Sometimes it is only a few feet that makes a difference

"505Turbeaux" (505turbeaux)
02/18/2014 at 09:38 • Filed to: None

Friend of mine got banged up last week. Got hit pretty good in her Mazda 3 by a Denali. Missed getting run over by a tractor trailer by mere yards. If she got hit a few feet closer to the drivers door it may have been game over. Thank god the kids weren't in the car

and here is the Denali that did it

DISCUSSION (40)

Nibby > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 09:41

O_O

Glad she was okay!

Newsboy > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 09:41

Glad your friend is okay!

Unfortunately, mass wins. Makes me rethink my decision to buy a Fiat 500.

BeaterGT > Newsboy
02/18/2014 at 09:43

If you're going up against a Denali, it's hard to be in something bigger lol

crowmolly > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 09:46

Glad she is OK!

Stuff like this can be a real reality check. Too many people think "it won't happen to me" or "I am a good driver" etc etc.

It can happen to the best of us at pretty much any time. This is also why you don't dick around installing your kid's safety seat and make sure they are safe in it.

On a side note, when my kids are old enough to drive the first place I am taking them is to a u-pull junkyard. Nothing is more of a reality check then seeing wrecks pulled off of the highway right in front of you. Complete with blood, hair, burn marks, EMT notations, and children's toys left behind after an extraction. They don't show that type of stuff in driver's ed. I remember pulling a rear axle out of a mangled Trans Am where the owner obviously didn't make it.

Bad Idea Hat > crowmolly
02/18/2014 at 09:49

Man, thank you very very much for this idea.

505Turbeaux > crowmolly
02/18/2014 at 09:49

my favorite pick and pull had a 944 turbo that wrapped around something sideways. Obviously no survivors and alot of blood. There was no reason to save that car there. There want a part on it that wasnt destroyed. It was there for years. Maybe they left it there for this reason

CKeffer > crowmolly
02/18/2014 at 09:50

That's kind of the thing, you can be the best driver in the world, and still get into a wreck due to some idiot on their phone or otherwise just generally distracted. No one is safe, and you should always assume that everyone else on the road is out to get you and drive accordingly. This won't eliminate the risks of getting in to an accident, but it can and will lower it a bit. That said, sometimes all you can do is go "oh shit" and brace for impact.

crowmolly > Newsboy
02/18/2014 at 09:50

Regarding the Fiat, the Smart, and all the other little cars, I had a chance to talk to a safety engineer at a dinner party once and he told me this:

They are "safe" in the sense that they can take an initial hit just fine. Problem is, they will use up most (if not all) of their impact absorbing potential, leaving nothing for an additional impact into a second car, pole, tree, etc etc.

Not sure if it's 100% true but he seemed to know his stuff and it makes a lot of sense.

crowmolly > CKeffer
02/18/2014 at 09:54

Nothing is really worse than that split second when you see something in your peripheral vision or in your rear view mirror. You know, when synapses in your brain quickly fire to say "Dammit, I'm fucked".

Dsscats > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 09:54

What the fuck was the Denali doing that they hit her that hard!? It looks like they hardly braked. Mazda 3s are pretty strong little cars.

EL_ULY > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 09:55

fuuuuuuuuuu

dang dude that is scary stuff :(

505Turbeaux > Dsscats
02/18/2014 at 09:56

I know they are tough little things. No backstory on that but it sure was a hard hit

CKeffer > crowmolly
02/18/2014 at 09:59

Indeed. It's that "this is gonna suck" moment where you just know you're up a creek without a paddle, and there is nothing you can do about it.

CKeffer > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:01

That GM was FLYING when it hit the Mazda O.o Makes you wonder what the driver was doing other than paying attention, cause it doesn't look like they even touched the brakes.

JeffFurbs > crowmolly
02/18/2014 at 10:01

Seems logical. Helmets are designed similarly where you're safe for the first impact but after that they should be discarded regardless of their cosmetics.

