Vehicle: 2002 ML 500, 1994 Ford Explorer donated to Doctors without Borders
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 2,051
BAS saved my ass!
I was driving this morning and the car in front of me stopped suddenly to let a pedestrian cross in the cross walk. Cool! The problem is that the pedestrian was so far off the street that the next 4 cars could have passed before he entered the street. He was so far away, in fact, that I never saw the man. I suddenly realized that the car in front of me was not just slowing down, but going to stop in the middle of the road. I hit the brakes hard, but as things transpired in slow motion in my head, I was absolutely sure that I was going to slam into the car.
The traffic was moving at around 45 mph and when I saw the brake lights, it never occurred to me that this car would come to a complete stop. What idiot does this for no reason? It was only after the near accident that I saw the pedestrian, who still would not enter the street because he thought the car behind me was going to hit me. I was pissed at this well-mannered, inconsiderate idiot!
Afterwards, I realized that I probably had not hit the brakes hard enough in the first few seconds, thinking that the idiot was just slowing down a bit. It was only after panicking that I applied harder. The brakes, however, hit hard with my first step, thanks to BAS. Even though I was sure that I would not only make contact, but bash the hell out of the idiot, I stopped well 2 feet before contact. Way to go MB safety systems!
It only occurred to me after the near miss that this would not have been a simple, exchange addresses fender bender. This would have been a first time experience with the airbag for me. Not too pleasant, I'm sure. As I continued my drive to work, once again, my appreciation was increased!
I know what you mean... BAS kicks butt. I remember about two weeks after buying my ML I had a huge dump truck.... driven by what I will call a "Total Asshole".... cut across two lanes of traffic to pull right in front of me on the offramp on IH35 here in Austin. I thought for sure I was going to rear end him as I was going much much faster... obviously.... luckily nobody was near the back of me..... I just couldn't believe it was possible to slow down my truck so fast..... have kicked them in maybe just once or twice since then.... but it's a great system.... ESP works pretty amazingly in ice too..... of course you can't drive like a maniac and expect it to handle like it is on dry pavement.... but when it iced up here back in Jan I took my truck out and had the road to myself more or less.... just makes me realize why I refuse to drive anything other then a Benz.....
z
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Newly on Benz #6
Finally traded 00 ML (miss it though)
Vehicle: 2002 ML 500, 1994 Ford Explorer donated to Doctors without Borders
Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 2,051
Quote:
Originally Posted by lorryfan
Are you running on OEM brakes?
I just put EBC Redstuff pads on last month. Ironically, I was wondering just 20 minutes before the incident how they would be if I needed to stop in an emergency. The ML was so cool! No drama at all. ABS didn't vibrate, no squealing or tire shrieking. The ML just refused to make contact with the car... very quietly.
...I was pissed at this well-mannered, inconsiderate idiot!.....
Don't you love these stupid Do-Gooders? My favorite are the ones who stop at a crosswalk and wave pedestrians to cross not realizing that another car is barreling down the road beside them..
Glad you didn't hit that Einstein...
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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former
Albert Einstein
thats good to hear. i often refer to my ML as an SUV that handles like a sports car. my friends always make fun of me and call me soccer mom while Im a 22 year old male software engineer. I THINK THEY ARE JUST JEALOUS OF MY MB!!!
ive experienced the opposite so far. people tend to get out of my way when im coming through especially in the left lane...
A couple of days ago I had my first "near collision experience".
Rush hour traffic was pretty dense but running around 30 mph. For a split second I looked down to adjust the A/C and suddenly my girlfriend cried "watch out!". I looked up and the car in front of me had stopped and was around 20-30 feet away.
My reflexes told me to hit the brakes and make a hard right turn to avoid hitting the car in front of me. My body prepared for the collision.
Within a second the ML had come to a complete stop and only the right front wheel went off the road.
BAS works like a charm!
Couldn't get the smile off my face for the rest of the ride!
Linear Mode
