Auto Accidents and Fault
 

I was talking to someone today who got hit by a careless driver, they always seem to get hit by bad drivers every year and I suddenly realized that in the few accidents I have ever been in, they were all my fault. Guess I'm lucky like that. Then I figured this might be an interesting topic for a poll, to follow...

You are obviously a good defensive driver if you have avoided being hit by any of the many idiots out there.

In my teens and 20's, I was a God-awful driver, even by young adult standards. After I turned about 28 or 29 though, I've never been involved in another accident again.

I think I've only been in three accidents as a driver, and they were pretty much all the other person's fault. Only one required any car repairs, so maybe the other two don't even count.

1. Age of 16. In the McDonald's drivethrough, and a bus came through the wrong way trying to get into the lot. In backing up to avoid it, I scratched the side of the bus. One might say this one was my fault since I hit the other vehicle, but I only hit it while trying to avoid it hitting me worse. Minor scratch on the side of the bus, and we both shrugged and moved on.

2. Age of 18 or so. Leaving a parking lot. A drunk driver pulled into the lot, then inexplicably put the car in reverse and backed into my car while I was stopped. Minor damage, the other guy was arrested because he could barely stand up. Clearly his fault. This is the only wreck that had to be repaired since he dented in my door.

3. In February of this year, I was driving on a freeway in a rental car in Los Angeles when there was a wreck in front of me. I stopped and the person behind me almost stopped. She tapped my bumper, we looked at it, and I told her I had no issue with it as long as the rental car company didn't give me guff. It was just a tap and I wasn't even sure if there was damage or just dirt. Clearly her fault and the rental car company never said anything.

I was in one serious wreck as a passenger, and it was my driver's fault (a coworker). So my car was at fault but I was only the passenger saying, "NO NO NO! NO LEFT TURN! NO LEFT TURN!" right before the truck broadsided us.

I've never been in a car wreck in which I was the driver. I pay quite a bit of attention to how others are driving and drive defensively. When needed I like flying the **** past someone who can't stay in their lane while texting and make sure to never drive in someone's blind spot. Either speed up or slow down. It's amazing how many people don't do that one.

First accident ever? My fault. 1979

2nd accident - hit a cow that got out from a pasture through a damaged fence that some welfare coporate farmer failed to fix. The cow actually was hit in the opposite lane and fell into my lane where I came over a hill and hit it. Thought I hit somebody's engine block. 1997.

2013. 3rd accident. 70mph traffic came to halt on I-70 and I had to move to the inside shoulder to avoid a collision. Caught the right front of my car on the rear of a flatbed at a bout 25mph. No injury. No insurance claim. Fixed for 1500$.

I picked roughly 50/50.

2 - Mines
3 - Theirs

Only time i've ever been in accident involving another car, some truck cut me off in heavy traffic and i couldn't stop in time. I was able to veer to the side to avoid a bad collision. My passenger side fender caught his bumper.

That was the day i learned what composite plastic was.....

I've hydro-planned once on the freeway, and i've let the back end slip out from under me once as well while going hard around a corner.

I was the perpetrator of two rear-end collisions when I was younger. Both my fault, but luckily minimal damage. One of those "too fast, too close, shitcan'tstopfastenough" things.

No accidents at all since then where I was the driver. Other than the stupid ****ing deer that was too dumb to change direction even a hair and crashed into my passenger door while trying to cross the street. :shake: :shake:

I wouldn't say I'm a huge defensive driver -- not like I drive like a grandma or anything -- but I've driven a gazillion miles by this point in my life, and generally have good instincts and awareness etc.

Been driving for almost 30 years, never been in an accident while driving. How? 1) I don't like to drive so I don't do it much more than I have to. 2) Trust no one.

I rear ended an ambulance.

Yeah. I drive Defensively with a little Offense thrown in there. I'm hyper-vigilant and I will not stay in a dangerous situation.

This. If I look in my rearview and notice that the person behind me is texting and not paying attention....I'll move over and stay the **** away from them.

That's bad. My older daughter rear ended someone, and then got a speeding ticket later in the same day.

LMAO

Ah, yeah, I just remembered where you live. Crazy ****ers down there. I learned how to drive in Carmichael.

