Question about accidents

[metroschultz]

My wife, however,
has been driving for 35 years and not had an accident.
This is good in many ways.
I have had the accidents to make up for her lack thereof.
Her dad has told her;
"The longer you go without one, the more likely you are to have one" referring to her accident free state.
This is beginning to bother her, she keeps that saying in the back of her mind, and perhaps this is helping to keep that fateful day away.

[UfoTofU]

I'm Asian. There's a stereotype here

[zjrog]

32 years driving. Lots of cars and trucks, a bunch of motorcycles. I will not count dirt bikes or any offroad activities. I was rear-ended once in my old Sentra. I made a left turn with my Neon into an SUV with no lights on (at night and that driver was a cop's wife, I lost bigtime), both of us drove away with minimal damage. All other vehicle damage was my cars being backed into in parking lots. I was run off the road once on a motorcycle, a little rash but no real damage to me, and the bike wasn't seriously damaged.

And I've never had an accident/incident with company or work vehicles ranging from golf carts to heavy equipment.

OK, seemingly thousands of close calls. I drive with a motorcyclist's awareness. I expect the worst of other driver's around me. And they usually fulfill my expectations.

I don't text, rarely talk on the cell anyway. I don't have a bumpin' stereo to drown out all sounds, and my window tinting is legal. I use all three mirrors, and scan gauges, mirrors and left and right frequently. I don't watch the car in front of me exclusively, I'm looking about 3 seconds down the road in town, and 10 seconds on the highway.

[metroschultz]

Originally Posted by kitaimdao

I'm Asian. There's a stereotype here

Which forum did you think you were on?

We, (at least me, and I don't believe any of the others here), don't stereo type or judge others.
Read some of my posts and you will learn some of the dumbest things on the planet are my fault.
If Al Gore is responsible for inventing the internet then I am responsible for the "Terminator" scenario.

I understand your point though. A lot of drivers will see a young Asian Woman behind the wheel, and resort to their fathers way of thinking, and blame every road problem they encounter on you.

But I truly don't think that happens here.

[UfoTofU]

"Here" as in my post

[Jeece]

Been driving for about 15 years, had one major accident, a medium one and a minor "bump".

I was "lightly" rear-ended when traffic came to a stop suddenly on a busy street. I was able to brake in time, but the guy behind me couldn't. Impact was more like a big push, the kind you get in a rollercoaster when it starts. I had my VW Fox, so the bumpers were "real" solid bumpers, not plastic molded ones that cracks. Other guy had a Mk2 Golf, same kind of bumper here. No damages/injury on either party.

My medium accident was because of a deer. I had a '97 Jetta turbo diesel. It was a narrow country road, with tall grass (4-5 ft) on the sides. I had just crossed another car, I checked my speed (55 mph), and as I was setting my eyes on the road, I saw the deer crossing right in front of me. I hit it as it was halfway past my car. Luckily it didn't went over my hood and through my windshield - it was flown over the other side of the road, in the ditch. Car drove fine after that (well, up to the garage), radiator was pushed back and bent, but didn't leak at all.

And, my big crash... Again with the Jetta turbo diesel. I was with my GF, coming back from a day trip in Ottawa. It was 10pm, and I decided to fill up on diesel because of the 300 km of road ahead, and it was getting late. First exit's gas station didn't have any diesel left. So I stopped at the next exit. As I was coming back on the Highway, I had just merged in the right lane and was about to set the cruise control at 110 km/h (78mph) when I heard a screeching noise.

I looked at the rearview mirror just in time to see a pair of headlights shifting to our left. When I looked at my left, and there was this generic sedan, 4 wheels locked and smoking, passing me in the other lane! It nearly passed me, and as it slowed down it came back in my lane. I felt a *thud* behind... The other car had tapped my rear bumper on the side, just behind the wheel. If you ever saw COPS or a Police chase TV show you know what happens next. I lost control of the car, fishtailed.

We hit the grass on the side of the road still going, I'd say, 80 km/h. Sideways. The wheels dug in the dirt and we rolled over two and a half time. I was "okay", my girlfriend had a broken sternum and a "more alarming than it looks" gash on the forehead. Poor Jetta was totalled, after 475000 km (300 000 miles) on the road.

Sorry for the long story, I tried to skim some details out but also leave the important parts in.

