Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Daggah · 06-14-2003, 01:18 PM

(I'll start off saying, to all those that posted in my "stupid car antics" thread, that I was not driving stupidly/aggressively when this happened)

Going up the interstate, in the left lane, one of my rear tires blew, and I was losing control of the car. Traffic was heavy in the lanes to the right of me, so there was no way I could have made it to the right-hand median to get off the road, so I did the only thing I could...got my car out of the road as far as I could to the left. Unfortunately for that stretch of road, a barrier limits that space to about two feet, and I got rear-ended pretty hard by the woman behind me, who was unable to avoid me.

So the rear end of my car is completely screwed up now...it gets worse. The cop said that the report will show that we were both at fault and we'll each have to pay for our own damages...which is going to be pretty hard for me, as I only have liability. Basically, North Carolina law says that in the case of an emergency, you have to get to the right hand lane (which, as I said before, was impossible in my case), and also, it's supposed to be my fault because my tire blew, even though I regularly visually inspect my tires, and they're still pretty new and in good condition.

I have no idea what I'm going to do now...this fucks up more than my car situation. Now I'm wondering if I'll have to put college off another year or go to a cheap in-state school now.

Today was the 1-year anniversary of buying this car, which I earned with my own blood, sweat, and tears to pay for in cash.

Enai · 06-14-2003, 01:39 PM

That's awful, Daggah. But, look at it this way: You're still alive, you're not injured and nobody else was injured. Isn't that the most important thing?

I'm very sorry about your possibly resulting delay in education. I hope you can work it out somehow.

Enai

Loren Pechtel · 06-14-2003, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Daggah

So the rear end of my car is completely screwed up now...it gets worse. The cop said that the report will show that we were both at fault and we'll each have to pay for our own damages...which is going to be pretty hard for me, as I only have liability. Basically, North Carolina law says that in the case of an emergency, you have to get to the right hand lane (which, as I said before, was impossible in my case), and also, it's supposed to be my fault because my tire blew, even though I regularly visually inspect my tires, and they're still pretty new and in good condition.

It was your tire, your fault.

I do agree that tires are a problem. I've had 2 utterly disintigrate on the road and two more start to come apart but not actually blow out. *ALL* 4 of these were Firestone--the original equipment on the cars involved. I have yet to wear out a Firestone tire.

More than half of my driving has been on other brands. I've had a minor failure of one other tire, enough to make me take it in but no effect on handling.

Somehow I don't think their problems were limited to those models or even were fixed. The latest blowout was of a post-recall tire.

Arken · 06-14-2003, 05:30 PM

I feel your pain. Last year, an old lady who 'just got a new glasses prescription' but 'wasn't wearing them' rear-ended me.

The result may be seen in this rather large image:

http://www.aslplz.com/~arken/carbl.jpg

The downsides: It happened one block my office which I was heading back to in the middle of a cloudless day and it took the cop an hour and a half to get there. She insisted on talking to me the entire time and to make matters worse, she was a fundie who kept sort of half-preaching. Ugh!

The upsides: I wasn't hurt and I got a better car, plus an mp3 player and new saxophone with the insurance settlement (and I only had liability too, but she was judged liable for my perdicament) so buck up, you might actually get something out of it.

Nocturn · 06-14-2003, 06:24 PM

ouch man, that looked painful. I got nailed from an explorer doing like 35 when I was stopped and it gave me a nice sore neck for awhile, I can only imagine what that felt like. I only had paint damage, the ford has a totally messed up front bumper, it was quite funny, even the cop laughed at the guy. Luckily the guys dad worked at a caddilac place and fixed it for me.

Daggah · 06-14-2003, 06:32 PM

Quote:

It was your tire, your fault.

To an extent I agree, BUT...reasonably I had no good reason to mistrust the tires on my car. I don't know what brand tires they are, but I don't think they were Firestones. They were brand new when I got the car a year ago, and all four were in excellent shape visually. The other rear tire was slowly leaking air a while ago but I took care of that.

I agree that it's my responsibility to maintain my car. And I did, to the best of my ability and knowledge. I'm not omniscient.

Also, I didn't slam on brakes. Looking back I should probably have hit the hazards sooner (I did hit them before the wreck) and slowed down more slowly, but who knows...in that additional time I could have also completely lost control and ended up in a much worse wreck as well. Under the circumstances, I feel I pretty much did the best I could, and in the end, minimized the amount of damage/injury.

I just don't know what I'm going to do from here though. Financially, this is the equivalent of a full-force kick in the nuts to me.

