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Anastasia
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 6, 2008 - 11:30pm PT
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Tell a story about the most dangerous driver you ever had the pleasure of sitting next to...
(I knew of a person who drove like a NASCAR driver in his VW van, (details later.) Who was yours?)
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survival
Big Wall climber
arlington, va
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My son...
Thought he was gonna kill me driving around a parking lot!
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Wade Icey
Trad climber
www.alohashirtrescue.com
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Skip Guerin- no wait, he was way scary but an excellent driver.
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Russ Walling
Social climber
Out on the sand.... man.....
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Skip Guerin or Jon Freriks
Skip for pure speed and side slipping excitement in any weather.
Freriks for exclusively using the E Brake in his VW Squareback for like two years, since he had ZERO real brakes. Those rides down from Humber Park sure were something.
Honorable mention: Mark Wilford. (statute of limitations keeps me from giving more info)
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WBraun
climber
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Skip Guerin he was good but not really dangerous in the sense.
But Dale Bard, fuk!!
He'd pass around blind turns all the time because he had no fuking patience. He was plain fuking nuts as a driver sometimes.
Once he was so bad I made him pull over and said your not driving anymore and took his own car from him and I drove.
Your hair would stand on end and your knuckles would turn white.
There were guys in Camp that wouldn't get in the car with him driving anymore.
He destroyed the transmission of that rental car him and Bachar used to bring those Ad executives from New York from fresno airport to the Valley one day.
Those guys were so scared sh'it-less they wanted to pay me double so Dale would drive them anymore, hahahaha
I ended up driving them.
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Anastasia
Trad climber
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Topic Author's Reply - Feb 7, 2008 - 12:44am PT
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DMT, you can write.
AF
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G_Gnome
Trad climber
In the mountains... somewhere...
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Oh god, I am bound to be the brunt of some stories in this thread. Good thing Waugh doesn't do the interweb or we would be here all night. I have almost killed that man more times than any man deserves.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Well, it's sad to remember several friends who I drove and climbed with, and who died in MVAs. Not always their responsibility.
My friend Eric was a rather exciting person to drive with. We once drove to Leavenworth in his parents' Valiant. On the highway east of Everett he passed on a double solid line, and got pulled over. Pretty much normal - Eric sometimes passed on blind curves on the Squamish highway. While the cop was getting organized, Eric urgently asked to borrow my glasses. I asked why, and he said his license required that he have glasses - which he'd forgotten or lost or something. At least he had a license.
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Mungeclimber
Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
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nearly clipped a lot of slow drivers, but I've mellowed.
recently, probably the ubergoober is the worst offender. impatient while driving like no one's business.
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mcreel
climber
Barcelona, Spain
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Italian truckers, when they're lost.
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Either:
Mark Grant in his Peugeot wagon taking my up to his cabin in the Santa Cruz mnts, or
A Roman taxi driver instructed we were getting late for a flight, or
the Turkish 'taksi' driver I offered 2 packs of Marlboro's if he could catch the 'Stanbul bound bus I, like a moron stepped off of for to long, at a fruit stand.
Good crashes?
(as opposed to nasty, violent, not fun outcome kind)
Well here's one:
I was 18, had a '68 VW bus.
I woke on a winter Sunday morn,
drove to Pinkham Notch from N.Conway and made the approach to Huntington's.
A guy named Jim Tierny and I climbed North gully in very 'Scottish' conditions.
Back all the way around left to the escape hatch,
descend,...
back to 'Horse Feather's in N.Conway,
Dinner, a few brews with Kurt Winkler and his gal,
back to Jim's place in Jackson,
a few beers, a few puffs.
Jim suggested (strongly) that I stay.
It was Sunday night and I had to work in Boston the next morn.
Nope, 18, full of piss and vinegar...
I set out.
Into a decently cranking blizzard.
I made it to Portsmouth N.H,
before my head was bobbing.
Just before the entrance onto rt #95 (luckily)
I fell asleep at the wheel.
Just like the plane crashing, skimming along the Andean mountain glacier in the movie 'survive' my bus was tobbogan'ing between trees and light posts when I realized it was no longer a dream.
I instinctively started turning the wheel left to get back to the road
(which I best bet, guessed to be in that direction)
I hit a plowed driveway with the wheels cocked for a left turn,
and spun out into the south bound lane of rt #16.
The motor was flooded and stalled, would not start.
It was blowing stink and snowing to 'beat the band'.
I am now outside the bus, in my down booties, amped,
trying to push it back up into the drive I skated out of,
with oncoming 18 wheeler's honking and barely making it past me and the bus, as they swerve slightly to avoid me.
I am not winning the game here, and out comes the home owner in skimpy, living room, relax type, attire.
He's no help just complaining about a bad back, on disability, frick'n doctors etc etc... arrgh.
So I muster it all and push the van into the driveway, stuff my mnt boot under the front tire as a chock long enough to get the E-brake engaged... phew... alive
jump to:
The bus has been towed to a yard.
I am in the Portsmouth cop shop.
No charges, no injuries, no arrests, all is good.
Good except where am I to crash?
I aint going for the 'book me and give me a cell' gig,
I have a bus full of ice climbing and winter camping gear.
I catch a ride to the tow yard with some cops.
The whole way the tell me that I am gunna wind up back at the station.
Nope.
We get to the yard, there's my bus behind an 8' chain link with barbed wire topping it.
The cops laugh and pronounce that I am 'out of luck'.
Nope!
I ask them:
"you are the cops, I am the vehicle owner,
if I can get too that vehicle, can I spend the night in it?
Laugh they did, but acquiesce as well.
