[DropTopKinetics]

Huh ... imagine that. That's how I drive ALL the time!

(No, really: There's a point to it.)

In my younger motorcycling days, I perfected beliefs and habits I developed even before I began to drive on public roads that I learned from two sources in my early teens:

• German sportbikers and car nuts (a ringleader lived across the street from me)
• Cycling on European roads -- not on bike trails, but the actual roads between towns

You quickly learn two important rules:

• The safest place is in front of others.
• The more space around you to be able to move into in an emergency, the better.

I accelerate -- and, at times, brake -- to get into more space. That's the cardinal rule of safe vehicle operation to me. I can't tell you how many times -- as a cyclist, motorcyclist, and driver -- I've seen traffic behind me blow up. I very rarely have seen it do that in front of me -- and when I have, I've had a place to move into to avoid it (thankfully). Anticipation and bet-hedging is the name of the game. I describe it as 'defensive aggressiveness' to others. Most think I'm nuts. But I never crashed a motorcycle on a public road and have had exactly one minor accident since age 18 (I'll be 50 next month) for a reason, and it ain't being passive -- even amongst the 'morons', LOL. ;D

Couldn't agree more. Create a safe space. Best way to use 718 on public roads!

 

[Crewman19]

My 718’s a Moron Magnet

I’ve owned my 718 Cayman for almost a year now.

This is the first Porsche I’ve owned.

The one thing I really don’t like about the car, is the way some other motorists treat you.

It seems almost every other time I go out in the car, I get some idiot who wants to race me.

Countless times I’ve stopped at traffic lights and the person in the next lane goes for it when the lights change.
I even had a guy in a beat up old Volvo Estate try to cut me off at a set of lights when the three lanes at the lights went down to two the other side, “Really ???”
I’ve been tailgated numerous times by everything from “White Van Man” to young idiots in ordinary hatchback cars.
I’ve had another guy with his Mrs in the passenger seat chase me down a duel carriageway in a Fiesta ST. Stupidly I accelerated and left him behind only to see him again soon after right on my bumper again. I overtook a couple of lorries and pulled off at a junction, there wasn’t much of a gap. But to my surprise he followed me, I don’t know how he missed the lorries.The junction slip road had a long sharp bend, the 718 took the bend at speed comfortably. The Fiesta ST tried to follow as quickly, I could see the drivers passenger giving him a real roasting for being a “Tool”.

After that escapade I try to avoid these Idiots.
I now just slow down and let them go past.
I stick to the lower speed limits and only enjoy my car on country roads when there’s little or no other traffic about.
I don’t have anything to prove, I know my cars faster than 99% of other vehicles on the road.

So if you’ve never owned a Porsche before and are thinking of buying a 718 you will have this problem.

I didn’t have this kind of trouble in any of my previous cars.

Be careful especially as a lot of other drivers have Dash Cam’s, you don’t want to end up on You Tube.

I’ve just bought a cayman and had a similar experience, I’ve just decided a nice slow pace when the road is busy and open her up when the roads are empty.

 

[highwire_ca]

In general, I find the drivers here to be pretty OK. Last Friday though, I was heading to the drive-thru to get a salad (and when I say salad I mean a Quarter Pounder with Cheese (tm)). The driver of the RAV4 in front of me stopped dead about four car lengths from the end of the queue and I was behind them about half a car length back. Behind me was a Dodge Ram so I had nowhere to go in reverse. RAV4's reverse lights come on and it starts reversing as I furiously sound the horn. Fortunately they stopped with a couple of cms to spare. That was too close.

 

[Kman]

Thank God the near miss happened before you got your "salad" or you may have dropped It. My buddy tells me "just because it’s on the dollar menu doesn’t mean it’s right".

 

[Rideguy]

Similar thing to a coworker several,years. He and his wife went to buy a new car right after work. It took many hours to compleete the sale (a Ford), and they were starved. There was a McDonalds right next door, so they drove off the lot to the drive-through. They were one vehicle behind the pick-up window. The pickup truck in front moved ahead, suddenly stopped, put it in reverse and backed into their brand new car!
Glad your episode had a happier ending.

 

[MLJJ]

Went off-roading this morning. Someone in a minivan apparently had an urgent text (or whatever) and was visiting me in my lane headon. Car handled beautifully getting out of the way until it encountered tall wet grass. Thankfully, I had nothing but grass/weeds on my side. Spent a little while vacuuming vegetation out of the self-installed radiator grill mesh. I don't have an on-board camera, but this, and the litigious society we live in, has me thinking more about it. Be safe out there!

 

[Mozella]

I debadged my first generation Panamera and now I don't have any of the problems listed in this thread. People think I'm driving a Chrysler Crossfire.

 

[Graustark]

I debadged my first generation Panamera and now I don't have any of the problems listed in this thread. People think I'm driving a Chrysler Crossfire.

Crossfire is pretty cool. Isn't it a shared platform w/ some Mercedes, per it being the DaimlerChrysler era?