Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: sparklite2
"I was coming back from a gym workout that left my legs wobbly. As I backed into my driveway, I got on the accelerator instead of the brake and wiped out my screened porch. I hate when that happens."

It's something of a tradition for new Army lieutenants (at least the single ones) to invest in a sportier car after commissioning, so when I drove to Ft. Knox in my new Mitsubishi Eclipse for the Armor Officer Basic Course in 1991, I had classmates who also had Mustangs, a Dodge Stealth, IROC Camaros, etc., no Ferraris mind you, but for our economic class, some pretty peppy cars. The capstone exercise of the course was the "10 Day War," which put a bunch of lieutenants in the field for 10 days rotating through tank driver, gunner, loader, commander, platoon sergeant and platoon leader positions. We were the very last class to go through using M60A3 tanks which had huge sheet metal brake and gas pedals, which you had to stomp on as hard as you could just to get the thing moving, and in the case of the brake, slam as hard as you could with both feet just to get it to slow down.

Needless to say, after driving nothing but tanks continuously for 10 days and nights, and becoming fully accustomed to the accelerator and brakes of the M60s, the weekend we returned from the field was not kind to a number of the cars of my classmates. IIRC at least seven of my classmates had fender benders that weekend from either gunning the gas when a red light turned green or slamming on the brakes at a stop sign...

26 posted on 04/19/2016 4:17:27 PM PDT by Joe 6-pack (Qui me amat, amat et canem meum.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies ]


To: Joe 6-pack

LOL
I’ve been there, sorta. In high school, I worked summers as a construction laborer. For a time, I drove a big truck with a clutch that was stiff as a board. You really had to come down on it. And sure enough, every day after work, I’d get into my ‘55 Pontiac with its automatic transmission, and SLAM my foot down onto the poor floorboard. :)


30 posted on 04/19/2016 4:39:26 PM PDT by sparklite2 ( "The white man is the Jew of Liberal Fascism." -Jonah Goldberg)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson