It should have Rolled.

If she would have slammed on the brakes while trying to regain control it would have made it worse. Always remember:

If your in a spin, both feet in.
If you have a doubt, both feet out.

Is is obviously referring to the brake and clutch pedal but the same would be true of an automatic.

 

I was always taught that in a spin you apply opposite rudder for one-quarter rotation, and then full forward on the elevator.

Oh, wait a minute, that was for airplanes. Never mind.

Tom

 

If you were airborne (ie Dukes of Hazard style) you could apply that technique.

 

Had a Jaguar XK-8 speedily attempting a left turn as I was already in the intersection.
Totaled the Prius, and I walked away.
I have a nondisplaced fracture of my right radial head and my chest hurts from the airbag deployment but, I walked away.

 

Ouch. Sorry about the car but glad you are ok.

 

Congrats! Do you mind sharing some cost information on the tires -- if not what you paid, then the MSRP or in general comparison to other tires?

 

Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the continued updating you provide.

 

I know you don't want people commenting on the situation, but I feel I must comment. Please take it in the spirit its offered, in the hopes that your daughter will survive the period of her driving life she is in, that period between 16 and about 21 where the chances of her dying in a car accident are hugely higher than yours and mine.

I think it is commendable that you are having your daughter take advanced driving courses. My parents had me do that and I have continued it and it is enormously helpful, it has made me a much better than average driver and there were situations when I was her age where it saved me from accidents I know that to be true.

However, training is not a replacement for experience. At 17 she just simply lacks experience and situations like these are giving her that experience. In these situations training, and a general feeling that she is a better driver than she is can be dangerous.

You say she has good instincts and has been driving a long time and skis at 70MPH and all of that is well and good, but you admit that pretty much at every opportunity in this situation she made a mistake, she overcorrected and overcorrected by your very description. You or I would not have done that...because we have experience. You seriously could have been killed. Would it not have been as bad if she were driving at the legal speed limit and not using cruise control? Who knows.

My advice, everything is easier to deal with at a lower speed. Everything is easier to deal with when you are in complete control of the vehicle (i.e. not using cruise control). When I pass a truck, I kick it off cruise control because experience has taught me that moving past such a large vehicle creates wind buffeting especially in the Prius.

Again, I'm not trying to tell you what to do but I would caution you to not overstimate your daughter's abilities because she has had so much training, and to not lead her to overestimate her abilities either. Studies show it takes a driver 5-7 years of driving experience to become of the average skill level of drivers at-large. The training she is recieving will accelerate that, but one year of licensure, the training, and being a good skiier do not a professional driver make. I wouldn't be riding along with my 17 y/o daughter passing trucks over the speed limit on cruise control. She obviously got into a situation she was incapable of handling, and you allowed her to get into that situation.

 

All this discussion about the speed limit implies that there has been serious research into what the "safe" limit is and that that's been applied to all roads. However, the vast majority of highways have speed limits of 65 MPH. I've been on some 65 MPH highways where I find myself driving at 85 MPH and felt totally comfortable. On the other hand, I've been on some 65 MPH highways where I was white-knuckled at 65.

Going slower will always be safer, assuming people adhere to the speed limits. However, no one (including the "safest" driver here) is going to accept 10 MPH limit on a highway. I realize that I'm taking the argument to the extreme, but I'm just confused by the people in this thread that seem to be suggesting that the somewhat arbitrary speed limit on our highways is some sort of magic threshold: you're safe if you're at or below it, but completely reckless if you're even a few MPH above it.

I repeat again, we would all be safer if we drove more slowly, but there's nothing magical about the speed limits on most highways.

 

Its a twitchy car but at the core its a stable mild mannered midsized car. IMHO it would be pretty hard to roll it.

But then again I've driven an Explorer on a road course LOL...

 

was watching TV and the subject was the #1 cause of death among people aged 21 and under and that was vehicle accidents (more than double 2nd place).

it was also stated that if the driver had ONE EXTRA SECOND TO REACT, accidents would have been reduced by 65%, deaths and serious injury, reduced by 80%....

ONE EXTRA SECOND

 

One thing not taught in any driving course or school I have encountered is teaching young drivers that some situations you give up and "wait it out" or "go home".

For example, driving by an elementary school (with no controlled traffic directors) and all the kids are letting out. That's when I pull over and let the burst get on their bikes and go before restarting the car. That's very hard to teach, but makes for a very safe driver to realize they don't have to drive though all situations.

Or be really late to work or school if dense fog has rolled in.

 

I have no clue on earth where you are getting this opinion from. I think it is just like yours and Doc's original opinion in that you are assuming things that aren't correct and therefore making judgements based on those.

Exactly what is wrong with a teenager with an adult driving on the freeway? This is the PERFECT way for them to learn. It just happened that she got in a panic situation and didn't react as a skilled driver would react.

I'm purposely not saying, "an experienced driver" because there are a lot of experienced drivers, probably at least 20% of those behind the wheel in America, that probably shouldn't be driving because they don't know what to do in emergency situations. But that's my opinion.