wolfwings | Well... that's that.

Well... that's that.

Hey, Bats? In the next two weeks, either I'll be able to help you with whatever you wanted to do to your car, or I'll be declaring bankruptcy.

For everyone else... the Civic is more-or-less totalled. Long story short, the roof is caved in nearly to the floor, though that is actually the only real damage. The doors still work, for example, and the engine compartment wasn't breached. If I hadn't crouched forward, I wouldn't be typing this entry right now, in fact.

The events, as I can recollect them:

I was travelling northbound at approximately 40-45mph (somewhere just over 40 on my speedometer) in the #3 lane of Brookhurst, approaching the Margo cross-street.
There was almost zero traffic anywhere ahead, the signal was clear almost to the next signal.
A black 'luxury' car (boxed-off trunk, very steeply sloped back window that met the trunk lid at a minimum of a 60-degree angle) made a U-turn at a yield-on-green light, directly into my lane.
I thought this was odd, as that kind of car should be able to easilly make a turn to the #2 lane.
Then I saw their brake lights flare to full brightness, when I was approximately double the length of the intersection back from the intersection. (Triple the intersection length from the car.)
I did not have enough distance to controlled-stop. And a panic-stop was likely to make me lose traction as I'd just gotten new brake pads and would most likely instantly lock the wheels, or glaze the pads and provide zero braking at all. This negated braking as a valid tactic.
Dodging to the right wasn't possible, there is a small 'center divider' there, then a line of parked cars on the side-street there.
I glanced to the left, saw no vehicles on my left, or in my rear-view mirror, so I slapped the turn-signal and slid left fairly casually.
I hear the sound of tires losing all traction, then a moment later that sound doubles in intensity and I know what happened instinctually, though it takes a while until I can consciously grasp it. A rear-wheel drive car was accelerating to overtake me in the #2 lane. When I dodged left, they tried to dodge left, fishtailed, then tried to correct AND slammed on their brakes. So they lost traction in two wheels, then all four wheels. Ergo the doubling of the noise.
Then I see said white car coming approximately 45-60 degrees angled towards my lane, but travelling at only 30-45 degrees momentum.
As they started to spin out, their front end P.I.T.ted me very neatly, leaving me spinning VERY quickly 270, and up onto two wheels for a moment, at which point I did my 'usual' duck-and-kill-the-engine move when I surrender myself to the fates.
I (obviously) lost track of the white car when I spun around and then ducked out of sight. I felt a very hard 'final' shock, and heard/felt the seat crushed behind me.
I had hit the curb on those two wheels, and that had bounced me up onto my side fully, nearly vaulting over had it not been for the front end of a Chevy pickup truck my roof nailed dead-middle. I ripped most of the front facade off said truck from the impact, and had I not ducked, every single Paramedic, Firemen, and Police Officer said I would have been dead instantly.
I bounced back, car landing on it's side on the ground.

I ended up having to more-or-less shove/shout the five or seven people that tried to 'help' me out of the car to back off, so I could figure a way out, since both windows had actually stayed intact, the doorframes mostly intact but the roof caved in nearly flush to the floor in the middle so I couldn't crawl out the back this time.
Thankfully, I carry a 5000lbs-limit shop jack in the back of my car. And I was able to reach around blindly and find it. I wedged it under the roof and doorframe, and more-or-less jaws-of-lifed myself to straighten the window. Then I had an amusing thought... and tried the window crank. It actually rolled right down, once I had the track straightened again. So I packed the jack away, found my boots, knocked the glass out, and climbed out of the car, much to the amazement of everyone in the peanut gallery that had formed. I actually got a small round of applause when I started to jack the car apart from the inside, and a good few chuckled when I rolled the window down from the two or three people close enough to see that part. =^.^=

So... my only injury is my left forearm has lots of pinprick scratches and nicks around the elbow from my climb out mostly. At least, as far as I know right now that's all.

And the reason this whole mess happened... as noted by the tow-truck operator when they were winching up the white car. "What the hell? There's no tread at all on these rear tires." Response from the cop: "Geez... some people try to wring every last mile out of their tires. The front's are much better."

