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"JGrabowMSt" (jgrabowmst) 12/05/2014 at 01:48 • Filed to: crash

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Here's the dashcam footage of the accident. After showing this to the cop (on the side of the road, because my laptop still had battery), I was told that the other driver is 100% at fault for failure to yield to the driver with the right of way. Tomorrow I get to submit this footage to insurance, and in a few minutes, it will be sent to the police officer who will attach this to the accident report for their records.

Earlier today, less than 12 hours before my accident (no pictures unfortunately), my twin sister had an accident in which she was t-boned making a left turn across two lanes of traffic, where one lane was stopped, and the other lane had an approaching vehicle. In that case, she made a poor judgement call much like the driver of this Silverado.

I'm with it, I'm together, and I'm okay. I have no bruises or headaches, but I smell like an airbag. It's unpleasant. I am a little achey, but I most certainly attribute that to being under so much stress at the moment. Was I unable to react? I most certainly reacted and made my best effort to avoid the truck, but in the end, the car wasn't able to perform. It is apparent from the video that I made a very quick reaction to slow the vehicle down.

One thing that the video doesn't really show is that the Silverado made a pretty crappy attempt at trying to drive away. I had been prepared to read his license plate to the 911 dispatcher had he tried, because it was apparent that he was looking to avoid blame. When he did get out of the vehicle, I most certainly was pissed, asking him what he was thinking, and why he tried to blow through a yellow light like that. I was most certainly pissed, and told him plainly that I had a dashcam running, and I had footage of exactly what he had done. Not having that footage to back me up, I'm not sure I would be able to prove my case so easily to the police. The moment they saw the footage, they agreed he was at fault, no contest whatsoever for my actions.

One of the inherent issues with a front wheel drive vehicle is that the front wheels are really only capable of doing one thing at a time. They can steer or they can brake or they can accelerate, or they can absorb a bump. Asking them to do anything more than one of those things at a time will just result in a lack of secondary response. Given the limited shoulder, the size of the truck, and the distance I had to brake, I ran out of options.

The wheels were too busy trying to slow down to be able to turn effectively in any direction. I made an attempt to slow down, and steer towards the opposing lane of traffic because I saw no obstacles, and could have used the driveway across the intersection as a skid pad to slow down, had I been able to clear the truck.

I'm thankful for the number of people who stopped. Normally a number of people just pass, with little to no regard of the situation in front of them. A passing EMT had stopped in his personal vehicle, along with a couple other drivers who had asked if I was alright. In the past, I have never experienced this. It was certainly a nice gesture, and while I didn't know anyone, and may never see them again, I'm glad they stopped, and I hope karma rewards them. It wasn't much, but it is the thought that truly counts.

Oppo, just a reminder: be safe out there. It doesn't matter if it's the middle of the night or the point when the sun is highest in the sky, your attention matters. There are certainly points in which there's no avoiding it. No one is perfect and accidents do happen. Just do your best to avoid them, and when you can't, for whatever reason, do your best to remain calm and collected throughout the experience. We fall so that we learn to pick ourselves up again. Do not forget that. Accidents are just that, accidents.

Obviously my dad is pissed as all hell. Two cars in one day. Clearly in his mind, this is my fault. Speed was the issue. I was distracted, I wasn't paying attention, and it was my fault, regardless of what any of the cops had said. This is just how he works. He gets angry, and doesn't really know how to properly channel his anger, or how to filter anything he says. I told him I was getting a ride home, and I would deal with it. I didn't want him to run his mouth at any cop, I have to prove my worth and ability to react correctly in these situations. He's allowed his opinion, and it will never change. He will never change. All I can do is my own thing and just keep on moving. Of course he's glad I'm okay, but he sure has one shitty way of showing it. To myself and all of my sisters.