I'm considering parting out the car...if I sold the car as a "parts car" I'd be lucky to get $500 for it. Repairing it will most likely be too expensive. But the front end of it took absolutely no damage...if I could sell the engine and (automatic) transmission, that alone could get me a lot more.

mongrel · 06-14-2003, 07:25 PM

Geez, the car behind shouldn't have been so close that she couldn't stop. That's just dangerous driving, IMO. With a blown tyre, your not going to be able to stop as quick as a car with four good ones, either, so to me, that just makes it appear worse for the other driver.

Where I am, if a vehicle gets rear-ended, it's automatically the fault of the following vehicle, regardless of most(reversing's a different story) other factors.

But anyway, the most important thing is a lack of injury- cars can be replaced/repaired, even though it does hurt the bank balance.

Stephen Maturin · 06-14-2003, 07:27 PM

Damn, Daggah, that's awful. To echo Enai's sentiments, thank goodness no one got hurt.

Can't comment with any certainty on the liability issues since I don't know dick about North Carolina traffic law. I wouldn't necessarily take the investigating police officer's word at face value, though. I don't doubt for a moment that s/he was being sincere, but I've seen police officers get it wrong often enough. Although you'd be SOL on the tire failure in my state,* that may not be the case in NC. As for failing to move over, impossibility qualifies as a defense to noncompliance with traffic laws in many if not most states. The other driver's fault is no doubt predicated on something that in my neck of the woods is called the assured-clear-distance-ahead law. It may be worth calling a few NC lawyers and getting an informed assessment. The worst they can do is tell you that you're outta luck.

I guess the lesson here is never, ever go commando when it comes to insurance coverage. Comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages are the most important of all because they protect *you*. Yeah, it's expensive and all, but you can't really afford to be without it.

*Ohio law imposes virtual strict liability for accidents caused by equipment failures.

//riot of disorder:: · 06-14-2003, 07:35 PM

Sue the transportation department of the state of North Carolina for making that side of the road too short. Imagine if someone else got into that situation with a baby in the back? Sue!

Loren Pechtel · 06-14-2003, 07:56 PM

Originally posted by Daggah
To an extent I agree, BUT...reasonably I had no good reason to mistrust the tires on my car. I don't know what brand tires they are, but I don't think they were Firestones. They were brand new when I got the car a year ago, and all four were in excellent shape visually. The other rear tire was slowly leaking air a while ago but I took care of that.

It doesn't matter that you had no reason to mistrust your tires. Your tire failed. You stopped in a position that made a collision likely.

You might very well be able to argue with the insurance company that it shouldn't raise your rates. However, you can't very well blame someone else for it--it's certainly not her fault your tire blew!

Also, I didn't slam on brakes. Looking back I should probably have hit the hazards sooner (I did hit them before the wreck) and slowed down more slowly, but who knows...in that additional time I could have also completely lost control and ended up in a much worse wreck as well. Under the circumstances, I feel I pretty much did the best I could, and in the end, minimized the amount of damage/injury.

You probably did. The trigger was your car, though.

06-14-2003, 01:18 PM	#1
Daggah Banned Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Deployed to Kosovo Posts: 4,314	Got into a wreck :( (I'll start off saying, to all those that posted in my "stupid car antics" thread, that I was not driving stupidly/aggressively when this happened) Going up the interstate, in the left lane, one of my rear tires blew, and I was losing control of the car. Traffic was heavy in the lanes to the right of me, so there was no way I could have made it to the right-hand median to get off the road, so I did the only thing I could...got my car out of the road as far as I could to the left. Unfortunately for that stretch of road, a barrier limits that space to about two feet, and I got rear-ended pretty hard by the woman behind me, who was unable to avoid me. So the rear end of my car is completely screwed up now...it gets worse. The cop said that the report will show that we were both at fault and we'll each have to pay for our own damages...which is going to be pretty hard for me, as I only have liability. Basically, North Carolina law says that in the case of an emergency, you have to get to the right hand lane (which, as I said before, was impossible in my case), and also, it's supposed to be my fault because my tire blew, even though I regularly visually inspect my tires, and they're still pretty new and in good condition. I have no idea what I'm going to do now...this fucks up more than my car situation. Now I'm wondering if I'll have to put college off another year or go to a cheap in-state school now. Today was the 1-year anniversary of buying this car, which I earned with my own blood, sweat, and tears to pay for in cash.

