My accident.

"Rainbow" (rainbeaux) 11/10/2019 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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DO NOT SHARE THIS. It is unlisted and I’m only posting it here. I will check the analytics periodically and if I see traffic from anywhere other than Oppo, I will delete it.

And with that out of the way, here it is: The reason you should never, ever get too cocky with your driving. I know I was eating at the time, and I also know that I checked the radio to see what song was playing. I don’t remember which one of those distractions played into the accident, but I do know I had my eyes off the road at exactly the wrong time.

Feel free to skip to 0:28. I didn’t realize how much filler I had in there. You can see the truck ahead of me get on his brakes at about that time. That was one of the split seconds when I looked away. I glanced up again, but since his 3rd brake light was out, I didn’t register that he was stopping and I looked back down at my burger or the radio or whatever. The next time I glanced up, it was too late.

Interestingly, the driver of the truck as well as the passengers in the white sedan agreed that the tow truck on the shoulder caused the sudden slowdown, but.... That’s evidently not at all the case. They got me out of a ticket at least, but that begs the question of why the hell everyone stopped on the on-ramp, anyway. I guess it doesn’t matter because it IS my fault no matter how you spin it, but still.

Brickman > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:15

2

A traffic light on an on ramp? I never seen that before.

XJDano > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:17

1

Total bummer.

I did a similar years ago, was headed to my brothers high school  football game, right turners ahead of me went, looked down at my Rand McNally street map, bam.

Rainbow > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 09:18

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It’s for rush hour. They let one car through at a time, and I honestly doubt it helps with anything at all.

Maxima Speed > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:21

1

Man that  sucks. I know exactly how you feel. It’s basically impossible to be fully alert and all seeing at all times when driving. Does that excuse us? No not really but it’s some solace to realize we are all human. Also, what song/musician? Sounds nice very old school classic. 

dtg11 - is probably on an adventure with Clifford > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:21

2

That was a pretty fast stop in an unexpected location, but that’s why it’s best to pay attention in traffic. It’s good that no one was injured though 

dumpsterfire! > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:22

1

ouch. at least it didn’t look like you were flying through the windshield.

Chuckles > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 09:24

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We have those a few places in PA. It's supposed to keep the highway moving at busy times, and the backup on the on ramp I think is meant to encourage folks to consider taking surface roads instead.

66P1800inpieces > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:24

6

Even though you had plenty of space my eyes were drawn to, and tracking the tow truck both times I watched it. The truck not having a third brake light has to be a mitigating factor.

Years and years ago I was at a very angled yield or a stop while getting on a highway with traffic (local, known area) and I saw the car ahead of me pull ahead, I looked far left, and then I went - BANG. Gave the car ahead a nice love tap. 20 something years later I always wait for the car ahead to clear, look left, check again. Maybe takes an extra second but I learned my lesson.

My X-type is too a real Jaguar > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:35

1

That’s one of those parts of driving where we get much too comfortable. Light traffic on ramp it shouldn’t stop. It’s almost an auto pilot situation. 

$kaycog > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:47

1

Glad you’re okay.  Ouch.

facw > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 09:53

1

Common enough in some big cities. In theory limiting traffic to the highway to make merges smoother. It’s not at all clear to me that they are good traffic policy at all though. Seems to me that the snarl surface streets without doing much to protect highway flow.

facw > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 09:54

2

Honestly I was looking at the tow truck until right before the accident. Wouldn’t surprise me if that was an additional distraction for you. Though yeah, I don’t eat when driving unless stopped at a light.

Aremmes > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 10:01

5

They’re called ramp meters, and they exist to keep the rate of vehicles entering the highway capped at a level where it will not worsen traffic congestion . Like Chuckles said, we have them in some places in Pennsylvania, notably on I-476 south of the PA Turnpike, where it markedly reduced congestion.

RacinBob > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:02

1

Probably your next car (if you purchase a new one) won’t let you have that accident. This event is exactly what automatic braking systems are for. 

Just Jeepin' > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:12

4

Glad you’re safe.

I’m going to be a little critical: when there are people alongside the highway that’s when you absolutely need to be paying attention.

But yeah, that missing  3rd brake light is a killer. I can’t count the number of people who’ve blown me off when I told them that was out; no one takes it seriously, especially pickup trucks.

