There’s so much to like about this video.
The voices in the car during the video aren’t actually the people in the car — it’s a podcast about computers and smartphones and whatnot. I found the video on Reddit, of all places.
What I find frankly amazing is how well that Sienna handles being chucked off the road at 65-70mph. If you want an illustration of just how much engineering, thought, and CAD iteration has gone into the average new vehicle for sale in America today, well, here you go. Straight-line exit into rough pavement at high speed. That used to kill people.
Why’d the van come to a halt? I’m thinking a flat left rear.
Just the absolute, flat-out refusal by the Sienna’s driver to merge…mindboggling.
But he had to stop and change clothes;pants at least.
That’s Illinois alright. Right lane empty, everybody sat in the left lane with their brain off.
I’m pretty sure that’s I-70 East between Dayton and Columbus.
+1 on a left flat tyre. He probably cut at least 1, where the thread joins the carcass, when he went back to the freeway. It happened to me, rear tyre.
Why it didn’t merge before? If I interpret local road rules correctly (RHD), it would have had right of way there. Right after the tow truck. It could have also waited behind the blue car.
I’ve had a taste of the FEA that goes into a car, just for the structure. Fantastic stuff. The driving dynamics are usually modelled using ADAMS, or whatever Toyota uses.
Also, why end the fast lane? IIRC, it is usually the slow one that gets merged here.
lots of highways in the US have abominations like on-ramps feeding into the left lane.
Some American highway engineering practices are a bit off, but it does make sense to trim lanes from the inside rather than from the outside - the “slow lane” should be consistent.
That being said, the Brits know how to merge multiple lanes of traffic at motorway junctions. The guv’mint should fly a bunch of our traffic engineers over to the UK in order to see how it’s done.
Key words: “could have waited.” That sums it all up.
When it comes to merging, the prevailing attitude is “I’m gonna pass one more car, even if it kills me!
I needed a good chuckle tonite. This fit the bill nicely.
Usually other cars are passing the Toyota who is poking in the left lane so this is very unusual behavior for a Toyota driver, especially a Sienna. Of course since it doesn’t end well it just goes to reinforce why if a Toyota wants to get someplace faster it shouldn’t speed; it should just leave ten minutes sooner and drive under the speed limit.
That would have been terrifying in any of the BOF SUVs I’ve ever owned (4Runner, Pathfinder). I think my old Nissan Quest would have just shook it off too.
I suppose it’s a matter of perspective. I’ve been involved in far more dangerous, intentionally sideways, high speed dirt situations in taller vehicles than that. I have no doubt that I would have finished that pass with continued acceleration if I were driving, in anger, the ’98 Pathfinder on 31″ tires that I once owned. That van took a beating, though it did it with composure. A real SUV with healthy sidewalls and plenty of ground clearance would be preferable to me for that excursion, though certainly more prone to a rollover if the driver somehow chose to do any off-throttle steering.
@ rpn453 ;
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Thank you for this ~ in the 1960’s ans 1970’s I’d intentionally do stupid high speed semi off road things like this (NOT in traffic !) in my old trucks and cars : rusted out ’59 Ford F-100 with mis matched bias - ply tires , ;46 Chevy 3100 , old VW Beetles and Vans , ’61 Plymouth four door sedan , etc. and never crashed , not once although I beat the living crap out of those poor old cars .
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Not sure why I used to do this , it seemed like fun at the time and certainly taught me how to handle emergency manoevers at speed .
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We’ve made it to Me. from Ca. in Tom’s old Mercedes W-126 S-Klaase , I had to buy him four new tires after repeated blowouts of his mis matched worn out skins , still seeing random crashes here and there .
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-Nate
After two days rolling up the I-70 and watching all manner of idiots , crashes and wheels up in the ditch , this one made me smile .
-Nate
I disagree with the headline. As Robert said before me, I’m believe that most SUVs would actually end up rolling in this situation.
Typical of a Toyota driver here in HNL… brain-dead.