What part of turn and brake signals don't you understand?...

[Dave]

Preparing to get on the interstate this morning, I noticed a van closing in on me really fast, so I put my turn signal on extremely early to warn the driver that I'd be slowing down soon. When I noticed that the van appeared to have not even begun to slow down, I began to brake very lightly as I was now approaching my turn and they obviously needed more warning that I would be stopping.
I progressively increased the brakes so I could slow down to make my turn and noticed she was slowing down, but I didn't think it would be enough, and sure enough, it wasn't. I was still going about 5 mph upon impact, she was going an estimated 15 from my point of veiw.

A light scratch on my trailer hitch, small damage to her bumper, and one very pissed off Dave were about the extent of the damage. Her excuse was that she just ran out of space (while pointing at my hitch; yeah, that 6 inches was going to give you enough room to stop), not to mention the 1/8 mile of warning that I gave her.
Considering the damage, time for the cops to get there, etc., I decided to suggest that the next time she sees a blinker and brake lights, that she probably ought to slow down some rather than closing her eyes and hoping they turn before she hits them, and then head on to work. I thought about it a lot on my way in, and I've put a few observations together and I actually think she might have been drunk, so now I'm really kicking myself that I didn't call the cops...

Cliff's notes: Stupidity strikes again, minimal damage to all parties involved.

Apparently, whenever I am driving a vehicle, said vehicle must take on some kind of transparent form. In less than a year, I have been rear-ended twice and merged into once. Every time, I had my lights on to make myself more visible and 2 out of 3 was aware of the situation, giving me the ability to react and mitigate the amount of damage inflicted.

Sorry for the rant, but I'm getting very sick of this bullshit. Does anybody know the legality of putting a spike on a trailer hitch to inflict maximum damage on somebody that hits you?...

[Dragon]

What's the rule, if it's beyond X' from the end of the body of your car you are required to put a flag on it to warn people. If it's closer in then that limit I think you're fair game.

[HAULN-SS]

I had some girl rear-end that blazer I had one time. Hitch went through her liscense plate and bumper, and when I pulled forward a little bit to get off the side of the road, it puller the front end of her car off...it was awesome.

[ScottyB]

Dave you need to get yourself a bulldozer, i don't see any other way around this.

i'm really glad the damage was minimal and you're OK, i would have loved to see the cops have a little talk with her but i can understand if you have placed to be and the car is fine. what gets me is that you are in a gigantic truck, i have no idea how you make yourself any more visible.

[TheDudeAbides]

get a hitch that sticks out farther from the bumper and take the ball off :twisted: that would definatly put a big 'ol hole in a bumper cover.


EDIT: i had a dumb@$$ in richmond merg into me, there was no damage so i didnt call the cops. But a friend of mine pointed out that if the other guy gets sue happy later on and happens to remember you license plate, they could call the cops weeks later and tell them any story they want. From now on if i get in an accedent and its the other guys fault i'm calling the po po no matter how minimal the damage. just to document on an official level that it was their fault and there was no damage worth speaking of.

[Ginger]

Deersty, that's incredibly awesome. What I would give to have seen that. Man...

Sorry, Dave, that really sucks. I've been finding, more and more, that in order to not be hit, I have to take proactive steps to compensate for other-driver idiocy. I guess this is kind of an obvious point, but it seems like every day I have to extend my reasonable bounds for accident avoidance. I now take it as a given that somebody *will* pull out in front of me and maintain a speed half of what I was doing, and that I should pull to the side of the lane when stopping (on my motorbike) so that I have a shoulder escape route, and so forth. It's getting rather absurd... but it doesn't seem like anybody wants to take steps to say "stop driving like fucking retards or we're taking all your licenses away."

Actually, just this morning a woman was following so close to me that I nearly waved her by just to get the chance to take a pot shot at her mirror. *sigh* Sorrry about your luck, really..