Unfortunately, the other car was full of 16-18 year olds, all the 18's declined medical treatment, the under-18's had to get mandatory medical treatment.

And a streetlight got wrecked.

And that fell on a pickup truck (the same one I creamed the front end of) further obliterating the light and the truck.

Thankfully, there were others that saw the black car, but nobody got anything conclusive on it, and it's not a camera-equipped intersection. Someone thinks they saw a 'just sold' tag on the license-plate frame, which pretty much means they'll never know who caused this mess by being impatient, as they didn't wait but drove away. Likely because they realized they'd caused the accident by cutting in front of me.

So... yeah. I guess I'll be deleting the 'Civic' icon from my usericons shortly. I'll be heading over on Monday to check out the corpse more throughly, and make the decision of if it's salvage, or if it's fixable. Which means I'll see if the engine turns over, and diagonal-cross-measure the frame to see if it's within tolerances still. If it still runs well, and the frame isn't shattered beyond use... I'll still probably have to give it up. But if it doesn't turn over, or the frame is out of true according to the official workshop manuals, I'll feel... well, it'll be more like assisted suicide for someone in agony than the feeling I'm putting down the equivilant of a perfectly healthy greyhound just becuase they can't win races often enough.

Farewell, Shelly. I'm sorry I didn't have a chance to do you as proud as I'd hoped to.

[EDIT: And to explain the initial line on the message... if my recollection proves accurate, the accident is effectively a no-fault since the actual cause of it (the black car) got away completely. So I don't get handed the bill. Otherwise, it's more-or-less squarely on my shoulders, and the damages would likely land squarely on me since it's very easy for the lawsuits and so-forth this is sure to generate vastly exceeding any obtainable insurance anyone can get, since there was three minors involved so it's likely their parents will start being handed M60's loaded with hundreds of lawyers and start spray-and-praying until one sticks somewhere. Ergo, I'll either get off scott free, or end up screwed so hard I'll effectively never be able to earn an income as long as I live, and likely go to jail as a side-effect.]

P.S. And of course... this happens mere hours after I'd gotten off the phone getting a quote for the custom seats for my car... which was going to be started on later that day, and finished, installed, and payed for in approximately two weeks. Thankfully, they hadn't started on it yet, as I hadn't stopped by to make the initial down payment on the work.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Owwwwchie im glad your safe *puts bandages on*

*snugs* Thanks, hon. =^.^= Sorry I don't have more you can bandage. :-)

Wow...

I'm just glad that you are a-okay...

I just am itching now to get to the car on Monday so I can really get a good look at it in bright light instead of via flashlight.

Damn. Just, damn..

...someone thought they could be cute and asshole-ish in their brand-new luxury car.

...someone didn't want to spend the $200 to properly maintain their own car.

Take your pick, either sentence is accurate.

Shame they didn't get T'ed in their new luxury car. Would have wanted the pictures of that.

...I'd have to say I'd do the same thing again if the same situation came up. If I'd slammed into the black car, fault would be far less certain. Dodging doesn't just maintain more control than braking, it's more obvious to the police that you saw what was happening, and had time to try to compensate, than just a long line of skid-marks on the pavement and two vehicles melded together.

If I do end up needing to get another car though, I'm definately getting a civic of the same generation, since they're only about $400-$700 used. It's either that, or break down and start hunting for a similair-year Corolla. :-)

Meh, I can understand that logic. Damn, i'm starting to think like WolfWings..

...start having the same luck with cars I do. =^.^=

Well... not unless you win the Lottery. :-)

The all important thing is that you're in one piece after that.

I'm very glad I'm intact... I just don't know if I'll be able to make myself write the car off... but I always knew that city streets were where I was least comfortable. Mountains? There I feel safe. There's no such thing as a 'blind spot' to think about. *sighs* As dangerous as an actual accident in the mountains can be, it's so much less complex to actually drive there. :-/

You, wolf, are offcially a sly cat, because you must have at least 9 lives! *hugs you tight* I*m so glad that you weren't injured!

...and I have a history of being in vehicles that get in accidents that aren't my fault, or the fault of anyone in that vehicle. My mom's had at least four cars totalled, none of them her fault, and now I've had my first car shredded rather violently, twice in fact now if you count the roll-over that happened several weeks back.

