Thought Of The Day - Wreckage


Time: Last Tuesday 4:30pm

The black truck I am driving behind suddenly swerves out of the way and in front of him is a car sitting in the lane.

Time to impact: -3 seconds

“Fuck”
“Why is a car stopped here? Screw it, I don’t have time for that line of thought.”

-2 seconds

“I am blocked on the right by cars and the left. I don’t have the time or distance to break.”

-1 second

“I can’t hit them head on so maybe I can pull to the right without hitting the cars in the next lane.”

-Impact

I manage to somehow cross 4 lanes of busy highway in the remains of my Envoy, on three tires and the front rim without hitting any cars or any of them hitting me in the middle of rush hour. Yeah, I probably shouldn’t be here.

I could see the blood on my arm but couldn’t feel it…which made me wonder where else I was hurt. The side window had been halfway down and all of that glass was now all over me. The first person I call is my dad…and I don’t even know why. The next is 911. They take me to the VA hospital.

I could see out the back of the ambulance driving away and it just seemed wrong to leave my car behind. That truck had been with me since my third month in the Air Force. It had made the trip from Florida to Texas so many times without any incidence bigger than getting pulled over by one cop that it might as well be family. My companion/protector was gone and I had just paid her off less than 3 years ago. I had planned to drive her into the ground.

One trip to the ER revealed a hairline fracture and now chronic pain in my knees from being pinned under the caved in driver’s side door until the firemen opened it for me.

Why was a car sitting stationary in the left hand lane of a busy freeway?

Why the fuck does my life play out like some made for tv movie?

Why am I still here?

Because it’s not your time to go. And you’re one big tough motherfucker.

Wow man, you really are lucky to be alive!
Hope you heal up nice and quick.

Sucks about your truck! :confused:

Glad to hear you are ok. Vehicles can be replaced, and your body will heal. The alternative is much worse, for all of us.

Hey man its Houston lucky you are alive. The black truck didnt look like this did it?

Man, I feel your pain.

I was cycling to work, see a green light, and go across the road. An old guy in a Benz decides to take the corner at the same time and clips my back wheel. I came out of it with a shattered left wrist, broken right wrist and thumb, broken toe, chipped tooth, and a very messed up face.

6 months, 4 surgeries, and LOTS of metal pins, wires and plates later I am now able to resume training with 12 and a half pound dumbells. I may never be able to move my left wrist properly again.

But anything you can get up and walk away from must be viewed in as positive a light as possible.

As for calling your dad first, I completely get it. I called my wife and said “I think I’m going to be late for work, I had an accident”. The brain works in a funny way when stuff like this happens.

Chin up man.

I salute your car that died in the line of duty.

Holy shit-- no fun.

First, glad to hear you’re OK (relatively speaking given what could have happened).

Is it your arm that’s fractured?

You can be thankful that you escaped a worse fate. 3 days ago we lost a friend (mother of my 9 year old’s good friend). She crossed over into the other lane and hit a DOT dumptruck head on. The 8 year old suffered head trauma, two broken arms, and blood in the brain, but she’s recovering. Saw her just the day before at school dropping her daughter off.

It only takes a second or two. We’re so fragile.

Sorry for your vehicle loss. I get attached to my vehicles.

Again, glad to hear that you’re alive to tell the story.

Good reaction time

Glad you’re ok X.

There is a driving pattern that I’ve learned to recognize that I’ve dubbed “Following my GPS.” The driver seems to slow down, swerve, stop, and speed up at seemingly random intervals and demonstrates no fucking clue what so ever that they are surrounded by anything other than their car.

If you ask the person what the hell it is that they were doing or thinking when they wrecked, acted like an idiot, or were just generally making a confused nuisance of themselves @ 75 mph in a public roadway- They will tell you with all of the confidence in the world “I was following my GPS.”, as if you not knowing that is somehow your fault.

I don’t know that this was the case with your circumstance, but thats what came to mind when I read it. Their GPS told them that there was a turn when there wasn’t one or some other such nonsense, so they had to stop and argue with it.