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Am I sad to see the Neon go? Yes. I didn't always get along with the car, and certainly more money was put into it than it was ever worth, but for 5 years the car did it's duty, and got me from point A to point B in one piece. It took out a deer, it got bumped and scraped around a bit, but was a basic commuter car. It was never subject to abuse, nor did I ever pretend it was anything more than a basic commuter car. It lived most of it's life in New Jersey, only a handful of times visiting Pennsylvania. It was okay for a Neon. It was a peppy, somewhat enjoyable manual transmission that certainly helped the car be tolerable as a daily driver for so long. It saw me through two relationships and into my current one. It got me to and from work, and always dutifully provided 29MPG like clockwork.

But like clockwork, all good things come to an end. It's life was unfortunately cut short by the driver of a Chevy Silverado 1500 Crew Cab. Doing what it was going to do for someone, somewhere out there, the Neon protected me, just as designed. The mild smack in the face sensation, paired with the smell of the packaging of the airbag, the Neon was able to make sure I was okay one last time. Like all good friends, we had our disagreements, but good friends are always there for you.

Thank you Neon. I wish I could have seen you go to a new home and continue to explore the world, but you're in a good place now.

May Senna take care of you, you will be missed.

Doug DeMuro > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:06

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So lucky to have the dashcam! I think you've just inspired me to go get one! Sorry to hear about the accident but it's a good thing you're a) OK, and b) not at fault. Keep driving safely!

Svend > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:09

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I'm glad your alright fella. The car did it's job and the camera played it's part too. Let's hope your not put in a similar situation again to need the camera again.

GeorgeyBoy > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:10

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Glad you're alright. Nothing more you could've done, even with ABS. Looks unavoidable unless you absolutely knew he was going to turn.

CounterTorqueSteer > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:11

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Nice reflexes. Glad you are okay.

JGrabowMSt > Doug DeMuro 12/05/2014 at 02:12

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I urge you to get one. The cost of one is far outweighed by the cost of not having one.

Mine was $70 on sale with a $20 SD card. It can hold about 10 hours of footage, at automatically cycles through when the card is full so that its always recording.

Its just too important these days.

All Motor Is Best Motor > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:13

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That dash cam paid for itself in an instant. I really need one of them. Good that you're OK physically. I've never been in an accident but as you've just proven it can happen to anyone at any time.

thereisnospork > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:17

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Sucks, not much more you could've been expected to do there. Hoping the insurance does right.

In fairness though, its not the FWD's fault: every car will understeer under braking like that especially without ABS (a guess from the video and your description). Brake or turn, or brake then turn. Of course its easier to say that then be able to do it perfectly in the moment.

JGrabowMSt > All Motor Is Best Motor 12/05/2014 at 02:30

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Get yourself a dashcam now. I dont understand why so many cars come standard or optional with a backup camera, but no one includes a dash cam type feature.

Regardless, you're absolutely correct. It paid for itself tonight. Cars most certainly need this. As if Russia wasn't a good enough example, with more cameras in cars all over the world, we realize it isnt down to any one location, it's everywhere. A $90 dashcam is certainly still cheaper than most repair shop hourly labor rates, so it's one of the best tools you can have to defend yourself with.

HeathJokerSick > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 02:36

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Glad you are alright.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 03:27

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Glad you're ok, could have turned out much worse.

Takuro Spirit > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 08:27

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Sorry your car deaded. Glad you're okay. Good thing you got it on video. And hit the truck in the best spot to lessen the impact as much as possible.

#DashcamArmy

$kaycog > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 08:36

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Scary stuff! Glad you're okay.

JGrabowMSt > Takuro Spirit 12/05/2014 at 08:40

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Yes, I slowed her down as best I could. The squealing was a good couple seconds after I started braking, and I tried to get her to move to the left as much as possible, but it just didnt happen as much as anyone wanted.

Not having the dash cam would have been a bad shituation.

