmares. Disaster was only a
split second away - combined impact speed 120mph +.

So, the severest possible braking was the only option. (Wet road, no ABS,
front brake discs and pads recently renewed (Zimmermann and Pagid
replacements respectively.) Not surprisingly, went into a skid, at around 65
mph., and the reason for this post is to comment on the stability of the
handling under these conditions - the car would still skid in a straight
line with all wheels locked, and even during attempts at evasive action by
steering away from the by then extremely imminent head-on collision with the
oncoming car it remained controllable given some, (thankfully instinctive,)
'opposite lock'.  It is impossible to recollect exactly how I managed to
miss both the car and the lorry - it was all over in a few seconds, apart
from correcting a final skid towards the Armco at the road edge. I was very,
very, lucky to come out of all that unscathed, and suggest that whoever
designed the braking and steering systems of this vehicle managed to build
in a most commendable level of predictability and stability. - bouquets
rather than brickbats are due to Audi's designers in this case - I am
convinced I would not be sending this post now if I'd been in any less
sophisticated vehicle, especially one over six years old, as is this Audi.
Would a Quattro and/or ABS have been of any additional benefit in this
situation ?? - I've not enough experience of either to hazard an opinion,
personally.

Most of these three-lane single carriageways, where overtakers play games of
'chicken' in the 'no man's land' in the middle have been removed in the UK
in recent years, and I think this illustrates just how dangerous these can
be even when nobody is being deliberately reckless - just the wrong
permutation of many different circumstances. Any UK Listers who are
interested, the location is the A66 just outside Keswick, Cumbria, on the
Penrith side. I will require AWAC radar confirmation of no oncoming traffic
for several miles ahead before I venture into *that* middle lane again !

Regards

David

john@dboyd.demon.co.uk
Cumbria, UK