pr11fan Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I was in my first and hopefully last accident in my RX-8 yesterday. Here's the story, I was heading to work on a 4 lane road, about 2 minutes from my work there's an exit ramp with a HUGE stop sign at the end of it that forms a T intersection with the 2 lanes heading west. Well this 70 year old woman in a mercedes decides that the merging land must have a 90 degree angle in it as she ran the stop sign and swung all the way over into the far left lane where I was going about 50mph, barely had time to slam on my breaks before my front right corner slammed into here drivers side as she hadn't completed her turn yet. Initial damage is cracked front fender, smashed passeneger side headligh, badly and scraped passenger side wheel well, and one completely screwed up rim on the front passenger side, not to mention some slight bend in the frame behind the headlight. I'm guessing about 4-5k worth of damage, to the mazda and about 10k at least to her benz. Why does the county not force people over a certain age to retake a driving test every year. Oh for those that live in Richmond Virginia, it was the exit ramp off of 295 that leads to Nuckols road, Avoid this intersection fellow richmonders. Your RX-8 will thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Not to lecture you, but be glad its only property damage. As irritating and frustrating as that is, it could've been a lot worse. Count yourself lucky. I DO agree that some older drivers shouldn't be on the road, but the problem is their family members KNOW they have no business being out there, but don't want to have that 'discussion'. Just hope you make it to 70. Then you can wreak your vengeance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted June 17, 2004 Author Share Posted June 17, 2004 Hehe, good point. I know it could've been alot worse, if I would've been hit that intersection a half a second sooner she would've t-boned my car so to speak and god knows what would've happened. Still, less than 5k miles on my first new car ever and now it's tainted forever. :puke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 My wife and I went to her 20th high school reunion in Richmond last year. As we were leaving, setting at a redlight, a panel truck hit us doing about 55-60mph (or so I'm told, I have no recollection of the collision). I 'came to' about 100 yds down the road from where I had been, facing the wrong direction. Had my kids been in the car, they'd have been killed. The **** didn't even stop. Glad you weren't hurt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted June 17, 2004 Author Share Posted June 17, 2004 Geez that sucks, did they ever get the guy that hit you. Btw, where did she go to school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
funnyperson1 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Has anyone seen that South Park where old people driving are considered a hazard and the AARP militarily takes over South Park after their licenses are revoked? If you haven't you damn well should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blondie Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 There are some YOUNG drivers who should have to take a drivers test each year. Age does not always cause poor driving habits. Glad you were not hurt. Blondie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Actually, the story I classify as "the closest I've come to dieing" isn't much different. I'm driving in the right lane of a two-lane interstate. There's a car in my left-side blind spot. Ahead, on the shoulder, is a boat on a trailer, stopped. As I get closer, I see it's not just a boat trailer, but a convoy of three cars, with the rear vehicle towing the boat. As I pass car #3 (the rear car), car #1 pulls in front of me. Two car lengths in front of me, doing 5 MPH. To this day, I credit a film I saw in Drivers' Ed. The film discussed constantly keeping track of what I think of as "abort zones", as in "if something happened right now, where would you go?". Their priority was to head for empty road if you could, then into somebody moving the same direction as you, then into stationary objects, and only last into oncoming traffic. I immediatly swerved into the left lane, fully knowing it was occupied. (I even gripped the wheel harder: If I hit him, I was going to force him left, anyway). Fortunately, the guy in the left lane saw the idiot, too, and went on to the left shoulder. No collision. I've always wondered if the idiot who neither accelerated nor looked before entering an interstate even noticed that he was instantly passed by a pair of cars who were occupying both lanes of the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pr11fan Posted June 17, 2004 Author Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by Blondie There are some YOUNG drivers who should have to take a drivers test each year. Age does not always cause poor driving habits. Glad you were not hurt. Blondie Agree, but past a certain age, reaction time and awareness can decrease imo, whereas with most people my age and younger, their accidents are just from being maniacs which probably won't show up on a driving test since they'll be on their best behavior. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCS Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Yeeesh. Well, as everyone else has said, good thing you came out okay. That sounds like it had the potential to be really bad. could have come out worse than the car. Was rear ended this past January and the kid who hit me was doing 25, ( snow covered roads). Can't imagine what it would be like to be hit by someone going 50 +. Fortunate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I'd at least like to see some re-testing, occasionally, of drivers. I swear that less than 10% of the drivers in Florida know what the rules are for who has the right-of-way at an intersection. (And four-way stop signs, I think, have caused complete neural shutdown.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woofer Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by Larry I'd at least like to see some re-testing, occasionally, of drivers. I swear that less than 10% of the drivers in Florida know what the rules are for who has the right-of-way at an intersection. (And four-way stop signs, I think, have caused complete neural shutdown.) 