Whelp. Crashed my car. Again.
03-27-2012, 11:07 AM
#11
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: TX
Posts: 680
In 1989, I was driving a brand new '88 GT, *doing the speed limit*, going around a turn. A rabbit jumped out into the road, and I lifted a little. The rear end unloaded and came around, and just as the car came to a stop sitting sideways across both lanes of traffic, an equally new Nissan Sentra came around the corner (NOT doing the speed limit) and t-boned me in the passenger door. It crushed the passenger seat in my car to a width of no more than 6 inches, broke the console loose, and literally broke the Mustang in half. I cut my thumb as a result. The other guy broke a kneecap, and bounced his head off the windshield.
I was 33 at the time. That was the last Mustang I owned until this week. I'll be picking up a 2012 base V6 automatic by Saturday.
I was 33 at the time. That was the last Mustang I owned until this week. I'll be picking up a 2012 base V6 automatic by Saturday.
03-27-2012, 11:26 AM
#12
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,717
Actually, he needs to learn how to a) evaluate a car's capability, and b) drive the car in such a way as to not exceed his ability, or the car's nature.
A stock base V6 on stock tires on a two-lane road is not the right time to test either his driving prowess or the car's capabilities. I think he knows that now (unless he's an especially slow learner.
A stock base V6 on stock tires on a two-lane road is not the right time to test either his driving prowess or the car's capabilities. I think he knows that now (unless he's an especially slow learner.
The point is, no one was injured here and OP KNOWS he was in the wrong. You're preaching to the choir.
03-27-2012, 11:43 AM
#14
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,060
Everyone f*cks up sooner or later. Little f*ck-ups or big ones... It's when you f*ck up in quick succession you need to rethink your options. And I say GTFO of the mustangs and get a nice little safe FWD econobox with sub 100 horsepower.
Everyone likes to take the corners like a racecar driver. I have a few that I have taken so many times I have found the ideal line. But even then I miss the apex from time to time. But my speed is no where near the limit, so I can always correct. The rear never got away from me while doing that either, because my braking is done before the turn, and I don't really hammer it until the car is almost out of the turn. It's fun to see a guy on your bumper, and after the turn be a few car lengths behind.
I would feel for the poor sap that is going to try and keep up. I drive those turns every day, I know what the dangers are. Wrong speed, and you are looking at a lot of damage. And wrong speed... would be ludicrous speed. Gone to plaid...
Oh, and small animals? I run them over. Knee jerk reactions is what gets you into trouble. animal > myself and others. I've had to go from the fast lane onto the shoulder. You don't expect someone to brake to the fullest extent of their cars capability on the highway. And even with a 100 yards to go I doubt I would have been able to stop in time, and I know the guy behind me wouldn't have been able to. Turned out they didn't want to tenderize a small bird. I saw it fly away... I don't get people willing to get in a highway pileup over an small animal.
Everyone likes to take the corners like a racecar driver. I have a few that I have taken so many times I have found the ideal line. But even then I miss the apex from time to time. But my speed is no where near the limit, so I can always correct. The rear never got away from me while doing that either, because my braking is done before the turn, and I don't really hammer it until the car is almost out of the turn. It's fun to see a guy on your bumper, and after the turn be a few car lengths behind.
I would feel for the poor sap that is going to try and keep up. I drive those turns every day, I know what the dangers are. Wrong speed, and you are looking at a lot of damage. And wrong speed... would be ludicrous speed. Gone to plaid...
Oh, and small animals? I run them over. Knee jerk reactions is what gets you into trouble. animal > myself and others. I've had to go from the fast lane onto the shoulder. You don't expect someone to brake to the fullest extent of their cars capability on the highway. And even with a 100 yards to go I doubt I would have been able to stop in time, and I know the guy behind me wouldn't have been able to. Turned out they didn't want to tenderize a small bird. I saw it fly away... I don't get people willing to get in a highway pileup over an small animal.
03-27-2012, 11:55 AM
#15
4th Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: dark side of the moon
Posts: 1,532
Lesson learned I hope and for the people that say "everyone has done something like this" well that's just plain false. I have yet to take my car over 60mph and drive with due care and attention. When I am out driving the toy I am out to relax not drive like Vettel and on top of that I know my cars limits and come no where near them.