[WRXtranceformed]

Damn Dave you have terrible luck bud!! Did u exchange info at least? i think I missed that part.

[Maengelito]

Dave, sorry to hear it man. The drivers around here truly are the shittiest I've driven with. I know that sick feeling in your stomach when you're watching your mirror and some dumb bitch is closing in fast. I usually try to pulse my brakes so the brake lights are flashing but sometimes you can only do so much to prevent someone else from being an asshole.

[Evan]

But a friend of mine pointed out that if the other guy gets sue happy later on and happens to remember you license plate, they could call the cops weeks later and tell them any story they want.

yeah, that happened to a guy I used to work with. the guy came back a year later claiming permanent neck injury, suing for all the money in the world, the whole nine yards. There was no good way out of it so he had to declare bankruptcy.

[.RJ]

There was no good way out of it

His insurance wouldnt back him up? They have lots of lawyers...

I say fuck 'em, let 'em hit you if you're in a big ass truck with a drawbar in the hitch.

[Evan]

There was no good way out of it

His insurance wouldnt back him up? They have lots of lawyers...

not sure, this was back in high school, and thats the story he told. i guess he was getting sued for over the insurance limit, or something. Or maybe he didnt have insurance. He wasnt the brightest guy.

[Dave]

get a hitch that sticks out farther from the bumper and take the ball off :twisted: that would definatly put a big 'ol hole in a bumper cover.

That is actually how I already roll. I keep the extension in so that when I back into my space in the parking garage I hit that, rather than my bumper. It wrinkled up her license plate, but the impact wasn't hard enough to punch through. Derek's description is why I want a barbed spike for next time.

Andrew, your description is exactly how I feel. I understand having to drive like that on a motorcycle a little more, since you're smaller and less visible, but when driving something as large as a shed, I shouldn't have to worry about people not seeing me. In my eyes, hitting my truck is the equivalent of running into a building.

I didn't exchange info with them, now I wish I had... Of course, I wish I'd called the cops in the first place at this point...

[ViPER1313]

In my eyes, hitting my truck is the equivalent of running into a building.

:oops:

[HAULN-SS]

OH yeah, i forgot to mention in my story, the hitch must've punched into her airbag sensor or something, because her bags went off and she got a bloody nose too.

[WRXtranceformed]

OH yeah, i forgot to mention in my story, the hitch must've punched into her airbag sensor or something, because her bags went off and she got a bloody nose too.

LOL

[John]

Dave, be thankful that your damage was minimal. I have since learned the hard way that most people on the road are underinsured and therefore my insurance company ends up picking up the residual for the bill (meanwhile rendering my car worthless). Thankfully the last person who tagged my little car in February had adequate coverage. I actually did the calculation the other day - over the past 12 months, I have had a rental car for 7 months.

[ScottyB]

OH yeah, i forgot to mention in my story, the hitch must've punched into her airbag sensor or something, because her bags went off and she got a bloody nose too.

LOL

HAHA....almost choked on my lunch here! your story went from WIN to EPIC.

so you ripped the front of her car off, the airbag busted her face, and you were the victim? that is awesome.

sorry to derail...

[Ole]

I used to have a lifted Jeep Grand Cherokee and I traveled on the DC Beltway from Alexandria to Tyson's. One day in the rain a guy in a Honda Accord rear-ended me. I had my hitch removed so all that was there was the receiver. It acted like a can opener on his hood. It literally peeled and rolled it up about 2 feet. The guy got out and after I looked at my receiver (no damage at all); he asked if he could just leave. I took a couple pics in a camera I keep in the glove box and off he went. I love trailer hitches!

[Dave]

Good point John, and don't get me wrong I am thankful, but I just needed to vent on the sheer stupidity that I encountered this morning. In terms of truly sad tales of cars, your Lotus and the vanishing Red SI are probably the worst on this forum.

At least mine is a different vehicle every time .

[John]

I wish somebody would total my truck for me - that way I can get an FJ or something else...