Auto Accidents and Fault

[alnorth]

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...

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

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.

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

[alnorth]

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.

[Rasputin]

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

[Hydrae]

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!

[ModSocks]

Originally Posted by listopencil

2) Trust no one.

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...."

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

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

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

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by listopencil

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

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.

[Bugeater]

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.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by listopencil

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

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

[ModSocks]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

I rear ended an ambulance.

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.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

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...."

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

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

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.

Dead bodies everywhere!!!!!!

[DJ's left nut]

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}

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Dead bodies everywhere!!!!!!

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.

[ModSocks]

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.