Originally Posted by cfg83

I have a theory. The longer you drive, the more "6th sense" you develop. Even though your reaction skills erode, your experience allows you to "intuit" how to drive safely. It's like the "flight hours" a pilot amasses in order to become certified.

I'm with you on that one. Well, it works for *some* people at least. It's true that driving is way underrated (in term of danger), since the average people drive more and more miles per year and yet nothing happens. So we let our guards down. We plug the automatic pilot. Hey, I'm also guilty of this at times.

But about the '"6th sense", I got an "alarm bell" ringing for me a few weeks ago.

I was on a 4 lane wide "boulevard", without physical separation, just a yellow line. Two lanes in each direction. I'm in the left lane. In the right lane, a Pepsi truck is slowing down to turn right at the next intersection. At this intersection, I see a Taurus on the crossing street waiting at its stop sign, with its blinker set to turn left on the boulevard (opposite side of me).

The Pepsi truck is kinda blocking his view, but if I can see him, he should see me, right? But still, I think: "Don't you move from here, Taurus..." And I'm preparing myself to react (thumb ready to hit the horn, I lift my right foot a little). As I pass the truck, I can't see the Taurus anymore so I don't know if its staying put or what.

Then, oh lovely, I see the Taurus begining to cross the right-most lane, but it doesn't seem ready to stop! I hit the horn, swerved in the opposite lane (empty, of course). The Taurus' nose stopped past the middle of the lane I was in; it wasn't fast to react. I don't know if I could have made it if I wasn't "prepared" for this... But the scary part is that I normally wounlnd't have noticed the waiting car... I was almost sure it would try to make it a go in front of me...

[zjrog]

I don't see the stereotype. I see bad drivers everywhere, and they all look different and drive different vehicles. But they are all bad drivers. I see good drivers everywhere too, and they also all look different.

That 6th sense doesn't develope with everyone either...

[UfoTofU]

Originally Posted by metroschultz

I understand your point though. A lot of drivers will see a young Asian Woman behind the wheel, and resort to their fathers way of thinking, and blame every road problem they encounter on you.

I didn't have a point. It was self teasing. Anyway what's ironic is both you and dcb, in private message, mentioned "woman." I've always heard the stereotype refer to Asians in general.

Originally Posted by zjrog

I don't see the stereotype...

That 6th sense doesn't develope with everyone either...

It's also ironic that I've never met an Asian who didn't fit the stereotype. However, I know that stereotypes aren't true.

As for the sixth sense, God knows I need it

[metroschultz]

It's not really ESP.
It's just plain old experience from observation.
Kind of an "I've seen this scenario before,----- and now the idiot in the red car is going to cut off the idiot in the green car -------- who is going to dart into my lane" kind of wisdom.
You will gather these experiences the more you drive.
You will watch in horror as some inattentive person try's to dart across traffic and ends up T-Boned because he did not have a clear view of the road he was entering. (yes I did see it, but couldn't stiop it)
And as you gather this information your mind will store it in the back archives for when you encounter it again so you will feel the Deja Vu and slow down a little more to allow these fools to try and merge two cars into one.

I have been driving since I was 12, got my license at 15 1/2.
When I was driving illegally, I was OH SO careful.
When I got my license, I lost it for demerit points (all speeding) within 3 months. (my younger brother TOTALED his first car on the way home from DMV with his brand new license in his pocket and our Dad in the passenger seat) ROFL

It is not how well you CAN drive.
It is how well you WILL drive.

I will drive to the best of my ability from now till I can't see straight any more.
At that point I have instructed my children to take my car(s) and license away.
By force if necessary. I will not wish to be a hazard on the road any more.

[cfg83]

metroschultz -

Originally Posted by metroschultz

It's not really ESP.
It's just plain old experience from observation.

...

I agree, but I'm talking about non-ESP experience that's operating "subconsciously".

My story is that I was in the fast lane on the 405 South. Fast traffic that was running really close and what I now like to describe as "twitchy". I got a bad feeling, so I changed to the next slower lane. Within 10 to 30 seconds, I heard a massive crashing sound on my left. Pile-up city in the fast lane. That "bad feeling" was my reaction to my experience, but I couldn't explain it at the time. Today I consciously recognize that situation and call it "accident traffic".

CarloSW2