Carnival ride, or how I learned to hate my horn

Sunny day, dry road, moderate traffic, somewhere near the speed limit. Blonde in an Acura decided she needed my part of the interstate right the hell now! Swerved to avoid, left front caught the grass in the median. Two turns later in a counterclockwise spin, I'm facing the way I was going with a dead motor. Checked traffic, saw that I wasn't about to get clobbered by anyone. Fired up the beast and went in pursuit to 'splain to the other driver the error of her ways. Blonde didn't even slow down btw. Caught up, hit kinda horn, blonde didn't even turn her pretty head. Hit kinda horn again, same result. Figured by now ditz was laughing so hard at that kinda horn it would be pointless to try, so I motored on. Gave her a friendly wave, though. Moral of story: Just cause they're in their lane don't mean they intend to stay there. Lesson learned: Air horns are going on the car, with a special dumbazz switch to avoid that crappy steering wheel switch. Lights were on, btw, which didn't prevent two other "drivers" from trying to cohabit with my on that same trip. Whee! Before anyone asks, I did check for damage before I went too much further. Chunked one tire a bit, but that was all-except for my seat. Anyone have a recommendation for a good leather cleaner?

No harm (except the upholstery) - very fortunate. The older I get, the less I assume about the other people on the road. As a dopey teenager, I had righteousness on my side...but assuming that everyone will do the right thing because they're supposed to won't keep you from getting a creased fender - or worse. Now that people are distracted with texting, navigation, the 12" touch screens mounted in the dash, and whatever the hell else they're doing instead of driving, I no longer assume that anyone will act the least bit rational. Congrats on making it through the spin unscathed. Q: What does "hit kinda horn" mean? Oh, wait... it's kind-of-a-horn? If so, you might want to check your wiring. The horn on the 996 is actually pretty decent.

kboll: I think you need to check the position of the "cloak of invisibility" switch. It might have been left on.

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I think that wiring must have gotten damaged when I relocated it to the console. Dam.

I adopted a strategy riding sport bikes that I employ every time I'm on the road. I drive/ride as though everyone on the road is actively attempting to hit me. I keep my head on a swivel and maintain good spatial awareness. This has saved me from being part of many accidents, some that eventually were multi-car. I'm glad to hear that your unintended thrill ride ended well!

That made me laugh. Great post and glad you are all right.

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It's sobering when you stop and recognize that eye-level in the 996 is at or about the height of the tires for many trucks and SUVs. Unless they look DOWN when checking their blind spot, it's possible to miss us. My seal grey 986 became nearly invisible at dusk - driving a tiny car the same color as the road at dusk really made me work on my defensive driving skills. I don't miss much about my X5, but I do miss the part about the car being too massive to overlook.

The difference between the 996 and my dually is amazing: no one has ever tried to merge with me in the truck, whereas it's not at all uncommon in the car. I rode bikes for years also, so I have the same mindset that while not everyone is out to get you, they just might be at the time they're near you. This lady swerved so suddenly that I had no idea until we were close to trading paint.

This is why I love the hella supertones I have on my WRX. If there was a decent place to mount them on the 996 I'd consider a second set of them.

Always assume that drivers around you are A-holes. You won't be wrong often.

Yes. Every. Single. Time.

Is it just me or is this thread missing pictures? Btw, to the OP, I'm glad you're okay. Over time, I've come to the conclusion that most drivers are actually bad drivers. They get in the car and go from point A to point B with little thought of anything happening in between. Light is green, so go. Light is red, so stop. Road turns, so turn. Phone rings, so answer it. Everything unexpected is an "oh !@#$" moment but they don't have the skills to deal with it. Add arrogance and the scene gets uglier...whether it's the arrogance of being young and thinking you're invincible or thinking you're a good driver and capable of superhuman feats when, in fact, you can (and will, eventually) die and/or suck at driving...or whatever. A month or so ago, my wife and I watched a woman do a 496 point turn (494 of which were the exact same freaking points) to get out of a parking spot (isn't doing the same thing over and over without change the definition of insanity?) only to leave the restaurant parking lot by going the wrong way on a one way street. This was a woman in her 40s with a car full of people. And, no exaggeration, it took between 5-10 minutes for her to get out of the parking spot, unimpeded. Eric

"Cloak of Invisibility" Maybe that is what the little red button on the inside of my console is for. ????? I just found out the other day that this type of horn honking is now illegal in Colorado and could be considered road rage and you could be given a ticket. How STUPID is that anyway.

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I'm thinking the invisibility switch is the one to the left of the steering wheel that you put your key into. Road rage? I'LL show them road rage!! I'll beep my kinda horn till they run off the road laughing! That'll show them!

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thanks, it was fun (not)