Hope you recover well and quickly.

^ Nope just Houston traffic, MF leave their cars stranded on major highways all the fucking time. X were you on 45 or 610?

[quote]DJHT wrote:
^ Nope just Houston traffic, MF leave their cars stranded on major highways all the fucking time. X were you on 45 or 610?[/quote]

I was on 45 going south from Spring, TX. From what I understand, there were two women in the stopped car waiting on someone to change a tire. I am only assuming they were half in and half out of the hazard lane which is what caused the truck in front of me to swerve.

It was a big truck so it isn’t like I could see around it or directly in front of it. This was also the passing lane. Either way, common sense tells you to get off the fucking freeway in rush hour with a flat tire, not go left and sit in the hazard lane with your ass out.

I don’t know what insurance will rule on this though because I think they are claiming that I hit them while they were fully in the hazard lane…which would mean I was somehow driving down a freeway in the hazard lane in an envoy.

I didn’t get a ticket or anything so this looks like an insurance battle. I can’t see the police report until 7 full days after the accident. It may be ready today.

There was a car sitting in front of the stalled car…which I later learned was because they were transferring the passengers from the flat tire car to the other car…but you can’t do that while fully in the hazard lane because the lane is too narrow.

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:
There is a driving pattern that I’ve learned to recognize that I’ve dubbed “Following my GPS.” The driver seems to slow down, swerve, stop, and speed up at seemingly random intervals and demonstrates no fucking clue what so ever that they are surrounded by anything other than their car.

If you ask the person what the hell it is that they were doing or thinking when they wrecked, acted like an idiot, or were just generally making a confused nuisance of themselves @ 75 mph in a public roadway- They will tell you with all of the confidence in the world “I was following my GPS.”, as if you not knowing that is somehow your fault.

I don’t know that this was the case with your circumstance, but thats what came to mind when I read it. Their GPS told them that there was a turn when there wasn’t one or some other such nonsense, so they had to stop and argue with it.

Hope you recover well and quickly.

[/quote]

Oh, what’s worse are all of these people who can’t drive while talking on the fucking phone. Guess what, if you are one of these assholes who acts like they are gabbing on the phone in their living room while driving 65+mph, please finally realize that NO, your driving is NOT that fucking good.

[quote]SteelyD wrote:

Is it your arm that’s fractured?

[/quote]

Humurus. I can’t do much upper body right now aside from biceps, triceps and maybe back. I can only do decline for chest and even that is now limited in weight used.

^ The more I drive in this town, the more I think we really need to have people take the actual driving test again to get their license. How much is a fucking blue tooth ear piece anyway? I am on call for my job 24/7/365 so I have to take calls when driving, BUT I have a ear piece so I can keep two hands on the wheel.

Even if you did get hit,I think you would’ve toughed it through. If memory serves me right (And Google) didnt Frank Mcgrath get into a serious accident and the doctors said the only thing that saved him was the huge amount of muscle that cushioned him? He lost 40 pounds,had his spleen removed,and his arm was to be stitched up though. Whatever the case,I wish you good luck.

[quote]DJHT wrote:
^ The more I drive in this town, the more I think we really need to have people take the actual driving test again to get their license. How much is a fucking blue tooth ear piece anyway? I am on call for my job 24/7/365 so I have to take calls when driving, BUT I have a ear piece so I can keep two hands on the wheel. [/quote]
No doubt! I cant believe we live in the city that we do and 610 hasn’t been expanded. I hear they are continuing that METRO lightrail thing though,rumor has it that its going to go all the way to Jersey Village. Fuck yes.

PX’s “Camaro vs Mustang” thread makes a whole lot more sense now :wink:

Glad you’re OK Prof.

I dont know why, but I’ve always had a fear that I’m going to die in a car accident. I drive a lot for work and have had some serious close calls. That stereotype about Asian drivers…absolutely true!!

I’m so fearful of this that I pay an exhorbitant amount every month into life insurance, so in the event of my death my parents have 2 million dollars coming to them.