Even waking up after getting some sleep, I feel like I got tossed around pretty hard. The hardest part was certainly getting out of the Neon after realizing that the thing in front of me was an airbag. Once that really sunk in, and I stepped out of the car (which felt like a much longer process than it was), the adrenaline kicked in.

I dont hurt anwhere, but my brain is going in slow motion still. Going to work will be good for me, I'll be able to go into autopilot while I figure out how to prepare for a job interview early next week.

JGrabowMSt > $kaycog 12/05/2014 at 08:42

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Thanks $kay.

Feels good to be alive, and better to have Oppo to turn to.

Takuro Spirit > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 08:57

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Wife and I got into a very similar accident with her Focus, her driving. We were both sore and she ended up having a broken bone in her hand (she grabbed the shifter for some reason) but that FEELING took a long time to wear off.

And to this day we are wary of drivers turning left from those turn lanes...... the lady that pulled in front of us thought she had a green arrow, when the intersection was just green both ways to go straight.

MonkeePuzzle > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 09:13

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wow, super impressed by how calm you seemed, no swear words, just hand brake on, and handle the situation!

glad to hear you're ok, sorry about your car :(

what model dashcam do you use?

Doug DeMuro > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 09:51

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I just wish I didn't have to have it have a power source. I wish I could bring it in and out every time I got in the car. But none seem to have any sort of batteries.

JGrabowMSt > MonkeePuzzle 12/05/2014 at 09:58

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I'm not really known for flipping my lid over anything. When I got out I swore a little at the other driver, mostly the typical "what the fuck were you thinking?" and "why did you blow that light?" in quite the angry tone, but I was roughed up by an airbag, so I was rightfully pissed off. The car had honestly reached it's limit at my house. I've been trying to get rid of it for a while, but with the Magnum still in the shop, I'm just doing what I can for about another week or so, when I'll finally bring that home and just keep on keepin' on.

Life has it's way of doing things.

I have a Papago GoSafe 110 with a 32gb Samsung Evo waterproof/heatproof/weather resistant microSD card so that it will always function correctly in the car.

JGrabowMSt > Doug DeMuro 12/05/2014 at 10:01

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Well, no, but the reasoning behind that is because many (like mine) turn on with the car, and turn off with the car. There are a bunch with motion sensors that can record at any time, but with that in mind, if it's something where you don't want it to be permanent, you could just use a GoPro I guess, but you'd have to remember to hit record every time. Many do have a small battery in them, but it only lasts a short while for a quick record or to save the file before turning off. It's understandable, given their nature.

A lot of people run hard wires to radar detectors up on the top of the windshield, I'm actually going to be running a power cable for a dash cam into the Magnum, and I'm also going to be upgrading the dash cam to a Cobra unit that also records GPS speed. To get the GPS speed you have to use the Cobra software, but even without the software, you can still view the footage. I'll be passing my current Dash Cam to my girlfriend once I get a new one.

Party-vi > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 10:03

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My dad did the same thing when I wrecked the Cherokee. No amount of "hey my car is 24 years old and doesn't have ABS" could change his mind. I had a solid month of him giving me shit about wrecking my car every chance he got.

JGrabowMSt > Party-vi 12/05/2014 at 10:09

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He can get it out, and in the end, he's only reinforcing how he views having a family. Unfortunately, he's one of those crabby older generation people that just views every accident or mistake as an expense. I don't know why he had kids, much less four kids if we're all just expenses. I already have one sister that's a bit of the black sheep of the family, she was good at pissing us off at the wrong times, so most of us don't really keep in touch at all, and that's just how my family is. We live with it, and that's just that.

When I move out, if this is how my dad is going to act, then I can move on, and not feel bad about it. Yes he's my dad, yes I love and respect him, but it's no one way street. If it comes down to disappearing, that's just how my family is, and it's no one's business but ours. Sure most other families are different, and that's perfectly okay, life is no universal.