03-27-2012, 11:56 AM
#16
Mish-ogynist
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Helena, MT
Posts: 3,780
yep, learning to just let things get hit will come. I even hit a dead elk in the middle of the interstate once because it was icy out, dark (around 4am from a long drive) snowing, so i just hit the brakes (not too hard) and moved over to minimize impact.. result was a broken radiator. but no body damage. this was in my dad's suburban, family road trip a couple of years ago I'm 31, just went to visit family. anyway, it could have turned out much worse for how icy the roads were., the worst part was that I was only about 3 miles from my dad's house and I had turned my brights off because there were street lights, but visibility was still bad.
anyway, you are never too old to wreck your parent's cars :P
and yes, sounds like the OP chose a time and place where he wouldn't hurt anybody, and I think he knows now that those places/times aren't the best to test your vehicle's limits. warm dry sunny weather and large open areas where you can't run into anything... i took a turn too fast when i first bought my 2007 GT, about 2 weeks in gave it too much gas and fish tailed a bit off the road, but it was an open/level area and no damage to the car. once i almost lost it on a twisty road, but braked hard before the turn and it was okay. I haven't had any close calls or issues in my 2012, i basically dont give it gas unless i'm going in a straight line
anyway, you are never too old to wreck your parent's cars :P
and yes, sounds like the OP chose a time and place where he wouldn't hurt anybody, and I think he knows now that those places/times aren't the best to test your vehicle's limits. warm dry sunny weather and large open areas where you can't run into anything... i took a turn too fast when i first bought my 2007 GT, about 2 weeks in gave it too much gas and fish tailed a bit off the road, but it was an open/level area and no damage to the car. once i almost lost it on a twisty road, but braked hard before the turn and it was okay. I haven't had any close calls or issues in my 2012, i basically dont give it gas unless i'm going in a straight line
Last edited by Mishri; 03-27-2012 at 11:58 AM.
03-27-2012, 12:50 PM
#17
This is where that rear sway bar you dont have would have been useful. Sorry to hear about this bud. Hope you get things taken care of but next time think about how ****ty the v6 suspension is before you decide to test its limits.
03-27-2012, 01:31 PM
#18
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 75
03-27-2012, 01:55 PM
#20
5th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Ohio
Posts: 2,228
Alright, I am really surprised this thread got so many views, so let me clarify some things. First off, I don't drive crazy unless I am sure others aren't around. This particular curve is near an abandoned house down near the river and very few people live in that area, which is one of the reasons I opened it up around the curve. I had not been driving particularly fast before that turn, about 5 over if I recall correctly. Before I entered the turn I took a look around and made sure I could see far enough ahead that no one would be coming, so the chances that there would be people or animals or cars was about as slim as it can be. Also, although that curve was one that I was pretty unfamiliar with, I have taken tighter turns at higher speeds in that area before without any incident, and I am quite convinced that the reason I was unable to hold it was not the car's fault, but my own for not realizing that a week away from driving the mustang would result in a certain unfamiliarity with the handling characteristics. I do fully understand and accept that I screwed up and it was solely my fault, and I definitely deserve to be grilled a bit, but I don't think some of the personal attacks like the one on the first page are warranted. It's not as if I am trying to dodge responsibility here; I will be paying for the car in full since it will not go on my insurance. I don't want to get dropped, after all. Allow me to share my facebook response to Baker's comment that he was glad I was ok.
"Well the problem with that is that the car effects everything in my life. I can't detail, I can't cruise, I can't get to work, I can't get to school, old people look down on me, young people laugh at me, I won't be able to buy an MFLB, a new rear end, or the shocks/struts I wanted, all the money I saved for a motorcycle is now gone so I won't be getting one in the near future probably, every scrap of my savings is gone, I'll have to sell a ton of my ****, my parents will give me less money for college if they have to pay anything, I probably won't get a graduation gift, my mom is super pissed and our relationship is already shaky, and most of my friends will be upset because alot of people depend on me for rides. Plus I move some stuff around for people on weekends and I earn a few bucks that way, but without a car I can't do that, and I have some family obligations that are now screwed over too. And as if that huge text wall wasn't enough, resale value is shot, it will never drive quite the same, and I will always think about it as a busted car and it won't feel right driving it."
This text block contains almost everything I can think of off the top of my head that will be affected by this accident. See, people seem not to fully realize what smashing your car up can truly do to you. A lot of things are very badly screwed because of my indiscretion and I will literally not stop feeling the effects of this until the day I sell the car.
