Corvette hotshot bites the dust

[Bob K]

Four of us were returning to Seattle on I-5 from Olympia yesterday after having spent the day at Paul Ronalds anual barbeque. There was fairly heavy trafic so we we doing close to the speed limit. A white Corvette (older body style) convert. comes up behind us and starts passing us while holding his arm up with thumb and little finger extended (what does that mean? I thought it was the sign for telephone.) He continued through the trafic ahead of us weaving in and out, changing lanes and showing off like an *** . We lost sight of him until about 2 miles up the road when we came upon a cloud of dust and several cars and motorcycles pulled off to the side. We stopped to find the vette off in the bushes on the right shoulder about 50 feet from the road - still right side up. The driver was crawling out and making his way through the brush back to the road where several people were waiting for him - most appeared not too thrilled he was able to walk away from the crash. Once we were assured that there were no other cars involved and there was no medical emergency we pulled back on the freeway.

This made me think about how we as Viper owners need to conduct ourselves on the roadways. Sure it's fun to drive fast and maybe display a little to other people on the road, but to do what this guy was doing was idiotic, dangerous and could have lead to disaster. This is not the image we want to be identified with. May our cooler heads prevail!

 

[George Farris]

Bob K,

You are 100% correct.

geo f

 

[garolittle]

You reap what you sow.

 

[Dion Fisher]

That's exactly what I was talking about with folks Friday at the driving school that type of driving on the highway is nothing more than a "Prelude to a Felony"..i'm sure he had no idea what slip angle means or even what threshold braking feels like and it's limits in relation to his vehicle...

I can't say a whole lot more as I crushed my soap box long ago when I realized I too am a person whom suffers from lack of restraint at times..

For that reason and that reason alone I limit my Viper driving to events and occasional cruises.. Still even with all that said do I look for an uninhabited country road to play on when "cruising"?? HECK YA!!

 

[Scott J]

The hand gesture that you described is pretty common here in California and it is used as a sign of appreciation for the most part. Rolan L was accurate in his definition and the origin of the sign as coming from Hawaii. I even get the hang loose sign from old-timers when they pass me in their Caddies.

I will say that Corvette drivers tend to be mature when compared with the Fujiyama specials with the orange paint jobs and giant wings on the back that are weaving in and out of traffic. I hate all Japanese cars, but hate hazardous drivers even more.

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

The thumb and little finger extended is the "Hang Loose" sign that you see a lot of in Hawaii. In Hawaii, you sort of wiggle your hand back and fourth for more emphasis when you want to give someone the "hang loose" sign.