1. I was like 15 or 16, icy road, going too fast on a turn, hit a pole on rear passenger side. The car was a crappy old beater, so when I got the car home we ended up punching some holes in the dent and pulling it out.

2. 16 or 17, icy road again, I briefly stopped in the middle of the road (rather than pulling in to park which I obviously should have done) to let passengers out, car behind me skidded into my rear. I got the ticket.

3. Young, don't remember how old. Driving down the road, didn't notice a car was stopped with their left turn signal on, for some reason I chose to brake instead of go to the right lane, almost stopped in time, but not quite. Bit more than a fender bender, but not much.

4. Early 20's, worst accident I've ever been in. Probably would have died if I wasn't wearing a seat belt. Driving home from work, it was cold and rainy, and I never noticed that the rain was turning to sleet and the road was getting icy. Slid off the road going 60, slammed head-on into a concrete culvert on the passenger side (passenger console was touching the seat) which spun the truck around. Thanks to the magic of seat belts and air bags, I staggered out of the truck sore, scratched up, and limped to a nearby house to call home.

5. 20's again, backing out of the driveway, a car was parked on the other side of the road directly opposite the driveway which was probably a bad choice on their part, but whatever, I wasn't paying attention at all and hit a parked car.

Haven't had an accident in over 12 years though, but had some recent close calls where I narrowly avoided an idiot. Scariest close call about 4 or 5 years ago when a car was stopped dead in the middle of a 6-lane highway at night and I couldn't see it until the truck in front of me suddenly changed lanes to avoid it. Jerked the wheel to the side, tires screeching, and I JUST missed it.

No such thing as "accident" cause and effect. Bad driving is no accident. Bad weather is no accident don't drive in it...

I told my kids when I was teaching them to drive that I could not pass along experience and that is would not be if but when they had their first accident. With that experience I know I can tell when someone is going to pull in front of me even before they start to do so. There must be some signs that I am seeing subconsciously but I can't put my finger on it. Freaks the kids out at times though when I can say, watch that guy, he is coming over. When it happens they start thinking I can see into the future! :)

Yup. My 17 y/o nephew is learning how to drive and i keep trying to pound that into his head.

I tell him, "Think of Alllll the idiots you know. Now think about how many of them drive...."

It is considered an accident because, typically, you don't intend to drive into another vehicle.

I was 16 and the ambulance driver stopped in the middle of the street....no sirens....no lights. Yeah, I wasn't paying attention....and I barely ran into the back of him. The driver came tearing out of his door and started going off on me. Got a ticket for careless driving and went on my way. I felt bad because they had stopped for a lady who had a stroke and rear ended another car. Dipshits claimed that their ambulance wasn't usable anymore and had their ambulance towed. So the lady had to wait for a new ambulance in the rain.

A week later....my Mom made the guy write me an apology letter because they never asked if I was ok....or checked to make sure what had happened. Dude just ****ing went off on me in the middle of the street.

Two rear end collisions but even though I was found at fault they were both complete bullshit. One was an asshole in a Cadillac that cut in front of me while he was making a right turn on red and then brake-checked me, other was a stupid Asian **** that was going less than 5 mph in heavy rush hour traffic.

Yep....**** the people down here.

You know....i have you beat. I crashed into a mortuary.

That's when i lost control and let the back of the car slide out. I over corrected and wound up putting the car right into a mortuary wall.

Luckily there was a planter box between me and the room where they prepped the bodies......that coulda been REAL bad.

I have found that transferring the title over to their name and making them pay for their own car insurance works wonders.

Dead bodies everywhere!!!!!!

Only ever been in 2 and I was sitting still for both of them. I was the third car in a 4 car bumper car when the idiot at the back of the wreck was looking at the price of gas rather than noticing that the cars in front of him weren't moving.

And I was in an ice-storm when a car coming the other direction spun out of his lane (when trying to stop for a stalled car at the top of a hill). I stopped as he spun into my lane, the car behind me did not.

Honestly, I think I'm just a pretty damn good driver and I chalk that up to my time on the motorcycle. Spend enough time on two wheels and you start to see accidents well before they develop; that's actually how I ended up getting hit in the ice storm.

