Rollover

 

It's been in the news most of last year and starting again in 2001, about vehicles rolling over causing serious damage to owner, occupants and vehicle. The tire manufacturer blames the car manufacturer and the car manufacturer blames the tire manufacturer. It's something that I come to accept from my two young children when I face them both and try to get at the bottom of why they're fighting.

Who's at fault? ............. Obviously, both are!

With that being said, I'm not going to continue with who's blame it is and why, I'm going to focus on what this particular page is about, and that is the driving performance of the Dakota Quad.

I'm not at this time going to get in the technical explanation of the steering, suspension and design of the Dakota Quad. I've instead and this time have chosen to tell you about a true incident that had occurred to me. As they say, "the proof is in the pudding". For me it sums up one the essential elements concerning driving performance of the Dakota Quad.

What............, as I turned my head to answer the yelp of my daughter siting diagonally behind ..... probably nothing, noticing that my wife was addressing the problem I returned my head to where it should have been, looking ahead.

Now, before you continue with the reading of my driving experience I going to ask you to put yourself in the right frame of mind or is that, ........frame of time. To fully appreciate my tail you'll will have to imagine a second of time more as a s ----------e ----------c ----------o -----------n ----------d of time. Just imagine that the event in the paragraph that follows lasted a mere second.

Returning my head and vision back to the road I noticed that the car in front of me was incredibly close, as a matter of fact, it was incredibly stopped, stop dead in the road, apparently waiting to make a left turn and with no turn signal on, ........ like that would make a difference. I recall thinking..... Gee.... if I hit the brakes going 50 mile an hour........ I really don't think this puppy is going to stop until it's front bumper is somewhere in the back seat of that car stopped ahead. Decisions,............ decisions ........... more like a spasm then a reaction I turned the steering wheel to the right then to the left in a fraction of a second, changing from driving lane to shoulder of the road in the same amount of time, having no time to waste even in attempting to hit the the brakes.

Back to normal time.

My wife turned around and asked me "what was that all about" at the same time I returned to the driving lane,............. "Nohtin" I replied. After a few moments of composing myself and checking my seat, I told her what had happened. She told me, " I thought you were checking out the truck". A few moment's had passed, I had some time to think, I looked at my wife and said to her " hey wife ......... I really like this truck".

Now I've driven some winding roads in 28 years and the last time I came close to doing a maneuver like that, I was 19 and my Mustang left the road at 60 miles and hour slid 50 feet in the woods and stopped 3 feet in front of a big fat oak tree.

A matter of luck, yes, in both cases, especially the Mustang. You'll have to excuse me, as I sit here writing, you can't imagine the things that flash before my mind. I have to save those stories for another time and another place.

Or as best as I can recall, I'll try explaining the remnants of what I felt, heard and experienced in that second of hit or miss in my Dakota Quad.

Simultaneously, I heard what I thought to be all 4 wheels making a growling chirp, as thought all 4 tires were giving up rubber in an attempt to hold their position on the road. It was thought my truck was questioning me, " is that your best punch"? I was shifted to one side and then the other, similar to a roller coaster ride as it banks a turn, but was restrained unharmed by the seat and safety harness. My Dakota recovered instantaneously, there was no perceivable hesitation or fluctuations. It had held the road as though the road belonged to it.

As I drove along, silently in my mind I was totally impressed, I don't think I would of been more impressed if my Quad had took flight and jumped over the car. Going 50 miles an hour and making a sudden right and left turn (as fast as the violinist for the Dixie Chicks could stroke her bow up and down an inch), I would imagine, most trucks and SUV's might not have faired or survived as well.

I am aware that there are a few organizations that test vehicles for there handling abilities and others whether commercial or governmental that test for collision survival, and rollover. However I'm not aware of any that may have preformed the same test that my Dakota passed so admirably with as much at stake as I did.

To me a vehicle proves itself not in a laboratory, not at an organization that can afford it's own a private driveway (with what appears to be a student driver attempting to maneuver around a lot of pretty little red cones, followed by a commentary statement that neither is understandable or has any real value, unless........... the only driving you do is on a private drive with little red cones). A vehicle has only one place to truly prove itself and that is on an actual road or path in one of life's real unexpected circumstances.

This is my true story........... and I'm stickin to it.

One remaining comment, the purpose of this story is to share driving and handling experiences with fellow Quad owners, it is not made to endorse or suggest a driving maneuver that is either necessary or reckless. Each of us are responsible for our own decisions.

I'll be adding more to this page as time goes on, anything dealing with driving and handling of the Quad that I can dig up or have a opportunity to experience.

By the way, my name is Nick. If you have an experience that you'd like to share or information pertaining to the handling performance of the Dakota Quad you can email me by clicking this => Mail

Check the front page for the last update date.