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We all know the benefits of all of these systems, but when you get to experience them working together, in an instant that could change your life, you come to appreciate how good they really are.
As I was driving back from the airport this evening, the toll road was nearly empty, had good visibility, and was enjoying driving my T after a couple of days out.
Suddenly, I spotted something in my lane, and literally ONE SECOND later, I see this large wood bench (or pew or something like that) right in front of me. Without even thinking, I looked at the Lane Change Assist light, as I didn't have time to analyze the images on the mirror, seeing it was off, I changed to the lane on my left, and then back to my lane. The whole thing happened in under TWO SECONDS at 78 MPH.
I knew the maneuver happened really quickly, but didn't expect it to be that quick. It wasn't until I played back the video from my recently installed BlackVue DR900S that I could see the speed, and the time it took for this to happen. The most impressive thing is that watching the video you realize that the car was completely and absolutely stable the whole time. Not a single wobble, or anything. Smooth and cool as if it was nothing. I sincerely doubt I would be happily sharing this online if I had been driving something else.
I remember watching the Porsche videos online about Rear Axle Steering, when the 911 steers around a tree, and being impressed. But getting to experience it like this, on your own, makes you a true believer.
So, here are a few pics (or didn't happen, right?) that I extracted from the video:
Just as I was swerving around the bench:
Close-up of the obstacle on the road:
This will give you an idea of how quickly this happened. This is what I saw on the '54 second mark:
ONE second later, the thing was right in front of me, and after glancing at the Lane Change Assist light, I was swerving to avoid crashing onto this thing:
And just ONE SECOND later I was back in my lane. I didn't stayed on the left lane since I didn't want to risk having someone coming on that lane that I could have not seen:
In short, I am very, very glad to have all of these systems available, and if I wasn't impressed enough already with the incredible handling of the 911T, this just confirmed how great it really is!
Glad you are safe Alex. Had a similar thing happen years ago on Westpark Tollway at dusk in my 993 with a Coyote that jumped the wall right in front of me. Only my DE experience, warm (newish) tires and a lot of luck kept me out of the wall. I'd much rather be in the T with its modern systems.
This is where I really get nervous going fast in SUVs, which is why I'm generally a Granny driver in my MDX and the wife's truck.
i had a similar situation the other day, something flew off the back of a pickup truck 3 cars ahead of me on the freeway at 80mph....let's just say I am glad i was in the Porsche and not my Honda Clarity EV LOL
#germanengineering....They are remarkable cars, aren't they? I am blown away by how capable these cars are above the legal speed limit in the USA. Driving my 991.1 GTS to Vegas at a steady 85-90 mph is remarkable for how quiet, smooth and stable the ride is - with auto start/stop on for fuel efficiency. I can easily go 350 miles in my GTS at a steady speed of 80-85 mph with auto start/stop on. The auto start/stop is remarkably unobtrusive and remarkably fuel efficient on the highway, in my opinion. The fastest I have taken my PDK cab GTS is about 118 in rural So Cal. That was in manual mode, sport plus. EPIC. And that is only about 2/3 of what it is capable of (188 mph). The 991s can be a sledgehammer, a scalpel, and just about anything and everything in between. Kudos to Porsche for upping their game with the 991. No way I am getting a 992 as I have a GT3T on the way. Long live the NA engine - sorry, off topic, long live the 911!
Nice save! A lot of people just mentally lock up in such a situation, so congrats on having the mental reflexes to handle this so well! So you get a lot of credit too.
It's nice to have a video to review such things. Here's a frame of the last moment before a rock impact on my prior car's windshield (the blob to the top of center). Notice how far the dump truck is ahead, yet the rock is still flying. A review of the video showed revealed last second of its arcing bounce along the freeway. At least it hit the windshield and not the body or top. I'm afraid I never saw it before it cracked the windshield. (Maybe you've started a thread of highway debris video grabs!). BTW, I offered the company name and license plate of the dump truck to the insurance company but they didn't want it just for a glass damage incident.
Wow great Pics of that bench in the highway. You were operating on instincts. You did well and looks like you have lots of innate ability and experience which can't be taught. I bet it was similar to the autocross maneuver in and out of a "Chicago Box".
Good job. It is also nice to know our PCars are great machines stable at high speeds.
Thanks for the post.
CB
Believe me, you don't want to panic stop in the middle of the Hardy Toll Road.
OP, nice save! It's a daily occurrence around here with all the debris out of the pickup trucks. I avoided a 1/2 sheet of plywood last night at 85 on the Grand Parkway. Cayenne FTW.
I am glad I was really paying attention to the road and was well aware of my surroundings. As @911-Tour and @Needsdecaf mentioned, sometimes Houston roads look like an obstacle course!
@StormRune and @Vodkag great (and scary!) pics too. That rock got caught perfectly by the camera (and unfortunately by the windshield too).
@Porsche_nuts good save! By the way, after my last Macan GTS got totaled by someone rear-ending me while I was standing still in traffic, I am very cautious about braking unexpectedly if I can avoid it. As you mentioned, Porsche has great brakes, but unfortunately the other cars don't, and hence the higher risk of being rear-ended.
Totally unrelated this this story, but @Needsdecaf signature reminded me that a few years ago, when we both had our BMW 535's, and posted in the Bimmer forum, he had the same joke in his signature line, but I remembered it a little bit differently.
And by chance I happened to visit one of our suppliers in Germany. After visiting their manufacturing plant, I was impressed with the level of their engineering. After the visit, they invited us to have dinner at a very nice and upscale German restaurant. Wanting to praise them on their engineering prowess, I repeated this joke, but the version that I knew, which said:
Heaven is where the police are British, the schedule is kept by the Swiss, all the machines are German, the food is made by the french, and the parties are organized by the Mexicans.
But then I got my facts for hell all wrong and said:
... and Hell is where all the machines are British, the schedule is kept by the Mexicans, the police are French, the parties are organized by the Swiss... and the cooks are German! All while having a nice German dinner...
It was one of those "what was I thinking" kind of moment.
The next day, after more meetings, I said goodbye to our gracious hosts, and the CEO of the company said: "here, have this, a little farewell gift, but don't open it now". As soon as I left the office, I opened the gift, and it was......
A German Cook Book! At least they had a sense of humor.
06-01-2018, 11:49 PM
PTV + RAS + PSM + S-PASM + LCA = SAVED!!!
