Car Accident (Counting myself very fortunate)

[firerescuefin]

Driving through a major intersection today…woman ran a red light and struck my truck in the left front of the vehicle. I heard the screeching of the tires and turned hard right at the last second as I caught her in my peripheral vision. This resulted in more of a glancing blow than a direct 90 degree hit. All 3 of my boys (5,3, 11 months) were in the vehicle and were OK. Little bit surreal as I purposely looked directly at one of my boys as we braced for impact. I was wanting to see what type of injuries he might sustain based on how his body reacted to the force delivered to the vehicle. I can remember processing that thought when I knew the crash was imminent.

Anyhow, I am a little sore, truck will be totaled, but just count myself blessed that it was not worse.


Lady was seriously "tweaking" and based on my experience as a medic was high out on meth. Police officer thought she was on something as well and was taking her in for blood testing.

[makoti]

Wow. Quite the presence of mind to look at your son right before impact. Good to hear that it looks like everyone is ok. If she was high, I hope the hammer her.

[Louis]

Good to hear that the kids and you are OK. Probably better to have the truck totaled than have them attempt a massive repair job, but of course now you have no truck.

Re: Impaired Driving - I wonder what % of all accidents are due to either drug (legal and otherwise) or smart-phone induced impairment? Gotta be a huge %.

Lady was seriously "tweaking" and based on my experience as a medic was high out on meth. Police officer thought she was on something as well and was taking her in for blood testing.

[firerescuefin]

Wow. Quite the presence of mind to look at your son right before impact. Good to hear that it looks like everyone is ok. If she was high, I hope the hammer her.

The brain is an amazing thing. It seemed more of a reflex as it was happening which is why I used the term surreal. I can remember processing the thought, almost in slow motion.

[vqdriver]

crap. that's one of my biggest fears on the road: a direct t-bone with my kids in the car.

my guess is that your last second turn probably helped more than you know. glad to hear your kids are ok, but watch them closely for the next few days.

[AngryScientist]

wow, i'm really sorry to hear this, traumatic experience for you all, i'm sure.

great to hear that everyone is more or less OK though. at times, a lot of it seems totally overkill, but the safety regulations cars, trucks, and most importantly car seats need to meet today really do save lives and prevent serious injury.

it's difficult enough trying to raise kids without the total curve ball of impaired drivers thrown in the mix sharing the same roads we have to. makes me think hard about riding a motorcycle or bicycle on the roads, the factor of safety on those are near zero in a collision with a car.

heal up big guy, put this one behind you and your kids as soon as you can.

[54ny77]

what kind of truck were you driving?

glad to hear you & kids are safe.

it's weird that the instinct is to toss out an arm and look at nearest loved one on impending fender bender, isn't it? i've done that a few times as potential accident loomed (but that thankfully didn't).

[texbike]

Wow!!! I'm sorry to hear about the accident Geoff, but am glad that you guys are alright!

Ya gotta watch out for those Texas drivers!

Texbike

[bargainguy]

The gods were definitely on your family's side. Meth + x-ton vehicle = usually not such a good result.

Sorry about the truck, but awesome no significant injury.

[bikerboy337]

Glad everyone is ok... One of my greatest fears as well, kids in the car.... Hope you feel good tomorrow, that's when it usually hurts


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[firerescuefin]

what kind of truck were you driving?

Chevy Silverado 1/2 ton, extended cab

[DRZRM]

Wow man, I am glad to hear everyone came through it as well as they did. Really good reflexes.

[texbike]

at times, a lot of it seems totally overkill, but the safety regulations cars, trucks, and most importantly car seats need to meet today really do save lives and prevent serious injury.


Recently I was fortunate (???) to take a driver's ed class to have a speeding ticket dismissed. The most interesting part of the course to me were the statistics of the number of traffic-related deaths and serious injuries over a 20 year period. Even with the increase in vehicles on the road, increased speed limits, and other factors (such as texting while driving) the decrease in deaths and serious injuries over a 20 year period was staggering. IMO, it's only the increase in safety features that has allowed that decrease to occur.

Texbike

[Louis]

IMO, it's only the increase in safety features that has allowed that decrease to occur.

I bet you there would be an even greater decrease in accidents, injuries and mortality (and texting) if instead of an airbag in the middle of the steering wheel, every vehicle were required to have an 9" dagger pointing straight at the driver's chest. That would even get the attention of the meth-heads.

[Peter P.]

Glad to hear there were no injuries.

How did you discern the woman was tweaked? I'm not in touch with the behaviors of meth addicts.

Were all your boys seat belted in the vehicle? How often is it that back seat passengers, adult as well as children, fail to use seat belts...

[nebraskacycling]

Glad everyone is okay. That is the key. It's too bad that drivers like that usually are allowed to drive again (much less not have jail time).

Lots of accidents posted this week :(

[moose8]

Glad to hear you are ok. Impaired drivers are something I fear as it only takes one.

[shovelhd]

Jeez. How are the kids handling it? I guess you'll find out the next time they go for a drive. My best to all of you.

[firerescuefin]

Dialated pupils, very excited/excitable, would not stop talking, but looked liked she hadn't slept for days….and showed some long term signs of meth use. Think 30 going on 50. if you saw it, you'd recognize it.

Yes…all seat belted/safety seated. :) ….I miss some things, but triple check that each time we get em strapped in.



Glad to hear there were no injuries.

How did you discern the woman was tweaked? I'm not in touch with the behaviors of meth addicts.

Were all your boys seat belted in the vehicle? How often is it that back seat passengers, adult as well as children, fail to use seat belts...