MonkeePuzzle > JGrabowMSt 12/05/2014 at 10:23

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I try hard to not be foul mouthed, but I can say every accident I've been in a loud four letter work beginning with F just found its way out each time.

thanks for the dashcam details, something to add to my Christmas wish list

JGrabowMSt > MonkeePuzzle 12/05/2014 at 10:39

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Everyone is different. I wanted to get home safely like everyone else on the road. Ive made my mistakes, but life is what it is. Not everyone is quite so calm.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > JGrabowMSt 12/06/2014 at 23:27

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When I got in to my accident in back in '08, not only was I sore, my hands in between my thumbs and pointer fingers hurt like hell for about two weeks from gripping the steering wheel so hard bracing for impact knowing that I didn't have an airbag.

jvirgs drives a Subaru > JGrabowMSt 12/06/2014 at 23:30

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How do you have your dashcam wired into the car?

JGrabowMSt > jvirgs drives a Subaru 12/06/2014 at 23:47

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For this specifically, the dash cam had a power adapter that went into the cigarette lighter and just stayed there. The Magnum will get a more permanent solution in comparison, drawing power from the map light area.

My dash cam would start and stop depending on if the car was running, which is why it cuts off, because I just turned off the ignition, it wasnt going anywhere after this. To be honest, even if it wasnt totalled, I wouldnt have wanted it back.

JGrabowMSt > jvirgs drives a Subaru 12/07/2014 at 00:36

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To be honest, despite the situation being what it was, I was pretty calm. No crazy grip on anything, I thank my seating position, and posture for that. Everything did it's job. Did I need the airbag? That's up for debate. I'm not 100% sure I actually came into direct contact with it because both were still in their inflated positions when I realized what had happened. I certainly didn't really go flying forward, because I have zero pain from anything specific. The seatbelt left no mark, I know I had one hand on the shifter because I very clearly remember slamming on the brakes and putting the car in neutral. I didn't really grab anything hard, I'm not sure why, but I'm not one to really outwardly freak out, it's just not like me (that's why the first thing you hear after this is the hand brake come up and the key get turned). No swearing, no screaming, no verbal reaction whatsoever. I didn't doctor up the footage, I cut out the 11 seconds of what happened, and rendered it out so I could upload it quickly and be able to email it to the insurance company without worrying about file sizes. The one thing that only really just dawned on me is that the antenna clearly got severed (the passenger side fender was absolutely mangled and pushed back), but I didn't immediately notice the lack of radio after the fact (if the car had merely stalled, the radio and other electronics would still have been on).

I'm still talking a little on the slower side, and quieter than normal, but that's mostly down to the airbag dust that I inhaled. Smells horrible, tastes horrible, but I didn't have crazy red eyes or anything from it, so again, I don't think I actually hit the airbag at all. I'm not sure I even went forward at all, because I most certainly don't have whiplash at all. That's primarily due to the fact that the car absolutely did slow down very significantly between my initial speed and the impact point. I'm almost positive that the impact was under 15mph, but with the momentum of both vehicles, and the fact that I hit a wheel, the damage was going to be catastrophic no matter what way you cut it. I just made sure I walked away from that.

That prick wasn't about to take me away from my girlfriend or family. It takes a lot more than a pickup truck to get me. I was at work the next morning, I was even driving the next morning. I didn't expressly want to, but it wasn't much of a choice. I'm finally getting over the adrenaline rush, so I'll be good as new by Monday I hope. I've been keeping busy and staying in touch with friends about it. Just rough that I have a job interview coming up, and I now have to change my whole schedule to make it work. I'll be in touch with them Monday morning.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > JGrabowMSt 12/07/2014 at 15:33

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Well this is fucking terrifying. Mostly because last night I almost did what the Silverado did because I was concentrating so hard on the clutch and what gear I was in that I didn't think to look for a turn light vs a yield light after all the cars in front of me went through. Near miss with a Jeep (?) resulted. My heart rate took an hour to calm down.