NA- I saw an accident yesterday.

Cap'n Jack

Cap'n Jack

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Cap'n Jack
I was doing some shopping yesterday. While driving to the store I noticed some guy in the left lane on a cell phone driving next to me. We came to a stop light- there were several cars in the left lane but the right lane was clear to the light- maybe 6 cars in line. As I passed the last of the cars in the left lane (the ones latest to the intersection), I heard a metallic crunch- the guy on the phone apparently didn't stop, and rear-ended the last person in line.

Whether it was the phone or something else, that driver didn't have their mind on the road. The road conditions were clear and dry.

I felt bad for the person that got hit- they were minding their own business, now they have to get their car fixed, deal with the insurance company, etc.
 
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Cap'n Jack said:
I was doing some shopping yesterday. While driving to the store I noticed some guy in the left lane on a cell phone driving next to me. We came to a stop light- there were several cars in the left lane but the right lane was clear to the light- maybe 6 cars in line. As I passed the last of the cars in the left lane (the ones latest to the intersection), I heard a metallic crunch- the guy on the phone apparently didn't stop, and rear-ended the last person in line.

Whether it was the phone or something else, that driver didn't have their mind on the road. The road conditions were clear and dry.

I felt bad for the person that got hit- they were minding their own business, now thy have to get their car fixed, deal with the insurance company, etc.
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I have been rear ended so many times I don't even remember them all. Most of these events occurred when I had been stopped for a while although there was at least one where I was braking hard to avoid running into the car ahead of me. Several occurred long before cellphones existed so while they are indeed a potential cause, driver's have found ways to become distracted without them. In two of the incidents I had been stopped for more than a minute and was hit so hard my car was nearly totaled and one was in a car that I'd purchased brand new a few months earlier (the driver that hit me that time was drunk).

And to come completely clean, I've rear ended other cars twice myself although neither was due to any distraction. One was the classic case of the car ahead of me beginning to merge then stopping with me assuming it had continued while I was looking back to see if I could continue my merge and the other involved a car that had rear ended the one ahead of him giving him an "unfair" advantage in terms of stopping power. In both cases the damage to the car I hit was minimal or non-existent but my car suffered significantly due to a trailer hitch on the other car punching through my front grille.
 
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That's classic. Someone either tailgates or gets next to you then latches onto you to let you drive for them then they're just along for the ride no matter what happens.

I call those type crashes Intentionals, not accidents. Accidents are pretty much oopsie, I goofed up type things. Intentionals are deliberately setting themselves up for a crash then voluntarily letting things degrade.

trailer hitch on the other car punching through my front grille.
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Those are really rough on plastic cars. I had a cellphone girl drive a saturn into the back of my ancient grand wagoneer's class 3 hitch receiver at a red light. It didn't even scratch the receiver or bumper however the whole front of her car and hood was torn up. I gave her the choice of police and tickets and hassles or it never happened and she could deal with the damage on her own with a promise to actually drive her car from now on and never ever use a phone while driving again. She wasn't completely stupid. FWIW, I saw her on the same road a few times after that and there was no phone involved.
 
Another one (almost) today...partly the other guy's fault, although he tried...

Snowy, slick roads- I-80 has ice under snow. A Lincoln passes me I see the guy on the phone. The person in front of me realizes the lane will end in an exit and signals to change to the left lane. Cell-phone guy doesn't slow down (the guy trying to change lanes could have slowed down too and let the Lincoln pass him). The guy merging pulls over and the Lincoln steps on the brakes and gets into a driver-induced oscillation ~20° left and right, 4-5 oscillations. No spin out or collisions...I suppose because of the snow, the only skid marks are on the back of someone's clothing.
 
OK, my near-accident story. Best driving I ever did. Headed North last winter with Mrs. Steingar and big sister. As we approached a small two lane bridge we saw a car ahead and adjacent being spinning violently. It bashed into the guardrail and kept spinning. The car behind it ran into it and pieces were flying off both. Meanwhile, the fellow ahead of me wisely hit the brakes, as did I. That's when I learned just how bad the traction had become, and that's how I learned of my own impending rear-end collision. I immediately down-shifted and accelerated, passed the guy ahead of me, threaded the needle between one of the accident vehicles and him, then passed the still spinning car (still emitting pieces of debris as well) and got into the clear. Mrs S. stil can't believe I pulled that one off.
 
steingar said:
OK, my near-accident story. Best driving I ever did. Headed North last winter with Mrs. Steingar and big sister. As we approached a small two lane bridge we saw a car ahead and adjacent being spinning violently. It bashed into the guardrail and kept spinning. The car behind it ran into it and pieces were flying off both. Meanwhile, the fellow ahead of me wisely hit the brakes, as did I. That's when I learned just how bad the traction had become, and that's how I learned of my own impending rear-end collision. I immediately down-shifted and accelerated, passed the guy ahead of me, threaded the needle between one of the accident vehicles and him, then passed the still spinning car (still emitting pieces of debris as well) and got into the clear. Mrs S. stil can't believe I pulled that one off.
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Sonds like someone wit motorcycle experience? In my book, brakes on motorcycles are for PLANNED stops only.
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fgcason wrote:
>That's classic. Someone either tailgates or gets next to you then latches onto you to let you drive for them then they're just along for the ride no matter what happens.<

I drove a tractor trailer for 4 years. I would see people like this get alongside the trailer wheels and lock on to my truck for guidance. I called them sheep. Ever watch a bunch of sheep move? One sheep leads and the next one puts his head against the side of the leader's rump and goes where he goes.
Well, I was always trying to keep an escape path open and these idiots would make that impossible. I developed my own solution. I would start a slow weave left to right, going from one white line to the other, always staying within my lane. Next thing ya know that idiot would start to get dizzy following my weave and he would go blasting by, blowing the horn and throwing me the finger. :rofl::rofl::rofl:
 
Sheep? The difference is that sheep are actually intelligent. I call them latchers because that's what they are.

OffCenter said:
I drove a tractor trailer for 4 years. I would see people like this get alongside the trailer wheels and lock on to my truck for guidance.
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Too bad trailer tires won't detread themselves when they insist on riding next to them huh?
I've seen a few trailer tires blow from a distance while on the highway. Based on watching them go boom, IMNSHO, anyone who rides along side a tractor trailer for longer than it takes to get past them asap is just flat out stupid and suicidal. The total nutjobs are the motorcycles who will very slowly pass them while they are as close to the white line as they can get. Crazy stupid.
 
Appparently there was a bad accident in va yday. Snow related. Father n son stopped to help people in accident and tractor trailer jacknifed trying to avoid scene. Both died. :(
 
Between the number of idiots texting while they drive, or my favorite, actually READING a book or newspaper propped up on the steering wheel, or doing the shaving and make-up in the rearview mirror in the morning while driving, I am amazed that more accidents and injuries don't happen. Forget the hands on cell phone bans, that must be the most ignored traffic law in existence, aside from the speed limits. I'd like to see a few of these morons get into my plane and try to cope with sectionals, navigation and AFD's and fly in the chop as well. Now that would prove a point!
 
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