Ummm... Crap (accident)

[Cyrix_2k]

It was snowing like crazy here so I went out to go get some practice real quick. The roads were still warm, so it ended up being water for the most part, no big deal, so I started heading home. Literally, within 1/2 a mile of my house, I went around a corner, slowly, and the car started to spin so I hit the brakes lightly (mistake #1), then I lost steering and of course I couldn't realize this like an intelligent person would so I kept on turning then let off the brakes (HUGE mistake). The tires bit and I started fishtailing and I steered into the turn, but I overcorrected and spun the car around into some pine trees. Crap.

Damage: Passenger Fender, Hood (possibly salvageable), rear bumper (already dented by previous owner), both rear tailights - drivers side lens broken, passenger trim slightly messed up (tailights already needed to be replaced, again due to the previous owner), some filler plate between bumper and tailights (yes, the majority of the damage there was from the previous owner), trunk lid lightly dented (no big deal), and I knocked the front passenger side tire off the rim. Everything else is fine

Looks like it shouldn't cost too much to fix which I am VERY happy about. I hit the tree going REALLY slowly. It was less of an impact then in bumper cars. I've had FAR worse accidents on my bike where I kept on riding. (but as my dad pointed out, they tend to be cheaper...). I'm glad my parents aren't mad or anything. That's what I worried about the most. My second thought was "guess I'm not driving to school tomorrow." I have to keep at least a little humor involved or else I'll be really mad at myself. On the bright side I can finally fix my rear bumper Maybe I can even paint the car a better color then white now... (I'm not much on white. I want blue or black)

BTW, my dad pointed out that I've had my license for just barely over 6 months now and that most drivers have their first accident within six months... I got it 7/02/05. Gotta love being a statistic...

[silicon212]

Originally Posted by Cyrix_2k

It was snowing like crazy here so I went out to go get some practice real quick. The roads were still warm, so it ended up being water for the most part, no big deal, so I started heading home. Literally, within 1/2 a mile of my house, I went around a corner, slowly, and the car started to spin so I hit the brakes lightly (mistake #1), then I lost steering and of course I couldn't realize this like an intelligent person would so I kept on turning then let off the brakes (HUGE mistake). The tires bit and I started fishtailing and I steered into the turn, but I overcorrected and spun the car around into some pine trees. Crap.

Damage: Passenger Fender, Hood (possibly salvageable), rear bumper (already dented by previous owner), both rear tailights - drivers side lens broken, passenger trim slightly messed up (tailights already needed to be replaced, again due to the previous owner), some filler plate between bumper and tailights (yes, the majority of the damage there was from the previous owner), trunk lid lightly dented (no big deal), and I knocked the front passenger side tire off the rim. Everything else is fine

Looks like it shouldn't cost too much to fix which I am VERY happy about. I hit the tree going REALLY slowly. It was less of an impact then in bumper cars. I've had FAR worse accidents on my bike where I kept on riding. (but as my dad pointed out, they tend to be cheaper...). I'm glad my parents aren't mad or anything. That's what I worried about the most. My second thought was "guess I'm not driving to school tomorrow." I have to keep at least a little humor involved or else I'll be really mad at myself. On the bright side I can finally fix my rear bumper Maybe I can even paint the car a better color then white now... (I'm not much on white. I want blue or black)

BTW, my dad pointed out that I've had my license for just barely over 6 months now and that most drivers have their first accident within six months... I got it 7/02/05. Gotta love being a statistic...

Heh. I got my license on 4/13/1987 and got in my first accident on 01-08-2001. Not too bad I suppose. Wrecked again on 03/11/03. Those are the only two accidents I've been in, in both cases the car I hit was totaled while the car I drove sustained minor damage. In both cases, the accident was a result of someone else's stupid mistake.

[Cyrix_2k]

That's a pretty good record. My accident was more a result of inexperience... I wasn't doing anything stupid at the time, although going out in the snow could be argued as stupid.

[silicon212]

It's counterintuitive, but when it comes to driving on snow or ice, think about what your reaction would be if it starts to get away from you, and do the opposite.

[CD Smalley]

Originally Posted by Cyrix_2k

I wasn't doing anything stupid at the time, although going out in the snow could be argued as stupid.

Before I got my license, my folks took me out and made me drive in conditions like this. Your parents should have done the same before turning you loose in snow. Hopefully they spent some time driving with you at night and in the rain as well....

[Cyrix_2k]

Originally Posted by CD Smalley

Before I got my license, my folks took me out and made me drive in conditions like this. Your parents should have done the same before turning you loose in snow. Hopefully they spent some time driving with you at night and in the rain as well....