I hopped the fence and in a flash was in the van 'setting up'.
I awoke the next morning,
(it was about 10 - 12 degrees that night)
and walked in through the back door of the garage.
The four or so guys hanging out, starting their day, freaked!
Not only did they not know there was a vagrant crashed in their yard,
these N.H rednecks could not perceive how anyone could survive sleeping in a vehicle when it was 12 degrees.
I got a hot cup of Jo'
Fig'd the flooded carb,
called my boss and told'm "I'd be late"
Made work by 11 am.
No worries, half the crew was at least 1/2 hr late due to the storm/ road conditions.
Got off work at 3:30
went home and did a few bings and...
slept from 4:30 till I awoke to go to work Tuesday morn'n.
By Wednesday I was on the phone to Tierny concocting next week's assault.
Ah the vigor (and stupidity) of youth!
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TrundleBum
Trad climber
Las Vegas
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Actually...
Come to think of it...
Perhaps the scariest ride I ever had was when I was about 15.
I was hitch hiking from N.Conway N.H back to Boston after a winter back ski/pack trip.
There was a large storm during the week and now it was clear and warming.
The roads were covered with melt water and tongues of frozen melt water crossing the road.
Where the road was bare it was covered with salt and sand.
The driver took the back roads, off of rt #16,
the driver drove psycho,
the driver had Lou Reed, 'Sweet jane' looping on an 8 track plyr.
To this day, when I here 'Sweet jane'...
I think of that nut case, N.H redneck,
driving 'hell bent for collection',
in a shitbox stationwagon,
and me and my partner...
Shit'n twinkies as he casually drifted through the back road turns.
cars are to well engineered these days.
It is hard to find a driver that can safely, rationally press the performance of a modern car with out maxing the traffic conditions.
Doing 60 mph on a back road,
in the snow, slush, sand and salt,
in a piece of crap, rotted out, Mercury stationwagon,
bald retreaded tires, no shocks and an 8 track blazing 'Lou Reed'
Now that's bad arse 'Dukes O Hazard' type shiite there ;)
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Delhi Dog
Trad climber
Good Question...
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Too numerous to mention...
If you've been to this part of the world I'm sure you could back me up there.
Brazilians I thought were bad, but compared to Indian drivers...shoot, their babes-in-the-woods.
I’ve always wondered why they even put lines on the road. My theory is that it gives the drivers something to follow, never mind the oncoming car which is also following that same line, someone is bound to move over (just never happens to be the car I’m in).
Lights are for flashing, horns are for…honking, whenever and wherever the need arises, which is constantly.
The trick I’ve discovered is not to make eye contact with the other driver if your driving. You see, if you “don’t see them" well, they don’t exist and therefore you can pretty much get away with anything. This is the SOP for all drivers (at least here in the city).
Passing is a real test of one’s belief in karma or fate- whichever you choose because at some point you just have to hand it all over to karma, fate, or whatever and accept that if its happens then
1) either be able to bail quickly or
2) hope survival is a possibility.
Pakistanis are a serious contender for 2nd.
For pure speed and no brains...I’ve got to give it to the adolescent rich male teenagers of the Emirates in their BMW's, Mercedes, Ferraris . Crazy sons of b#$ches!
I’ve been passed on the shoulder (mind you I was in the fast lane going 85 mph) and from NOWHERE comes a Beemer shooting by me, must have been doing 150 easy!
Yep, too numerous to mention. I get back to the states and I have to say it pretty darn boring…
Cheers,
DD
ps Oh the motorcycles…ah skip it
the family wagon
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survival
Big Wall climber
arlington, va
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Saudi drivers #1
Egyptian Drivers #2
Philipino #3
China #4
No wonder I have so much gray....
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deuce4
Big Wall climber
the Southwest
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I drove plenty with Skip, when I was living at 1020 9th Street. Never felt too gripped.
I recall being pretty gripped one day with the Fish as he sped down the steep road into Oakhurst coming back from a trip to Fresno (where we sat though a showing of CHUD: Canibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers, possibly the worst movie I have ever seen).
His VW bus's tires were bald, I think he got up to about 100 mph, the bus shuddering though every turn, on the verge of tipping. Can't believe the old tires stood up to the careening.
I reckoned we were dust for sure.
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SteveW
Trad climber
Denver, CO
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My old buddie Howie Doyle. . .RIP, though from a heart attack,
not driving. But his lead foot was legendary. I wasn't along
for his land speed record from DC to Seneca Rocks in a Porsche,
but I took many rides with him in his old Nascar chebby station wagon. god that man was a speed demon. On our trip to Eldo in
'75 he got over $100 in tickets in 15 minutes on I-70. Thank god they didn't have good computers then or we'd been in jail for sure. god I miss him. . .
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TradIsGood
Chalkless climber
the Gunks end of the country
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DMT - classic.
I remember when driving was safe and climbing was dangerous.
Embellished a little for our reading pleasure?
Just guessing, no.
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swill
Social climber
Colorado
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Wilford
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justthemaid
climber
Los Angeles
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1st place:
I used to work with a guy named Hakkim. We had to drive several hundred pounds of lumber out to San Bernadino. He ties the entire load on top of his Rabbit (yup- one of those tiny cars from the 80's) with some scetchy-looking rope then drives at breakneck speed the whole way. Car was totally top heavy, and hard to steer. The load kept shifting around and I expected the whole load to cut loose on the freeway any second. Never occured to Hak to slow down or re-tie the load.
2nd place: Local climber Medusa
Who my friends would point the finger at: ...
Well, that would be ME. I've been involved 14 collisions. A certain irascible Southerner will pipe in any second here about my "navigation skills".
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