Bravo to the engineers behind these mighty brakes.
This one is quite different. While we’ve posted our fair share top speed runs on the Autobahn in Germany over the years, it’s not unusual. It’s very similar to the previous videos, except that an older Mazda3 zooms to the left and passes what appears like a Ford Focus. This is likely because it doesn’t see the approaching M4.
He was travelling at speeds of 174 mph (280 km/h) and the BMW’s quick response saved the day. The video shows that the M4 went from 174 mph down to 87mph (130 km/h), in just three seconds. This was fast enough to avoid hitting the brown hatchback.
Who’s to blame? All three drivers could be to blame. The main culprit would be the Mazda3 driver who failed to check the rearview mirrors before changing lanes. The M4 footage shows the compact hatchback moving quickly to pass the Focus in one move. This was probably done without paying much attention to what was behind it.
Ford was driving too slowly to drive on the third lane. He should have switched to the first or the second lane, where other vehicles were moving at significantly slower speeds.
Some would argue that the BMW M4 driver is innocent. Although he was allowed to drive at 174 mph on that stretch of highway (A5 to Frankfurt), there was a lot of traffic. Although the lane that he was driving was empty, it was crowded with cars. It is possible for tragedy to occur if a driver doesn’t pay attention and cuts in.
All is well that ends in good, and BMW and its brakes deserve a huge round of applause. The ABS and tires of the car helped to avoid what could have been a serious accident. And the M4 driver’s quick reaction saved the day.