505Turbeaux > CKeffer
02/18/2014 at 10:03

not to pidgeonhole CT drivers, but I can probably guess it was something like a text or reading the paper

CKeffer > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:04

Forget CT, that covers most Denali Drivers I've seen in ANY state.

505Turbeaux > CKeffer
02/18/2014 at 10:05

very very true!

Squid > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:06

Geez, F=MxA really is a bitch when your mass is smaller than the other cars. Glad your friend is Okay. A few years back there was a semi that plowed into a minivan during rush hour traffic, that was not a pretty site to see, people always forget that vehicles can do fuck tons of damage and can easily take a life if you are not paying attention.

oldestyoungn > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:31

This scares me so bad. Every Friday, Saturday, Sunday, holiday, or around the time of a big football game I become super scared of driving. Southerners really like to drink from what I've seen. People go over lines all the time, and the roads here are relatively skinny and most shoulders are either super soft and deceitful or just a fall. This makes it hard to ride the right side of the road...

Oh and the problem is so bad they have those divety things that are really loud when you drive on them in the middle of the road in some places. What does that say abut the problem?

I don't know what caused this, but seeing it be a Mazda3 really helps me visualize what my car would looks like... sibling's carseats and all. Glad she's ok and the kids weren't with her for that trauma.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:44

DAMN

This is that moment where everyone who says "why do you need a big car or a truck in the USA?!?!?!" Because, imagine if she was in something even smaller. I know it's a Mazda 3 and their isn't a lot that's smaller, but if she was in a Smart, that backseat damage would have been her front seat damage most likely (or who knows maybe the Denali would have flown right by!).

Also, this is why in the snow, or bad weather I'm never concerned about my driving, but the driving of other idiots on the road. No matter how good of a driver you are, there's always going to be an idiot.

Nerd-Vol > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:46

Glad she was okay. I drive a Mazda 3 so this is very relevant to me. Did you get a look at the rear hatch area? How badly was the luggage space compromised? I put my dog back there when I take her with me, and I am sometimes concerned about her safety in an accident. I may consider laying the seats down when she is back there, so at least she won't be pinned against the seat backs in an accident.

505Turbeaux > Nerd-Vol
02/18/2014 at 10:48

it looks like a high hit, and while the hatch area was deformed, it might have been liveable. The structure back there seems strong. I think in an accident with compact/midsize car it wouldnt have been anywhere as bad

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 10:50

always, it is always the other people that terrify me. My 1988 Audi would crumple like a tin can if this thing hit me. Strong cars and all, but not to a level even close to todays smallest cars

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 10:55

Yep, definitely.

When my parents got me my first vehicle, my mom wanted it to be ..."a small blue truck-y thing". Because she wanted me to have 4x4 and it to be bigger/large hunk of metal around me. The next day my dad had already found a 1988 Chevy S10 Blazer 2 Door...not quite sure why my sister got a little 85 notchback Mustang...lol maybe she loves me more HAHA.

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 10:59

haha yeah I was so deep into beetles and split window busses there was no telling me what I could and couldnt drive. My mom had a bad rollover in a beetle when she was a teenager so she was always telling me I couldnt drive my sister around in them. I think she felt a little better once I got my Audi 5000 turbo, but she has never been fond of my choices for "safe" cars

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 11:08

Haha, it wasn't what I could or couldn't drive, it's what they would or would not buy me.

To which I said thank you for the free vehicle it kicks ass and happily built the motor and drove the hell out of it...until the rust cancer took it from me...only to be replaced by another Blazer, but much newer and 4 door instead of 2.

Any kid who complains about free vehicles is a whinny bitch in my opinion (yes that 100% includes my little brother in law. Yeah I said it. I told his sister too lol)

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 11:11

I got one freebie. My 1986 16V Scirocco (in '95). All the other dozens of them I have bought myself. Yeah you cannot bitch about it at all. Growing up where I did where kids got brand new wranglers and BMW's, and hearing them bitch made me want to explode

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 11:18

Yeah the majority of the kids in my school were getting brand new cars, and there were plenty of 30k+ options in the student lot.