But it feels really akward to know that I've been in enough accidents to actually have a reflex to duck down and cover my head. Not conscious knowledge that's what I should do, but actual, practiced reflexes to do so.

I'm ..just glad you're okay.

Isn't this the second time you've had a major ordeal with your Civic? Didn't you roll over and slide on the roof once already? :-/

I hate to suggest such things, but ..maybe you should consider something with a wider wheelbase? I dislike the idea of you, upside down, in a car, for the third time. Tempting fate isn't something I'm overly keen on.

I just wnat you to be safe. *LionHUG* I'm -really- glad you're okay. Bankrupt is a far better place to be than the morgue.

Sadly... neither time was it anything that a wider wheelbase would have prevented. Which is the odd part.

The first time, I slid sideways down a 75-degree embankment, and rolled onto my roof when I hit the ground at the bottom.

This time, a heavier car would have prevented me from rolling, but a wider wheelbase really wouldn't. I had a vehicle that weighed around 2-3 times as much as my vehicle shove me around and knock me sideways into a high curb.

Amusingly, their tires blew out in two places. None of mine show anything but minor damage.

And to admit the truth... I've been upside-down or sideways in a vehicle after an accident... 5, maybe 6 or 7 times in my life already. =^.6= And in none of the cases was the accident deemed 'at fault' for the vehicle I was in.

But you're probably right, I should investigate what car I'll be getting next more throughly.

Remind me to do the driving if we're together, eh? :-)

Fuck ... at least you're alright. *hugs*

My Dad never understands why I try to tell him to drive more carefully; it's not his skills I'm worried about, it's the other people on the road that aren't good drivers.

Though in this case if the white car had had properly-maintained their tires, they wouldn't have spun out in the first place. :-/

Sometimes I hate understanding cars, because I see at least a dozen 'if only' moments in this accident. =-.-=

Defensive driving is necessary because you have to make allowances for all the idiots and asshats out there, of which there are legion.

I am pleased that you are OK.

I would strongly suggest that your next vehicle have the following devices and equipment, in addition to the self-rescue hydraulic jack (a nifty trick!):

-- roll bar
-- seat belt cutter
-- driver's airbag
-- fire extinguisher (reachable from driver's side)
-- first aid kit

Have you considered four point restraints?

...were going to include a full six-point harness and an integrated roll bar. In fact, they were going to be built around a roll bar with diagonal braces towards the rear. Seperately, I was going to get the remainder of the cabin turned into a full roll cage when I replaced the dash in about 5 more weeks, and had had the roll-bar assembly designed to have the new section bolted-and-welded on when I had it made.

But as for the rest, I agree, though the airbag is iffy just because of my habit for leaning forward in accidents making them dangerous. But with a properly-adjusted harness, I'd be held back just fine, so that would be less of an issue.

That, and replacing (or installing) an airbag costs significantly more than the value of most cars. :-P Someone really needs to invent a cheaper way to make those work. =^.^=

I'm glad you are ok *hugs*

Next time someone makes an illegal turn like that. Nail the fucker if you can't make a controlled stop in time. It will be their fault for sure. If you swerve and miss them but cause another accident, then its likely you could be charged instead. I dunno about where you live, but in Ohio you are at fault even if you swerve to miss someone who is nuts or drunk and you cause an accident and they get away, though there may be exceptions (witnesses saying what happened, etc).

But at least you are ok and enough witnesses were around so you didn't take the blame. Hope things turn out ok and you don't get sued or anything o.o

...in the mountains, you always strive to maintain traction, even if that means making extreme maneuvers instead of slamming on your brakes. Because if you lose traction, you die from a 200-foot fall.

And consciously I know that in the city, better to have a 'simple' rear-end collission than a multi-car spin-out-and-pileup... but I guess I just can't switch my 'Roll reflex to avoid dying!' instinct properly. =-.-=

Talk about making a 20 on your reflex save...

*HUG*

stick a +15 on that roll.

So does that mean I'm a 10-Fast, 10-Daredevil D20 Modern hero now? =^.^=

I'm very glad you're okay!

