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You can't always avoid getting rear-ended... Posted by IrieTom [Email]  (#1032)  [Profile/Gallery]
(more from IrieTom) on Tue, 22 May 2001 15:11:00
In Reply to: and those headrests are so esthetically pleasing, John A., Tue, 22 May 2001 11:59:55 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
It's happened to me twice, and I've seen cars screeching and standing on their noses in my rear-view mirror a few other times. Typically, this has happened when traffic gets backed up in a stretch of road which usually flows freely. Both of the times I was hit, heavy traffic came to a sudden stop.
1st time-
2-lane road, 45mph zone, heavy traffic comes to a quick stop. Shoulder is maybe 5 feet wide with deep ditch and shrubbery. Oncoming traffic in adjacent lane. I slam on my brakes, stop maybe 2 feet behind the car in front of me, breathe sigh of relief. Check rearview mirror, and see big Cadillac 20 yards behind me just starting to hit the brakes. He can't stop and rear-ends my '80 900GLi, throwing it into a small car in front of me. Elderly driver claims that he was picking up a hat that he dropped on the floor. His hood folded up, and his radiator nailed my back bumper dead center. Coolant all over, his car was towed.
The car in front of me (a mid-80's escort, I think. this happened in '88) had it's rear bumper hanging on by a thread. The driver complained of back pain.
My SAAB had the back bumper bent down slightly, and there were some "waves" in the sheet metal behind the wheel wells. The trunk floor was pushed up slightly, revealing an energy-absorbing strut between the center of the bumper and the car frame. One taillight was broken, but the lights inside still worked. The front end of my car had no apparent damage. I was unharmed.
2nd time-
Bridge over the Hudson River. Speed limit had just dropped from 55 to 30, but no-one ever slows down until after the bridge. 2 lanes of traffic, 2 feet of shoulder between lane marking and steel guardrail. I'm in the right-hand lane, and notice traffic slowing in front of me. Everyone stops quickly and I pull up short a foot or two behind the car in front of me. Traffic in the left-hand lane continues at 50mph or so.
Checking the rearview, I see a car barreling at me full speed. He swerves into the left lane, barely missing my car, and the guy behind him is boxed in. I see his tires lock up, and he slams into my car hard enough to push me into the car in front, and that car into the one in front of it. Once again, my car (an '86 900T this time- 1998) had rear body damage that needed to be fixed, and the front was undamaged. The guy in front of me said that he saw me get thrown around pretty good. The driver's seat had reclined partway, and the stereo popped out of the DIN slot. I wasn't injured (that was nothing compared to impacts I've endured skiing, snowboarding, and mountain biking), but I'm glad my grandmother wasn't in the car.
Don't fool yourself into thinking that you can avoid all of the dangerous and inattentive drivers out there. Just be glad that your SAAB has a far better passenger protection system than a Ford Pinto with a bumper sticker that says: CAUTION- This car explodes on impact!
I'm sure that you're a very safe driver, and hope that you never have to experience this type of situation firsthand. As a matter of fact, I hope that I never have to deal with it again, myself.
, Tue, 22 May 2001 15:11:00 <-- Viewing This Message
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