RacinBob > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:14

2

That kind of accident is why when things stack up unexpectedly I brake early and hard so while looking in the mirror to give myself a gap incase the one following hasn’t noticed. 

facw > 66P1800inpieces 11/10/2019 at 10:17

1

I used to have this on my daily commute:

I’d be com ing on the ramp from the bottom middle, which had to yield to traffic coming from the bottom left. because of the short merge area and the fact the other traffic was coming down a hill, you couldn’t really use your mirrors to see if someone was coming, you had to crane your neck and look over. More than once I did, saw there was no one there, only to look back and see the car in front of me had stopped, and I needed to panic stop. A few real close ones there. Would have been better if they had had the other ramp yield, since they had better visibility coming down the ramp. Of course even a stop sign probably would have been safer. Irrelevant now though, both ramps are being replaced by flyovers, also eliminating a merge to the left side of the highway which wasn’t great either:

Rainbow > Maxima Speed 11/10/2019 at 10:21

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If I recall correctly, it's called "Those Were The Days." I forgot by whom.

John Norris (AngryDrifter) > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:22

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We are all human and prone to mistakes . Sounds like you are o kay, other than your car. That ’s good to hear.

I am familiar with the area. I h ad to go i nternet stalk it on google maps .

I t’s a reminder to all of us to not enable distractions; particularly on that accident magnet of a freeway .

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:32

1

Man that sucks. The way that truck stopped was definitely not what any reasonable person would expect.

I recently had a close call where I was changing lanes and as I was checking my blind spot, the person in front of me slammed on the brakes.

I managed to brake and swerve in the nick of time.

My sympathies to you.

TheRealBicycleBuck > 66P1800inpieces 11/10/2019 at 10:33

0

I did the same thing. Why the lady started to go then changed her mind, I will never understand. At least she didn’t appear when I went to court for the citation. Without a witness, the ticket was dropped. 

Mercedes Streeter > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 10:52

1

This was an interesting video. In MSF courses they teach you to be looking for an escape path when things start getting busy. They also try to get you situationally aware.   So I saw and acknowledged the stopped truck, determined I could narrowly swerve and stop on the left provided nobody was driving on the shoulder, and the black truck’s slow movement for how fast traffic was going. Add mirror check.

There was A LOT going on in those 28 seconds. A distraction of any kind could probably derail the whole thing.

What’s important is that everyone is okay. Cars can be replaced and you also learned a lesson, thankfully not the hardest way possible.

smobgirl > TheRealBicycleBuck 11/10/2019 at 10:53

0

Hah, I had the opposite happen. The person in front of me turned right  from a stop sign so the lady behind me slammed into my bumper. I guess she wasn’t planning on obeying the stop sign and figured I wouldn’t either. Luckily my car was more or less okay but she was mad at me that she shattered her headlight and wouldn’t be able to hide it from her husband.

smobgirl > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 11:01

3

Glad you’re ok! As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten pretty picky about who I’ll sit behind in traffic because people with burned out brake lights piss me off to an irrational degree. I know it’s not an easy thing to check if the car isn’t set up to alert you but I’d argue they’re one of the biggest steps we made in safety innovations. (Anyway, rant over, and I appreciate that Oppo is a chill enough place that you could feel comfortable sharing this!)

JawzX2, Boost Addict. 1.6t, 2.7tt, 4.2t > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 11:04

1

Aw man... Yeah, if you’d been paying perfect attention it wouldn’t have happened... then again, as others have noted that lack of 3rd brake light on the truck was certainly a compounding issue. Even looking forward while watching the video it’s a bit difficult to see when the truck is actually stopping.. also: stopping on an on ramp is dumb.

I did almost the same thing in almost the same situation when I was about 21... Was turning ONTO an on-ramp, following an older Jeep without a third brake light, the Jeep emergency stopped because someone pulled in front of them from the left lane to cut into the on-ramp... I was looking at the road sign and had committed to making the turn at the speed the Jeep had been accelerating.