10% of most drivers everywhere don't know what the rules are. Period. 10% know what the rules are, but don't care. 10% don't think the rules apply to them, but should for everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I almost got into an accident this afternoon when a lady ran a red light coming from my right...she ran it by a good 3-4 seconds. I hit my brake just in time and she plowed into a car coming from the opposite way as me. scary moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexter's Better Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I am glad you are okay -- but if your frame is bent your car may be totalled for safety reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 That stinks, man. I'm a Richmonder and that is a crummy intersection. My dad just got an RX-8 (midlife crisis car, we call it.) Totally sweet ride. Handles like it is on rails. You should really talk to your insurance guy and see if you can get it totalled. It would stink to have such a sweet ride that doesn't perform to specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by Blondie There are some YOUNG drivers who should have to take a drivers test each year. Age does not always cause poor driving habits. Glad you were not hurt. Blondie Yes, but you don't often hear about 25 year olds careening off the road into Farmers Markets either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dallsux Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by Larry I'd at least like to see some re-testing, occasionally, of drivers. I swear that less than 10% of the drivers in Florida know what the rules are for who has the right-of-way at an intersection. (And four-way stop signs, I think, have caused complete neural shutdown.) Only 10%? It's like 80% here. No one around here seems to realize that the car coming off the highway into a parking lot has the right-a-way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bonef1de Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 I was driving this morning at 5am on my way to work when some drunken idiot in an Integra started swerveing inches from my tires. I have a raised truck with 35" tires but I just wanted to get to the yard. Eventually I took an exit and this fool came up beside me and cut me off by 2'. I knew what he was going to do before he did it, and sure enough he jammed on his brakes and when I saw his ass end of his car lift up I cut the wheel to the left and when off the enbankment. I missed a light pole by 3' and a guardrail by 5'. Anyway I tried to 4x4 out of there but I only had 2 tires touching ground and the soil was real loose. So I was stuck with several cops showing up on the scene. Next thing I know my boss pulled up behind me laughing, after I gave him the bird he winched me out of the ditch. The thing that kinda freaked me is one of the officers told me that I did the right thing going left into the ditch. He said based on the tire marks if I had swerved right I would've rolled the truck. I consider myself the best driver on Hawaii. When I had my permit back in the day (when I lived in Frederick, MD) my Dad took me to DC for the day. At about 4pm he said lets go home and tossed me the keys. I can say know that lesson tought me more about defensive driving and anticipation of other drivers than anything else I could've learned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aREDSKIN Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Is it me or are women on cell phones, in SUV's or Vans the absolute worst drivers out there? They are so carless and obilvious it's mind boggling. I cannot even count the number of times I've had to take evasive action because of the stupidity of some drivers. Even the blue hairs out there have an excuse for their carelessness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy-the-Greek Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 Originally posted by funnyperson1 Has anyone seen that South Park where old people driving are considered a hazard and the AARP militarily takes over South Park after their licenses are revoked? If you haven't you damn well should. That is a classic episode of South Park. Does anyone know how long we will have to wait to see the second half of the 8th seasons new episodes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thiebear Posted June 17, 2004 Share Posted June 17, 2004 They need to make *Everyone* take the test every year. They might want to think about making the test a tad harder. I took it after 8 years and passed easy without even crackin a book. Most were on Drinking... ie. what helps after you've been drinking... coffee food shower time I also love to see people with *interpreters*.. My first question is how do you know they are not giving the answers as there is nobody there to monitor them. AND will that person be with them all the time to *interpret* the real road????? Sorry about your crash.... I like going to work at 5:30am, much less traffic and idiots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montilar Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Been gone all week, so late to the party. My first new car, with 7000 miles on it, was hit head on by a high school kid. Did $7200 to the car, and I lost 6 hours of memory (still gone), waking up with a concussion in the hospital. I mention it, as that car was a piece of worthless JUNK afterward. Even though it was fixed "good as new", it wasn't the same car, didn't drive, sound or fell the same. Not to mention stuff consistently broke or went bad on it afterward. I said after that accident that if it happened again, I'd sell the car immediately. (It was the kid who got a reckless driving ticket for coming around the S-turn on Cowen Blvd. in Fredericksburg on my side of the road) Is it me or are women on cell phones, in SUV's or Vans the absolute worst drivers out there? They are so carless and obilvious it's mind boggling. I wouldn't just say women. There's been a few men who I would've revoked driving licenses if I had the authority. If you can't pay attention, get off of the road. But I'd add on to it, that the more expensive the car, the more likely it is that the moron on the cell phone is driving badly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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