Be careful out there, Oppo

"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck) 04/15/2016 at 22:37 • Filed to: None

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I was on a four-lane divided highway with heavy traffic. There were lots of people swerving in and out because there are always a few blockheads driving 10 below the limit in both lanes. Par for the course down here.

We all got caught at a light, but it appears all the jackrabbits were in the right lane ahead of me. the speed limit is 65, but by the time we got to speed, we were probably doing closer to 70. I had five car lengths between myself and the Elantra ahead of me. She had about the same between herself and the Maxima ahead of her.

The traffic suddenly slowed ahead of the Maxima. I could see all the brake lights, so I started slowing down myself. The lady in the Elantra didn’t.

She realized at the last second that traffic was stopped and she tried to dodge left, but she didn’t make it. I’m not sure she even hit the brakes.

She destroyed the front end of her Elantra with the back end of the Maxima. It was one of the hardest hits I've seen. Parts went flying everywhere. After the impact, her car spun right and stopped just before it hit the guard rail. I stopped behind her, put the hazards on, walked up to make sure everyone was ok while dialing 911.

The Maxima slid over 100 feet and stopped just short of going into the ditch. That was a really good thing since Louisiana doesn’t mess around when they make ditches. That one was a good 10 feet deep before reaching the water.

I went to check on the people in the Maxima next. The last had three kids in the back. Fortunately, they were all belted in or in a car seat. One of the boys was complaining of back pain and I suggested that she not move them, but the woman was a nurse and decided that consoling her kids was more important than worrying about further injury. She even refused ambulance service despite her child’s complaints about back pain. I’m not sure what she was thinking, but I don’t thinks she was making good decisions.

I stuck around long enough to wait for the police and ambulance, give my information to the police as a witness, and offer my information to the woman who was hit. Surprisingly, she was really reluctant to take it. I think she thought I was in the car that hit her. The cop said my testimony is moot. In Louisiana, the rear-ender is always at fault.

So, be careful out there Oppo. Put away your phones and focus on the task at hand.

vondon302 > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:43

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Wow that’s a hard hit and kudos to you for sticking around.

spanfucker retire bitch > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:45

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Thank fuck for crumple zones and modern construction/engineering. 20-30 years ago, everyone would have probably been dead or damn close to it.

This is also the benefit - as outlined in your story - to actually looking down the damn road, far ahead of you. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve hit the brakes before the first or even second car in front of me realizes they have to slow down. I swear nobody looks more than 5 feet in front of them.

Chan - Mid-engine with cabin fever > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:45

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Distractions and being tired are invisible threats to road safety. Always good to drive defensively, because other people don’t!

pjhusa > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:49

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Very nice of you to stay and help.

Old Red Wagon > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:55

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That sudden slowdown is the worst. One of the many driving benefits while living in Europe was when that occurred on the highway everyone would hit their emergency lights letting the people behind them know that this isn’t just me slowing down normally. This is me standing on the brakes telling you you better slow the fuck down also. Incorporating that into driving here wouldn’t work cause half the time the majority of people aren’t paying attention to the road.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 22:56

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That’s why I always check my six when I have to brake hard. There's a chance I might be able to get out of the way if somebody is bearing down behind me.

shop-teacher > ttyymmnn 04/15/2016 at 22:59

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Yep, I once managed to keep myself from getting rammed by a tow truck of all things that way.

Toby F., Manager > Old Red Wagon 04/15/2016 at 23:00

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I’ve yet to visit Europe, but find myself doing the flasher thing myself. I believe I learned it from my father.

ttyymmnn > spanfucker retire bitch 04/15/2016 at 23:01

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If they look at all. They're probably texting or f**king with the infotainment screen.

TheRealBicycleBuck > spanfucker retire bitch 04/15/2016 at 23:19

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Crumple zones, air bags, and effective restraints. The trunk was completely smushed, but the back door was only slightly out of place and the rear seat looked fine. It was amazing. Even more amazing was that everyone was belted in or in a car seat. It's common to see kids with free reign in the back seat around here. I just don't understand what their parents are thinking.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 04/15/2016 at 23:20

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Given the way she took off at the light, I thought she was paying more attention. I was wrong.

TheRealBicycleBuck > ttyymmnn 04/15/2016 at 23:24

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While I agree that checking the mirrors is important, I’m not so sure about avoidance. I’ve seen several near misses where two vehicles bail to the shoulder at the same time. One happened right next to me when both the guy behind me and the guy behind him sought refuge in the shoulder.

TheRealBicycleBuck > vondon302 04/15/2016 at 23:27

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Thanks for the kudos, but I just did what any decent person would have done. There was an older couple and a guy who stopped to help Ms Maxima and her kids and another guy who stopped to help Ms Elantra, but I'm pretty sure he was her brother or something.

WhiskeyGolf > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 23:28

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You’ve confirmed the main lesson I’ve gotten from every driver education event I’ve done so far: look as far down the road as you can. You anticipated a problem and were able to avoid it by being proactive. Hope everyone involved makes it out with minimal issues.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 23:43

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Yes, I have considered that. But I’d rather die trying.

ttyymmnn > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/15/2016 at 23:43

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I always drive under the assumption that I am the only person on the road who is actually paying attention.

Wurrwulf > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/16/2016 at 04:53

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That cop is wrong. Five years ago, I stopped about a foot away from the car in front of me in an emergency situation. The Titan behind me hit me, pushed me into the SUV in front of me, and when the Louisiana State Trooper showed up, he placed all fault on the Titan driver. It was a bitch to fight the insurance companies, but I had a copy of the state issued police report, which helped. Sorry about your luck, glad everyone was okay.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Wurrwulf 04/16/2016 at 06:45

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The cop is correct. Your story supports it. The person at the back was held at fault both in your example and the wreck I witnessed.

Perhaps I confused you with the term “rear-ender”. I’m not sure we have standard language for this, so I used “rear-ender” for the person at the back. The rear-ender is responsible for the crash by hitting the person at the front, aka the “rear-ended” or “rear-endee”.

Don’t you love English?

Wurrwulf > TheRealBicycleBuck 04/16/2016 at 06:50

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My bad. I thought you meant that every car whose front end met a rear end was held guilty.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Wurrwulf 04/16/2016 at 06:58

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No problem. Despite having a whole litany of words to describe the situation, I took the short cut and made up my own. Sometimes these decisions don’t work out.

Wurrwulf > Wurrwulf 04/16/2016 at 07:00

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Or were there only two cars? I’m so confused. Ignore me. I didn’t sleep enough, apparently.