For about 3-4 years I was putting 40K miles/yr on my car and still only have ever had the two wrecks (well, and the time as a high schooler I was being an idiot, simply didn't see a turn and drove straight off the road and down a hill; got lucky to get it turned in time to come to a stop on the road below and simply drive away). That's a pretty good track record for as many wildly reckless things as I've otherwise done in cars. {knocks on wood}

Did you hear about that two seater single engine Cessna personal aircraft that crashed into a graveyard in Poland? The authorities were digging for survivors for days.

One positive is that you really learn the limitations of the car once you've been in an accident with it.

For years i nonchalantly drove around in the rain, not realizing how often i was close to hydroplaning. After i hydroplaned, i now can recognize that loose feeling, and i realize how often the car had that loose feeling prior to my crash, and how often that loose feeling comes around in wet weather.

I never knew how close i was to losing control until i finally lost control.

Ah i thought you were about to mention a local story from the other day.

A small passenger plane tried to make an emergency landing on the hwy and crashed right into another vehicle killing one of the women inside.

Well that's not funny.

Such an odd set of events. The plane slid about 150FT down the shoulder......just happened that a car had pulled over on to the shoulder so the driver could fix his blue tooth.

That's some Final Destination shit right there.

YOUR DAMN THREAD JINXED ME AS SOMEONE REAR ENDED ME AT A RED LIGHT TODAY!

Minimal damage, paint chipped and small bumper crack. Other driver going to pay me a small amount $250 as compensation.

I've been fortunate that I have only been in (4) accidents during 36 years of driving, the first accident I had was during the first 6 months of having my license and it was the only time I was at fault. I was pulling onto a highway at night after my shift at the supermarket and as a car was turning into the parking lot, I pulled out to make a left and there was a car that was hidden by the turning car. I smashed into the side of their car. No one was hurt but my car and their's was a mess. I never even saw the other car until I hit it. Three times I have been rear ended.

Two times in less than 6 months my car was hit while parked on the street. 1st woman stopped and took care of the damage. Second person was a hit and run and it was apparent that someone who was backing out of the driveway across the street hit me.

If you had gone through the wall and I was the mortician, there's no way I could have resisted posing a bunch of bodies all over the place for when the EMT's showed up.

LMAO

I've been in quite a few accidents. About 50/50 here. Mine are mostly from being a dumbass!!

A year after graduating high school age 19 I was driving my AMC Eagle and having fun "dune bugging" with a friend in the car jamming to some stones and drinking a 30 pack Bush beer when for some reason the car made a turn too soon and nose dived into a ditch. I was wearing a seatbelt only thing that kept me from going clear through the windshield. For weeks I was still feeling sharbs of glass in my scalp. Didn't ever go to the doctor but I did have a nice scar above my left eye. Can barely see it today.

There was no police in town that weekend so I got off lucky except my friends dad had gave me some shameful words that stung.

I had one at an unmarked intersection when I was 15 and on a school permit. It was deemed my fault due to my age but today it would have been the old gals fault every time.

I'm not counting the ditches and bad idea jeans of my youth that didn't involve insurance or police.

My worst accident I was driving a straight line down a hwy and a van turned right in front of me. It was 100% their fault, but that didn't stop their insurance and attorney from calling the morning I got out of the hospital to say it was my fault and threaten lawsuits.


I didn't rear end an ambulance, but I did commit a dumbass of my own...in my first job after college I was a leader of men...office staff and field collection crew. I was training a new guy in a rural area. I was literally reminding him how important it was to be careful and drive responsibly when I popped over a hill on a gravel road that turned to dirt. It was late February and starting to warm....the ground was frozen except for the top inch of slime......

In the middle of my lecture about driving with caution and being aware and liability....when I hit the slime, the truck began to slide into the ditch where I promptly laid the company dodge Dakota onto its side.

As we hung there in our seatbelt so, I think I said something like "in review, never do something this stupid. "

4 accidents: 50/50

Their fault: I got rear-ended at a red light, and two days later got T-boned at a 4-way.

My fault: Hydro-planed and did $5000 damage driving a friend's truck, and totaled my car on ice--both times going a bit faster than I should have, fortunately no other cars were around.

A good teacher uses illustration to drive the point home.

I've been in two auto accidents in my life, one of which many of you already know about, neither were my fault.

Technically. Need to change my answer. I drove in several demolition derby events when I was young....many of those collisions were definitely my fault.