*snugs* Thanks, hon.

Holy *shit*. O_O Oh, god, dude, I'm very happy you're alright. *hug* Though, erm, you'll pardon the fact I want to track down the asshats in the black car and throttle them within an inch of their spoilt little lives. (Not that it would improve the situation, but GRAAAAAH.) The jack maneuver was nothing less than badassery, BTW... I hope things turn out okay.

Now comes the waiting for 2 weeks while the cops sort everything out.

That report will decide my fate for the next several years, as well as if I can continue my current line of employment ever again.

I feel a little naive to ask how on earth this would qualify as something worth jailing if nobody has been killed? :/ Unless you mean a debtor's prison... eeesh.

How is the employment taking the news, dare I ask?

They mostly want to know when I'll be able to return to work, since my job only involves sitting quietly at a desk and occasionally standing up to greet people and check them against a computerized access list, it is honestly the ideal job for someone that's sore from a car accident.

In fact, if it hadn't been for my right arm being bashed up by my tire iron when I rolled the Civic the first time, I likely wouldn't have missed any work at all that time.

Might want to check with legal aid if you start getting the barrage of lawsuits. The insurance should take care of the details, assuming the other victim has a comp/coll set.

That said, I'm not sure how no-fault works here in the state. When I was insurance claims in 1994, there was no such thing as "no-fault".

At any rate, I'm glad you're OK. *hugz*

No-fault is mostly for things like a tree falling on a vehicle as it's driving down the street. And it's more an insurance term than anything else. It's used when nobody that's directly, physically affected by the accident can have the accident placed squarely at their feet. In this case, me and the white car would get no-faulted I hope, which means neither of us are liable for the damage and so-forth. That's all.

And the only reason I use the term is because that's what an insurance company labelled an accident my mom's neighbor was in, which was exactly that. A tree falling on them as they were driving down the road.

Pre-Paid Legal seems to be a decent organization (seems, anyway) but i'm not sure if it extends out to California or not. *wince*

...coverage is unlikely to take effect in time to help me very much. And from the owner of the damaged truck, and myself were on ammicable terms and discussing our options together (lawsuit against the city for her, since this is the tenth time or so a vehicle of her household has been damaged due to a lack of retaining wall/steel barrier along that stretch of road) and sit-and-wait for me.

The driver of the other car mostly wanted to verify it wasn't his fault... which if it wasn't for the nearly-bald tires might have flown. But with the unsafely-worn tires may land things partially in his lap, including the $8k cost of the lightpole that broke.

But currently it's mostly a matter of if the city tries to bring the cost of the lightpole against me, as my major concern, and if they deem that I caused the accident because I dodged the black car, causing the white car to have to dodge. But... the white car had nearly-bald tires, so it's possible that will make it their fault for driving an improperly-maintained vehicle that was unable to make emergency-avoidance maneuvers safely.

You mentioned that the tires were treadless on the white car. It's been over ten years, but my recollection is that, because their car wasn't in a safe condition (ergo, could potentially not miss you in the event of a panic), it's my opinion that fault would be on their shoulders.

Double check with your insurance.

They broke several CVC's by having nearly-treadless tires, yes. That much I know. I get the feeling I'm going to be researching the CVC very fully in the coming months. =-.-=

*hugs tight*

Wow...

Sorry about the car, but I'm glad you're alive.

I'm glad about being alive too. *snugs*

Anthing I can do to help out let me know ok Spike.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well... that's that.

ERF

Re: ERF

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So am I.

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And all because...

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Unfortunately...

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Just don't...

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Very true.

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That...

Wow.

Re: Wow.

Re: Wow.

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Sadly, you're right.

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The custom seats...

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I think it's a real indicator of where I learned to drive cropping up in a crisis again...

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Thanks, you two.

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So am I!

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I hope things turn out okay, too.

Re: I hope things turn out okay, too.

Re: I hope things turn out okay, too.

You probably know this, but...

Re: You probably know this, but...

Re: You probably know this, but...

Re: You probably know this, but...

It does, but...

Another thought...

Re: Another thought...

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Believe me, hon.

I am so sorry