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06-14-2003, 01:39 PM	#2
Enai Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Germany Posts: 1,479	That's awful, Daggah. But, look at it this way: You're still alive, you're not injured and nobody else was injured. Isn't that the most important thing? I'm very sorry about your possibly resulting delay in education. I hope you can work it out somehow. Enai

06-14-2003, 05:30 PM	#4
Arken Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: North Hollywood, CA Posts: 6,303	I feel your pain. Last year, an old lady who 'just got a new glasses prescription' but 'wasn't wearing them' rear-ended me. The result may be seen in this rather large image: http://www.aslplz.com/~arken/carbl.jpg The downsides: It happened one block my office which I was heading back to in the middle of a cloudless day and it took the cop an hour and a half to get there. She insisted on talking to me the entire time and to make matters worse, she was a fundie who kept sort of half-preaching. Ugh! The upsides: I wasn't hurt and I got a better car, plus an mp3 player and new saxophone with the insurance settlement (and I only had liability too, but she was judged liable for my perdicament) so buck up, you might actually get something out of it.

06-14-2003, 06:24 PM	#5
Nocturn Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Austin and Loving it. Posts: 14	ouch man, that looked painful. I got nailed from an explorer doing like 35 when I was stopped and it gave me a nice sore neck for awhile, I can only imagine what that felt like. I only had paint damage, the ford has a totally messed up front bumper, it was quite funny, even the cop laughed at the guy. Luckily the guys dad worked at a caddilac place and fixed it for me.

06-14-2003, 07:25 PM	#7
mongrel Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: North of the South Pole Posts: 5,177	Geez, the car behind shouldn't have been so close that she couldn't stop. That's just dangerous driving, IMO. With a blown tyre, your not going to be able to stop as quick as a car with four good ones, either, so to me, that just makes it appear worse for the other driver. Where I am, if a vehicle gets rear-ended, it's automatically the fault of the following vehicle, regardless of most(reversing's a different story) other factors. But anyway, the most important thing is a lack of injury- cars can be replaced/repaired, even though it does hurt the bank balance.

06-14-2003, 07:27 PM	#8
Stephen Maturin Veteran Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Broomfield, Colorado, USA Posts: 1,295	Damn, Daggah, that's awful. To echo Enai's sentiments, thank goodness no one got hurt. Can't comment with any certainty on the liability issues since I don't know dick about North Carolina traffic law. I wouldn't necessarily take the investigating police officer's word at face value, though. I don't doubt for a moment that s/he was being sincere, but I've seen police officers get it wrong often enough. Although you'd be SOL on the tire failure in my state,* that may not be the case in NC. As for failing to move over, impossibility qualifies as a defense to noncompliance with traffic laws in many if not most states. The other driver's fault is no doubt predicated on something that in my neck of the woods is called the assured-clear-distance-ahead law. It may be worth calling a few NC lawyers and getting an informed assessment. The worst they can do is tell you that you're outta luck. I guess the lesson here is never, ever go commando when it comes to insurance coverage. Comprehensive, collision, uninsured motorist and underinsured motorist coverages are the most important of all because they protect you. Yeah, it's expensive and all, but you can't really afford to be without it. *Ohio law imposes virtual strict liability for accidents caused by equipment failures.

06-14-2003, 07:35 PM	#9
//riot of disorder:: Regular Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: California Posts: 184	Sue the transportation department of the state of North Carolina for making that side of the road too short. Imagine if someone else got into that situation with a baby in the back? Sue!

06-14-2003, 07:56 PM	#10
Loren Pechtel Obsessed Contributor Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Not Mayaned Posts: 96,752	Originally posted by Daggah To an extent I agree, BUT...reasonably I had no good reason to mistrust the tires on my car. I don't know what brand tires they are, but I don't think they were Firestones. They were brand new when I got the car a year ago, and all four were in excellent shape visually. The other rear tire was slowly leaking air a while ago but I took care of that. It doesn't matter that you had no reason to mistrust your tires. Your tire failed. You stopped in a position that made a collision likely. You might very well be able to argue with the insurance company that it shouldn't raise your rates. However, you can't very well blame someone else for it--it's certainly not her fault your tire blew! Also, I didn't slam on brakes. Looking back I should probably have hit the hazards sooner (I did hit them before the wreck) and slowed down more slowly, but who knows...in that additional time I could have also completely lost control and ended up in a much worse wreck as well. Under the circumstances, I feel I pretty much did the best I could, and in the end, minimized the amount of damage/injury. You probably did. The trigger was your car, though.

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