And I was happily doing burnouts in mu 88 Blazer lol. Loved that truck, I miss it, if I find it I'm buying it back.

My little brother was being gifted a 2005 Ford Taurus. (note this only 2 years older than MY daily driver). It needed about 1000-1500 of front suspension work, but he bitched and bitched and bitched about how he hated it and wanted a truck. So his mom said fine we'll buy a truck. He starts asking for tahoe's and avalanche's. They are like we have a budget of 5k, reign it in buddy. Then his mom started looking at other cars. I'm like the kid doesn't want a car, why not fix up the Taurus and spend 1500 tops instead of spending 5k for an unknown!? What the hell?!

They ended up finding him a Ranger 4x4, which is a good truck. He's still a whinny bitch tho. lol

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 11:21

smack him for me :)

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 11:26

I'd love to.

I also told him if he was upgrading I'd help him get parts off the Taurus SHO's to put on it. And help him with doing the upgrades too.

Still no interest in it.

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 11:28

taurus is the perfect car for him then.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 11:58

Now they're going to have to sell the thing with bad front suspension and probably not get much money out of it.

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 11:59

not at all. Like you said fix it for a known cost and give it to him. I have a friends brother that was bitching and his parents pulled the offer out from under him. Buy your own damn car

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 12:09

That's how I feel about it. Honestly I believe he was way too involved in the process.

I agree with maybe getting something that matches your kid's sense of style. But his parents are pretty hard up financially and he KNOWS THAT. My parents specifically targets my sister and I with our vehicles, but they didn't ask us for a list of cars/trucks we liked. He was sending them craigslist ads and autotrader listings!!!

I just don't agree with him being that involved. There wasn't anywhere enough gratefulness from him. He's a spoiled brat though...

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 12:12

if they dont have the money and he is spoiled that is a deeper issue. I have had to work my ass off and make good and not so good choices in life to be where I am. Tough love is the only answer here

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 12:18

I agree. He whines and bitches if he doesn't have the nicest stuff, all name brand.

Here's a good example of what I'm dealing with here. for ease of writing, M= Me, H= Him. this is a conversation I had with him about 6 months ago. He's 15.

*Sunny drive to the store one afternoon, I'm driving, it's just the two of us*

H "I need my parents to buy me new sunglasses, my friend has mine"

M "why don't you get them back from your friend"

H "He says they are his and won't give them back, he has a similar pair, but I know they are mine, he lost his"

M "Have your mom call his and get your sunglasses back"

H "I can just have my mom buy me new ones"

M "She shouldn't need to, you know exactly where yours are, and he's a crappy friend if he won't give them back"

H "It's ok, they were only like 15 bucks"

M "Didn't you just tell me a few minutes ago your mom told you she only had $60 bucks in her checking account?"

H "Yeah, so?"

M "GET YOUR DAMN GLASSES BACK SHE CAN'T AFFORD TO BE BUYING YOU NEW GLASSES BECAUSE YOU AND YOUR CRAPPY FRIEND ARE IDIOTS"

*silence for the rest of the car ride*

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 12:20

my god. Seen it too many times. Tough love. I would feel like a piece of shit for even considering saying that to anyone. *SMAAAAACK*

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > 505Turbeaux
02/18/2014 at 12:33

It's given my wife and I a good example of how NOT to raise our son. The sad part is how differently she was raised, by the same mother (and from about age 12 on, kind of the same father, at least same father figure).

They just have lower standards for him - which is messed up.

505Turbeaux > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
02/18/2014 at 12:37

all you can do is learn from your parents mistakes. My parents were assholes to each other, and indifferent to us. I didnt speak to either one of them for 6 years of my 35 walking around on the planet. But we have reconciled and they are both married to people they are happy with. Now I have 2 daughters and I see how not to repeat that. Even though my daughters mom and I are broken up we are probably better off for the kids now we dont live in the same loveless household