[firerescuefin]

Jeez. How are the kids handling it? I guess you'll find out the next time they go for a drive. My best to all of you.

My oldest is upset, because it was my late dad's truck and he has some sentimental attachment to it…though he didn't know my dad (go figure). The 3 year old seemed more agitated that it interrupted his lunch, and the 11 month old didn't even realize it happened.

[benitosan1972]

How did you discern the woman was tweaked? I'm not in touch with the behaviors of meth addicts.

Pupils really dilated
Hyperactive/fidgety
Talkative/really fast
Grinding teeth/tight jaw muscles
Skin irritation/picking at skin
Twitching/tics/finger twitching
Irritability/suspicious
Hallucinations/paranoia
Rotted teeth/gum disease

When you see someone under the influence of meth, you will know! :eek:

[Peter P.]

Your accident reminds me of the time 2 buddies and I were on a Sunday morning ride on a narrow, straight, tree lined, 2 lane state road.

As we're heading north we see a woman approaching us in a sedan. She pulls off the road as if she's contemplating pulling a U-turn. There's really not much traffic at all, and all 3 of us cyclists are watching as we get closer trying to figure out what she's trying to do. Our collective guess is (was) she wanted to execute the U-turn before we reached her i.e., she was in a hurry.

Well, her timing REALLY sucked, as she pulled out at the wrong time. A pickup truck, heading in the same direction she was before she pulled over, was coming along. The woman pulls out hurriedly for the U-turn and the pickup truck, having nowhere to go as the woman's car is in mid u-turn, pulls left and creams her driver's side.

No one was injured. Besides the driver in the pickup were 2 little girls. They were really shaken up and it was daddy's and the bystanders' jobs to calm the tykes down.

[soulspinner]

Glad you are ok. Pick a safe vehicle to put your kids in (again).

[Tandem Rider]

Congrats to you on keeping the main thing the main thing. The boys will be fine because of your daily work.

[gearguywb]

Glad you and the kiddos are OK. Trucks can be replaced.

[William]

I'm very happy no one was hurt! Too bad about the truck, but it took the hit for all of you and that's a good thing.





William

[jr59]

Just glad you and yours are alright! All the other stuff is just stuff. Your wellness and the wellness of your family can not be understated.

[firerescuefin]

So, I get a call from the insurer of the vehicle that hit me.

The driver was not the owner of the car. It was a "friend", who was driving with a suspended license.

After I made sure my kids were Ok, I checked her and her son out (medical assessment). I told her I was a paramedic firefighter and urged her to calm down as it appeared no one was seriously hurt. She kept on asking me about my "babies" (my kids) and wanted to make sure they were Ok. She kept on apologizing. I remained calm and tried to keep her calm. Not yelling…not blaming. Just waiting for LE to get on scene and for them to do their thing.

Anyhow, back to the insurer. They told me they had a different version of events. The driver that admitted to fault on scene now stated that I ran the red light. Additionally, that I conspired with the witness (who is a volunteer firefighter)….because we are both firefighters.

Anyhow, you can imagine how the rest of the conversation went. I explained to him the intersection in question has a camera dedicated to each lane of travel, and he should look into pulling the footage.

I had already received a copy of the accident report (that cited her as "at fault"), and I asked him if he had as well. He said he had. I said that I felt insulted and that he was not operating in good faith and that I would be contacting a lawyer. He started back tracking really quick and said that "although it goes against what we usually would do in this situation, we are willing to concede liability on our part"

What a bunch of bull····. I told him that I would still be contacting a lawyer.

[Louis]

Did he say anything about whiplash for her and her kid?

Idiots.

[wooly]

Geoff - so good to hear that you and the boys are okay. the Big Man upstairs was looking out for you!

BTW - Insurers on the whole seem to be dirty bunch. I'm glad you threatened legal action...

[Kingfisher]

Glad you and your boys are ok....things can change so quickly in life.

Regarding your mention of everything going in slow motion during the split seconds prior to accident...i read somewhere that this happens due to our "primitive/instinctual" parts of our brain take over and direct ALL senses to what is happening around you at that moment for maximum protection of yourself and in your case the boys, hence, the slow motion. i've had similar feelings myself, car accident and a couple of race crashes.

[stackie]

It was a crash. The term accident is used by the automotive industry to perpetuate that drivibg is a safe activity that can be performed by anyone. Any collision is an "accident" to them to give the false impression that it was an unavoidable "act of god".

This crash was caused by an impaired driver. When you really boil it down, pretty much all accidents have a cause. Drinking, texting, failure to obey basic speed law, failure to maintain vehicle. The industry does not want the populous to believe that driving an auto is any work or responsibility at all.

That said, I'm thankful you and your boys are ok. I cannot imagine looking at an 11 month old child as you know a crash is imminent

Jon

[muchness]

It was a crash.

I'm glad everyone on your team was okay.

We, the enlightened multi-modal transporters, need to start using proper vocabulary. Someday the world will catch up.

[eippo1]

Well that sucks all around. Hate it when ins. pulls that crap, when all you have to do is say, did you read the accident report? Had a similar thing where I had to go to arbitration and prove that the corner sucked for sightlines becasue I couldn't prove that the guy that t-boned me was driving way too fast. So it was ruled a no-fault accident (should have been his fault).

Was also rear-ended once by a 15 year old who did not have a license yet. She plowed into my Blazer still going about 30. Totaled her boyfriend's car and bent my struts. You can do the best you can to protect yourself, but you can't fix stupid.

BTW, I thought you were in the Far East.