How serious are you about driving safely? How many crashes have you had?

[Xist]

Take off, ya hosers!

What is the term for a hard clump of snow? A friend thought she was running over a snowball, but she decided it was a snow-covered rock.

It was not kind to her 2000 Civic. Curiously, she claimed her cruise control automatically braked down a hill. I have never driven a car that did that, just trucks that downshifted.

[PaleMelanesian]

I have given one and received two parking lot scrapes.

I had someone change lanes into the side of me and dented the whole side of my car.

That's all in 23 years.

[LeanBurn]

Wow, I must be an anomaly as I have never hit anyone and I have been driving for 30+ years. I was rear ended once at a stop light after having been stationary for a few minutes, there was nothing I could have done to avoid it.

[Xist]

Old Mech said he pulled through intersections twice to avoid being rear-ended, but the police said he should have taken it like a man.

Old Mech, come back!

[LeanBurn]

I was surrounded by cars, there was no escape route.

[Xist]

[cRiPpLe_rOoStEr]

Last Thursday I escaped death, when someone who had probably just stolen a Renault Captur was running away through the sidewalk.

[jcp123]

Youthful indiscretion caused me to oversteer (!) my first car, a Ford Focus, into a barbed wire fence, and with some shame, I also got drunk enough to run my '92 Bronco into a tree.

Since my idiot days, I have backed into one concrete post, costing me a mere $80 for a rear bumper on my Mustang, and ironically enough, last month I had someone back into me and cause my crumbling portion of exhaust pipe upstream of the muffler to kick the bucket, at a $40 charge to have a fresh piece welded in. Sounding like a ricer and knowing the front pipe off the muffler is riding on your rear control arm kinda sucks for a 100 mile commute home.

Hypermiling does really force one both to take your actions slow and to keep your wits about you. Driving classic cars similarly forced me to be deliberate.

[MetroMPG]

Oversteering a normal FWD vehicle out of control takes a fair amount of dumbassery (in my experience)!

Originally Posted by Xist

Also, I was hit by an elk while driving under the speed limit. I never saw him coming.

What, he didn't have his lights on?


I've nearly been t-boned by a couple of deer at night, but so far have avoided that, touch wood.

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by LeanBurn

I was surrounded by cars, there was no escape route.

We used to teach this unconventional rear-crash avoidance technique:

1) IF when you're stopping there is no escape route to either side, and,


2) IF nobody has yet stopped behind you,

3) Then leave 3-4 car lengths ahead of you.

4) Blink your brake lights as cars approach from behind.

5) Imminent collision: you may be able to move ahead and use your front buffer to avoid contact when the idiot behind finally locks brakes/activates ABS.

6) Worst case scenario, and you're going to get hit: you avoid being the meat in the car sandwich and only have one end of your car to repair.


7) Or, as non-idiotic cars are slowing to a stop behind you, creep ahead and close the 3-4 car buffer.