My 1989 Mazda Protege looked a lot like your poor Soul did at the end of that. The Jeep was essentially undamaged, just had some white paint smeared on it’s rear bumper :P

I ended up borrowing a friend’s truck, towing it home and fixing it up to drive again. The lucky bit was the Jeep was riding on 32" tires and was so high that all the damage to my car was above the front structural cross member, being an older Jeep it was so narrow that the fenders of my car weren’t crunched at all. New radiator, new fan, new hood, new headlights and corner markers, new radiator support, new airbox... I bought used parts and ended up owning that car for a total of nearly 400K miles. I was lucky.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > smobgirl 11/10/2019 at 11:05

1

mad that she couldnt hide a broken headlight from her husband?

that doesnt sound like a happy homelife

or maybe im the wierd one as ill cheerfully barge in and announce i broke the bike again....looks expensive...yay

TheRealBicycleBuck > smobgirl 11/10/2019 at 11:14

0

Mine was a yield sign at an off-ramp. She was first in line and made a move, so looked left, found a gap and went for it - right into her. :)

New rule. Look left, then right, then left again, then right again....

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 11:24

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As mentioned, they regulate cars entering the freeway. Pretty common in large urban areas

Captain of the Enterprise > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 11:32

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I’m sorry, that sucks and it was a big truck. I’m really glad you’re okay. I might post my accident today too. 

smobgirl > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 11/10/2019 at 11:34

2

I think it was a little deeper...more like he had lost patience with the shared  financial aspect of her terrible driving and she had just done something stupid AGAIN and less fear of abuse or something. I kind of get it, my mom wasn’t the best driver and when it’s easily avoidable shit it gets tiresome. 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > smobgirl 11/10/2019 at 11:37

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makes sense....i probably shouldnt jump to conclusions like that...

facw > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 11/10/2019 at 11:55

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I once had a coworker who was freaking out because she curbed a wheel and was worried about her husband being angry. Honestly I had no idea what to do but she seemed terrified, and I was seriously concerned that she was acting like he might be violent. I don’t know how you can politely raise that issue though. Ultimately  I just tried to tell her that these things happen and it shouldn’t be a big deal.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 12:35

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I’ve seen them in Denver and a few other large cities.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 12:35

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That was a hard hit.

Discerning > Brickman 11/10/2019 at 13:23

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T hey’re pretty much all over Atlanta’s major highways . If you ever try to get o nto 285, 75, or 85, you will likely drive past said lights (if you are within the Atlanta city limits) . They turn them on around high traffic times, as others mentioned.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Maxima Speed 11/10/2019 at 13:29

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I’ve got it in my playlist - great song.  Had to google the artist though - Mary Hopkins.

Just Jeepin' > facw 11/10/2019 at 19:14

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The amount of casual (and not so-casual) abuse many women go through is incredibly depressing.

And it starts young. I was on Amtrak...damn, almost 30 years ago...and a brother and younger sister were sitting in front of me. The entire trip he was cruell y taunting her, causing her pain in small but significant ways, and it just tormented me (and her) .

I finally spoke up, and she defended him because he “loved” her, and of course she didn’t know any better. I didn’t understand then what I do now about how people become acclimatized to abuse.

And yes, this was abuse. This wasn’t simple brother/sister teasing.

They met their parents at my stop, and had I been older and wiser I would have talked to them, but because I was (and still mostly  am) a coward, and because I didn’t have the confidence I do now, I didn’t.

I really hope she’s ok.

Urambo Tauro > Rainbow 11/10/2019 at 19:36

1

Good on you for recognizing your own responsibility here. We all need to swallow our pride once in a while and tell it like it is. Otherwise, we’d be hypocrites for having a different set of expectations for others.

That said, man oh man do I hate on-ramps...

I mean, think about it . On one hand, you’re supposed to use them to speed up to match the flow of traffic. But o n the other hand, ramp traffic often gets dumped directly into the right lane without any sort of prevailing right-of-way, so you’re required to yield (and as we all know, yielding sometimes means stopping) to traffic already in the target lane. You never know which of these polar opposites you’re going to have to deal with. And o n top of all that, if fellow traffic has any respect for left lane laws, the right lane is always going to be the busiest... The last thing we need is additional nonsense like busted brake lamps and random people stopped on t he shoulder to make things more difficult than they need to be .

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Rainbow 11/11/2019 at 09:32

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Geez... glad you and all are okay, but yeah, on-ramps are definitely not the right place to have your attention anywhere else.