I have been in two, one was my fault, the other not. The 1st one I was trying to squeeze into a busy road from a ramp, it appeared the person in front of me got their window and was in the main road, I saw my window, sped up to make the merge, and WHAM, the person in front of me chickened out and went back to the ramp and I ran into them. The 2nd one, someone was in the median, came on to the main road without looking and sideswiped my front side. Though my ex got in many wrecks, most her fault, the only one not her fault was an uninsured illegal, and my insurance rates were sky high because of her for years. My insurance guy was visibly happy for me when I got her off my tab after the divorce.

Wait. Are you new here? You should never use the words "My daughter" and "rear ended" in the same sentence.


So I got in my first accident last year. Totaled my truck. Driving some girl to church on a sunday morning (I'm an atheist...). In the rain. On I-35. Come to the top of a hill going about 55, see three cars sitting in the middle of the interstate. No way I'm going to stop... I hit a minivan in it's backside, carrying a family to church. The first two cars just drive off, before we can even get a pic of them or the license plates - conjecture of myself and the van driver is that they were in an accident before he got there - so it all ends up being my fault somehow. And now my insurance is about a trillion dollars a year. :grr:

Ha. These responses remind of when I used to do auto claims as my 1st job out of college. You really start to learn how untruthful people really are as long as it benefits them.

Ever since then though, I've been a much better driver. Just realized the bad things that can happen in a car. So many people just worry about their own bubble when driving and don't pay enough attention. For example, now when I'm going through a green light, I still look right and left to make sure no yahoo is barreling through a red light. When I'm next to another car in the other lane I constantly keep a tab on them to make sure they don't start drifting over into my lane. Maintaining better lookout when backing up in parking lots. It's probably helped me avoid 3 or 4 collisions over the last 9 years.

1) 1st collision, 16 yrs old, my fault, rear ended a SUV in the K-mart parking lot while not paying enough attention. Gave them $1,000 cash, was really minimal.
2) 2nd collision, 16 yrs old, my fault, two lane 35 mph rd, car in front of me suddenly slammed on their brakes because they missed their turn, I swerved to avoid and hit vehicle in other lane with my blind spot
3) 3rd collision, 25 yrs old, was rearended by some kid when it was really snowy. Just took the cash in lieu for $2,000. It was minimal dmg to the bumper cover, back quarter, trunk lid etc. They were mainly just not aligned anymore. I sold the car a few years later and the buyer didn't even notice it.

It sounds like God was trying to use you to kill a bunch of churchgoers that day.

He works in mysterious ways

Had 2 wrecks that were technically my fault but I had good excuses for both.

1. hailstorm, I'm on 4 lane street in town in my pickup left lane. Signal to pull over right so I can stop before I lose a windshield and ashat in a junker Datsun micro car hiding in my blindspot gets his front end removed while the Dakota lost some dirt off the bumper. Got a ticket for unsafe lane change.

2. Top a hill in Dakota, light turns green couple hundred yards ahead. 2 guys in a Ranger talking, ignore light change and by the time I realize they're talking not driving it's too late. Pushed his receiver hitch to within 6" of his differential. Drove the Dakota to the repair shop. Ticket was for following too closely.

Of course these 2 incidents happened within 6-8 months so insurance did the non-renewal thing and I paid out the nose for 5 years. The other couple I've been involved with were the other guys fault. That's running 500-600 miles a week for the last 19 years.

So you didn't check your mirrors before you made a lane change, and you rear ended someone. Yeah that's your fault.

Yep, I'm as bad at driving as you are at reading comprehension. I'm a real menace to society.

Only one back in 1993, and it was my fault.

A deer got me a couple years back, so my insurance company said that was my fault. Other than that, 1 my fault many years ago, and the other 2 were definitely the other person's fault. I've been legally driving for over 50 years.

99% of drivers DO NOT have their side view mirrors set correctly. :shake:

The side view mirrors should be set FAR OUT to catch the ENTIRE lane on your left and right to eliminate 90% of your blind spots from your REAR VIEW mirror. When a car passes me on either side, I see the entire car coming and once I do not see it anymore, it's in my sight of vision. I may miss less than 2 feet of the vehicle.

Most people set their side view mirrors too far in and capture most of what you already see in their rear view mirror, leaving a very long blind spot as cars move out of the rear view image and before you can see them in your line of sight.