As for the comments about my previous accident, you have to understand the circumstances. The previous time was caused by my failure to recognize when I should pull over and rest after 3 hours of detailing, 8 hours of driving and 4 hours of running around a car show all in a row. If you can recall my previous accident, in my sleep deprived state, I swerved to avoid a small animal without thinking "Hey, I'm on a public road in traffic with a big drop off on the right". Of course it's my fault for not realizing how tired I was, but I can say that that was not caused by a fault in my decision making or driving ability, it was caused by being young and inexperienced. And I might add that I have definitely learned my lesson from that incident. Since then, every time I have felt sleepy driving, I either have called someone up to get me and left my car in a parking lot or pulled into some place and taken a nap. An expensive lesson to learn, for sure, but I doubt I'll forget it any time soon. Just like this recent crash. I'll be a lot more careful in the twisties from now on, and I definitely won't be dumb enough to go on a cruise right after I come home from vacation. Usually I know the car's (and my own) limits pretty well, but my mental and physical state is definitely something I need to pay more attention to while driving. And really, don't we all? How many of you can honestly say that you've never pushed your limits (or the car's), whether by driving too fast or shredding turns? Even people who don't drive modded performance cars could use a lesson in knowing how far they can go. You know, like that 4runner that just passed you going 80 around a blind turn? Or that motorcycle that came roaring between 2 lanes of traffic right as you were about to merge? We all have to learn this lesson, and I hope that at least for most of you, the lesson comes with a much smaller price tag then mine did.
Thank you all for your input, advice, pity, scorn, and time. I can assure you I am perfectly uninjured physically, and that I, for one, will definitely be more careful from now on.
Oh, and a note on that curve. The guardrail I hit was already pretty torn up, meaning that others have been hitting it too, underestimating that turn. And while I was sitting on the side of the road waiting for my parents, 2 cars almost got in the exact same accident. An old triumph with an older looking driver came squealing around it and actually went into the other lane, before he stopped and asked if I was ok, and then a corvette did almost the same thing but didn't stop.
"Well the problem with that is that the car effects everything in my life. I can't detail, I can't cruise, I can't get to work, I can't get to school, old people look down on me, young people laugh at me, I won't be able to buy an MFLB, a new rear end, or the shocks/struts I wanted, all the money I saved for a motorcycle is now gone so I won't be getting one in the near future probably, every scrap of my savings is gone, I'll have to sell a ton of my ****, my parents will give me less money for college if they have to pay anything, I probably won't get a graduation gift, my mom is super pissed and our relationship is already shaky, and most of my friends will be upset because alot of people depend on me for rides. Plus I move some stuff around for people on weekends and I earn a few bucks that way, but without a car I can't do that, and I have some family obligations that are now screwed over too. And as if that huge text wall wasn't enough, resale value is shot, it will never drive quite the same, and I will always think about it as a busted car and it won't feel right driving it."
This text block contains almost everything I can think of off the top of my head that will be affected by this accident. See, people seem not to fully realize what smashing your car up can truly do to you. A lot of things are very badly screwed because of my indiscretion and I will literally not stop feeling the effects of this until the day I sell the car.
As for the comments about my previous accident, you have to understand the circumstances. The previous time was caused by my failure to recognize when I should pull over and rest after 3 hours of detailing, 8 hours of driving and 4 hours of running around a car show all in a row. If you can recall my previous accident, in my sleep deprived state, I swerved to avoid a small animal without thinking "Hey, I'm on a public road in traffic with a big drop off on the right". Of course it's my fault for not realizing how tired I was, but I can say that that was not caused by a fault in my decision making or driving ability, it was caused by being young and inexperienced. And I might add that I have definitely learned my lesson from that incident. Since then, every time I have felt sleepy driving, I either have called someone up to get me and left my car in a parking lot or pulled into some place and taken a nap. An expensive lesson to learn, for sure, but I doubt I'll forget it any time soon. Just like this recent crash. I'll be a lot more careful in the twisties from now on, and I definitely won't be dumb enough to go on a cruise right after I come home from vacation. Usually I know the car's (and my own) limits pretty well, but my mental and physical state is definitely something I need to pay more attention to while driving. And really, don't we all? How many of you can honestly say that you've never pushed your limits (or the car's), whether by driving too fast or shredding turns? Even people who don't drive modded performance cars could use a lesson in knowing how far they can go. You know, like that 4runner that just passed you going 80 around a blind turn? Or that motorcycle that came roaring between 2 lanes of traffic right as you were about to merge? We all have to learn this lesson, and I hope that at least for most of you, the lesson comes with a much smaller price tag then mine did.
Thank you all for your input, advice, pity, scorn, and time. I can assure you I am perfectly uninjured physically, and that I, for one, will definitely be more careful from now on.
Oh, and a note on that curve. The guardrail I hit was already pretty torn up, meaning that others have been hitting it too, underestimating that turn. And while I was sitting on the side of the road waiting for my parents, 2 cars almost got in the exact same accident. An old triumph with an older looking driver came squealing around it and actually went into the other lane, before he stopped and asked if I was ok, and then a corvette did almost the same thing but didn't stop.