My dad said he didn't think the snow was laying on the ground so I said I'd check. He went out with me before, but the snow wasn't on the pavement at all that time, so this was the first time I had EVER been on the road with snow on the ground. I have plenty of night driving experience and a fair bit of rain experience.

[ddax]

I've been driving for 34 years and have never had an accident that was my fault. I was rear-ended while stopped at a stop sign(in snow) and hit a deer this past Dec - that's it! Only had one moving violation - a speeding ticket going 42 in a 25mph 'speed trap'. Post Road - a 3/4 mile long road out in the boonies but it's incorporated into Twinsburg, OH. Maybe a half a dozen expired meter tickets.

However, in my first year of driving I was coming home one night from work with in couple inches of new snow. I came off a bridge with a steep drop and lost control. It was a narrow two lane. I was driving my parent's '67 Caprice. I let it do a 'controlled' 180 - went back across the bridge - turned around in a parking lot on the other side and made it back over and home just fine. I was proud of myself! Wish I could do some doughnuts in that car again!

[HLandin]

Well, as far a wrecking close to home, I can attest to how frustrating that is. My accident back in June with my white 1990 was less than five miles from the house, and my accident in November with my blue 1990 was less than a mile from the house (would be within visual distance of the house if it wasn't for the trees on the side of the road). This is extremely frustrating since I drove up and down the interstate for two years (69 miles each way) while commuting to college without any accidents in the white 1990. That accident in the white was also my first accident since I started driving at age sixteen (about 6 years ago).

[kahjdh]

Originally Posted by ddax

Post Road - a 3/4 mile long road out in the boonies but it's incorporated into Twinsburg, OH. Maybe a half a dozen expired meter tickets.

You live in ne ohio? I've gotten my only ticket going throught boston heights. I was only doing 10 above the limit. I hate boston heights cops.

[ddax]

Originally Posted by kahjdh

You live in ne ohio?

Yep. I still go through Twinsburg a couple times a year to visit relatives. I always go 25 mph the whole way - backing up traffic! Hey - it's the speed limit!
I really dislike when towns use speed traps to raise revenue. I don't stop in Twinsburg to spend money any more either. I figure if the city leadership chooses to welcome visitors by grabbing a little money with a speed trap then they really don't deserve my discretionary spending.
Sour grapes - huh?!

[Cyrix_2k]

Update: Looks like it wasn't the snow... looking at where I was driving, I apparently was off the road and driving in mud for a short time. This is where I began to spin... everything else is how I remembered it. What's odd is that I don't remember feeling like I ran off the road or anything. I knew I was close because I moved very close to the shoulder when some idiot came flying down the middle of the road in the opposite direction.

Anyway, the car's driveable. It's currently in the shop where they're going to look over it and put a new exhaust system on. Also, my rim was dented on the INSIDE and they're going to try and fix it. I hope they can - it's a GNX 15" Aluminum rim.

[CD Smalley]

Originally Posted by Cyrix_2k

I have plenty of night driving experience and a fair bit of rain experience.

That's good to hear. When I got my learner's permit, several decades ago, My folks let me drive all the time. No matter the conditions. It helped alot.

Of course after I got my license, I spent alot of time screwing around on snow and ice , at slow speeds usually in empty parking lots, to get a feel for where the limits of my car and myself were. I still do it when it get a different car. Helps to know what the car feels like at that instant just before you loose control....

[UnexplodedCow]

I got my license in '00, and was rearended in '02. Got the bumper fixed, by the insurance, and then flipped the poor car end over end at 70, and landed in water. It was a Tempo, yes, but it protected me. I walked away with a cut on my finger. The Caprice wagon I drove, though, was bulletproof. I used to ramp that car...with people in it. Ahh, the stupid days.

[Cyrix_2k]

Looks like there's more wrong with my car then I thought. It doesn't look like I'm the cause of most of it though... Basically, between being worn out or damaged, the front suspesion is f'ed over. It looks like the car was involved in a previous accident invloving the same fender! There's bondo in it, and you can see overspray where repair work was done. I thought it was just rust at first, but my mechanic has informed me of evidence of shoddy repair work to the suspension as well where it hit something before. Also, the ball joints, tie-rod, idler arm, and control arm are shot. Yeah. I'm just buying another car right now (probably an '87 firebird my friend has). This one's being driven home and I'm going to fix the cosmetic stuff and put on new shocks. Then I'm driving it back to the shop to get the other stuff fixed at a later date. After all this, it will basically be a new car...