Have you ever been in a car accident? (page 2)

DakotaRed

I hate to admit it, but I've been in 6 since I started driving around 1964. Rear ended twice now, last time right in front my current house, resulting in my old car being totalled. The worst was a head on by a drunk in 1975 while stationed in Ft. Bragg NC. I'm here to talk about it, so it could have been much worse. Luckily, I was only in the Emergency Room a few hours, but have had minor pains in my back and neck ever since. The latest was just last December, drving to work and got Tee boned in the passenger door by a young lady distraught over her separation from her husband who didn't see the red light or have any insurance. The head on in '75 was also by an uninsured driver.

One was really my fault, in May of 1967. Street dragging and lost it. I too didn't have insurance then and learned a huge lesson. That was also my last traffic violation, so I calmed down alot after that, lesson learned. Now, if only all the drunk drivers would learn theirs.

Lew W

Shakita

When my first daughter was about 2, I was going to pick up my kindergartener from school. Approaching the intersection I was slammed from behind by a handicapped driver. My steering locked from the force of the crash but my first instinct told me to get out of the road, so I forced my wheel to a side parking area. My daughter had her seat belt on in the front seat. (Remember, this was about l8 years ago when there were no seat belt laws or rules about child restraints.) I got my daughter out of the car and looked at the car that hit me. The other driver was slumped over the wheel. The cops came, ambulance came, and reports were taken. The other driver was sent to the hospital but I and my daughter were fine, I thought. The car was totalled. The policeman later called me to tell me that the handicapped driver said that I was at fault. That I was braking or something. I was not at fault and told the policeman so. The handicapped driver later recanted his story, but still, I had months of car insurance problems after that. I had to contact the insurance commissioner in my state to finally get the insurance settlement. Oh yea, if you are ever in a car accident and feel fine, go to the hospital or your doctor anyway. A few days after the accident my neck hurt but I just sweated it out. Till this day I can't turn my neck at angle without it hurting. My daughter thankfully was fine. If she wasn't wearing her seat belt that day, she would have been through the windshield. It makes me so mad when I see kids not buckled up in the car!

I was wondering those of you who are from other countries, are there seat belt and car seat laws like there are here in the states?

I have been in a few other minor accidents, but it was always the other guy's fault. The insurance hassle is always worse than the accident itself.

Mrs. Shakita

caligirl

I wasn't driving, but we were in one on the way home from an assembly when I was 16 - T-boned a truck that had spun out on black ice. I broke my back and spent 3 months flat on my back in a body cast and 3 in a brace because of choosing not to have back surgery due to the "risk" of needing blood (duh). In our area, they stopped praying for everyone to be protected on the ride home after that. All fine now, just shorter by an inch or two because of the type of fracture, and have back spasms from tearing the ligaments & tendons - which compared to being paralyzed is a very small price to pay and one I will gladly endure. It took 6 months after I was up and around before I could go back on an interstate, and 4 years before I would ride with anyone in a small car.

imanaliento

yes Mrs Shakita I get so riled up when I don't see kids buckled in that I've actually called the sheriff on a few of them. growing up and hitchhiking in my younger years a lady stopped for us and we could see her bending down picking something up off the floor, when we got in it was her BABY. I know back then they did not have car seats, so it's sad to think of what could happen in a crash.

anyway the only accident I've ever been in was when I was 16 I thought I'd be nice and let my inexperienced friend drive my dads blue duster. she comes to a corner and PASSES OUT (not on drugs or anything) hitting two parked cars. I took the blame for it for insurance purposes and eventually told my parents years later. *&%##@* me off too because I didn't get to meet my date later and couldn't tell my dad I needed to stop and tell him what happened (only rode by).

imanaliento

ONE other note to people who are in accidents:

if the officer asks "are you ok" important to say "I DON"T KNOW" injuries can show up days later !!!

Mulan

I was in a pretty bad one when I was 11. My aunt was driving on a trip to see relatives, and Mom and a cousin were in the front seat. My brother, 16, cousin Sharon, 14 and I were in the backseat. It was March, about 6 in the morning, and we were on a mountain road in Northern California, (not real high mountains). The road was snow packed, icy and full of ruts from some melting probably. We were going too fast, and hit a rut. The car spun out of control and rolled several times down an embankment on the right side of the road, or we would have gone down into a canyon.

Miraculously, none of us were hurt badly. No one had any cuts, and one of us had a funny bruise on the leg, that later we matched with my mother's shoe's heel. As soon as we came to a stop, upside down, my brother reached over the seat and turned the engine off. The women said "Jehovah saved us."

Of course that was LONG before there were seat belts in cars (1957)

A car came along shortly after we climbed up the hill to the road, and took us to the next town.

Edited by - mulan on 30 November 2002 12:12:59

NeonMadman

holy cow neon, that's quite the story! man....
how bad were the injuries?

Nothing broken on either of us, mostly "aches and pains" type stuff. I felt my spine do a "crack the whip" when the other car hit us, and my back has never been the same since. I was never a really physically active sort of guy, but my physical activity decreased even more since that accident (because of the pain), and I've gained a good deal of weight since then. Overall, I was lucky that it wasn't worse, but I was 42 when the accident happened, and you just don't recover as well at that age as you did when you were 18.

Athanasius

Yes, 30 years ago was almost killed in one.

Buster

Yup, been in a bunch since I was little (dad driving) thru adolescence and a couple minor (could've been very bad) as an adult. Wanna hear about one I tell someeimes?

Mid-seventies, I am on my mother's (yes my mother's) new (130 miles) Honda 400 Super Sport. I have one of my best firends, Tim, on the back and we are zipping thru downtown Franklin on our way to a carnival. Perhaps I am going a wee bit too fast as I go over a wooden bridge. But as I did, I saw a girl coming out of Cottage street on the right. She saw me and hesitatted, but of course decided to proceed right thru. When she realized that she should have stopped, she decided to stop right in the middel of Main street, right in my way. She could have kept going, she could have stopped at the stop sign earlier. So she picked a compromise, keep going until she got right in front of me, then stop.

Thank God she had her window down! I hit that car with enough force to fold in the door and turn the new bike into a pretzel. I went into the car. She was the cousin of a classmate of mine. The helmet was turned halfway around my face, I was in her lap, and I asked her if she was all right.

I looked up and saw Tim's hands dangling over from the roof of the car - he had been tossed onto the top. He got off, I hopped out, we moved the bike to the sidewalk, and did the paperwork thing. I called my dad and he brought the Buick and we went to the carnival.

back2dafront

ROFL!!!!

I never knew accidents could be amusing!

Have you ever been in a car accident?

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