The Saturn is Smashed

[Thordic]

Well, I've always maintained that I've never gotten into an accident.

Tonight I can't say that anymore.

I was driving to my friends house around 8:30PM, in light traffic, going about 50-55mph in the middle lane. A car coming onto the highway was in the right lane, and the car in front of him wasn't going very fast, so he tried to get into my lane, where there wasn't any room for him.

I tried to react quickly, and took a quick look at the left lane, which appeared empty, and tried to get into the guy coming into my lanes way. It didn't look like he was noticing me, or expected me to slow down to get out of his way, but there was a car fairly close behind me.

I didn't notice the car in my blind spot.

My rear bumped tapped his front bumper, and the next thing I know, I'm spinning around. My front bumper slams into the concrete divider, the car bounces off and keeps spinning, until my rear end slams into the divider again and my car stops. Somehow another car in the middle lane has managed to spin out too, although I can't figure out how my car made contact with him, theres no damage on my car to suggest this. His car ends up totalled. My car has some fairly significant cosmetic damage (3 quarterpanels cracked, both front and rear bumpers have huge abrasions worn all the way through them, and the rear bumper is hanging by a thread. I havn't checked if its driveable yet, but it does start. I had it towed home just for safety's sake). The car that I hit had a small scrape on his front left fender where I tapped him.

So, since the car who was coming in front of me didn't get involved in the accident, and didn't bother stopping, I'm legally at fault for the accident as best as I can tell, which blows.

At least now I get to buy myself a new car for my bday next week :(

I'll try to take some pictures of my car tommorow. The damage isn't visually too bad, after I take some pictures Im gonna see if I can use some duct tape and a crowbar to straighten everything out and then take it for a test drive to see if the frame/alignment is still in one piece and not severely crooked.

Oh, and yes, everyone was alright. The couple in the third car, the one that got totalled, were a little shaken, but uninjured. That's all that really matters.

[bornl33t]

man d00d that sucks, car accidents are bad karma, no matter who's at fault everyone ends up paying. Hope you get a killer ride to replace it though. Might wanna look into a 2004 vette!!!

[Thordic]

Hah, right.

I'm lookin at the Nissan Sentra 2.5S or maybe a Mazda. Not sure yet.

[OfficerGoat]

1st off.... glad to hear you are ok and that no one was injured. Always amazing how hard the shock is when you hit isnt it?

2ndly if you can prove that you made no contact with the other person then its two seperate accedents and you may not be liable for their damages. Let your insurance folks know that you don't think you had any contact with the other vehical. It may or may not help.. but it sure can't hurt.

In the future... your best bet is just to let em in.... or let them hit you. This way it makes it their fault.... depending on the state. In cali it could get you a fail to yeild ticket since they were ahead of you. So you end up at your freinds place 40 seconds later (If that) ... at least you make it there intact and heathly.

Remember this..... a car is a very powerfull tool... and it has the ability to take life.... even moreso than a loaded gun... respect it or it very well may kill you.

BTW... I wouldnt pick up a c6 ... give it another year and wait for the new ZR1s to show back up :D ... I think the 6th gens will look sweet in a wide body.

[Thordic]

Trust me, if I had known the car was in the left lane, I would have let the guy hit me. Given the choice between hitting a car and being hit by a car, I'll always choose getting hit.

And as for hitting the third car, I'm going to take a full set of pictures of my car in the morning to document the damage. At least then I can try to say "Well, if I hit you, find a spot on the car here where I could have made contact with you"

All the damage spots I see are from the divider (Clearly scraped away by rough concrete) and theres the crack in my rear bumper where I hit the car in the left lane. I don't see how I could have hit the other car. Especially since he ended up in FRONT of me on the highway somehow, with the front of his car scraped off.

[1stdeadeye]

Wow that stinks.

Well cars can be replaced. Insurance is for accidents! As long as everyone is okay, that is the best you can hope for!

Your rates are going to suck for a while though!;)

[lord1234]

thor

i need to find the "this thread sucks without pictures" image...

But dude that totally blows.

[Riotz]

That sucks dude. Good thing you are alright. Maybe you won't drive as crazy now. :p


*cough* Statewide Collision *cough*

[Thordic]

It figures though that the one time I wasn't driving like a douchebag, some other guy driving like a douchebag causes me to get into an accident.

[p8ntball1016]

Originally posted by 1stdeadeye
Wow that stinks.

Well cars can be replaced. Insurance is for accidents! As long as everyone is okay, that is the best you can hope for!

Your rates are going to suck for a while though!;) Even more than normal. Thordic, if you ever want to pay your premiums youll have to live on ramen noodles and tap water.:D

[Thordic]

I was only paying $1200 a year for comprehensive before the accident. Thats pretty cheap for NJ.

[Thordic]

Having issues with my site, so I'll attach a few pics.

[Thordic]

2

[Thordic]

3

[Thordic]

4

[Thordic]

You can't get a good sense in the pics of how the hood and front end is skewed.

Although, I do say, given the circumstances of the accident, the Saturn is remarkably intact.

[paintbattler]

That damage doesn't look too bad...

[Thordic]

If it wasn't for the hood being all skewed it wouldnt be so bad, actually. The hood is overlapping the right side of the car, though.

I could always re-attach the bumper somehow, and the scraped and cracks are just war-scars.

Its the stupid bent front end.

[1stdeadeye]

That doesn't look too bad. Can't you pull the bumper back out? If it is bent, unbolt it, hil your local junkyard and bolt a new one on cheap. Some crazy glue and duct tape and voila, no new car payment!:D

Good Luck!

[lord1234]

hammer meet car...car meet hammer...frame gets bent back...poor brian.

[LawFox32]

I had my first accident on friday, another one of those, shouldn't be my fault but will end up being my fault.

backing out of a spot at a grocery store and a lady coming out of a bank, going through the parking lot way too fast. Well I looked behind me before backing out and it was clear so I started backing and got two feet and ran into the lady, I wasn't going fast but she was. took out my jeeps tail light, and scratched/dented the entire rear end. Her explorer scratched and dented.

well me being seventeen and not having the right of way, gonna end up being my fault, even though I am postive I looked behind me and it was clear behore I went.

damn, bad karma is right



lawfox,

P.S. glad you are ok

[Zumina]

Just fix as much as you can (yourself). Save your money, your insurance is about to go up.

[Thordic]

If its just the body, I dont care. If I cared about how my car looked, A) I wouldn't be driving a Saturn, and B) it wouldnt be covered in stickers.

My problem is the front end may be crooked. If so, the car isn't driveable.

[Zumina]

Originally posted by Thordic
If its just the body, I dont care. If I cared about how my car looked, A) I wouldn't be driving a Saturn, and B) it wouldnt be covered in stickers.

My problem is the front end may be crooked. If so, the car isn't driveable.

Only one way to find out. Bungee the bumpers on and take it for a ride. Don't confuse the front end being out of alignment with frame damage.

Only pimps drive saturns. My brother has a burgundy 94 SW1 wagon.

[Thordic]

My alignment is forever f'ed up anyway. Due to someone leaving some rather large debris in the highway last year, something is wrong that keeps my alignment about a permanant 1/4" to the right anyway :)

[Zumina]

Well, if you feel secure in your finances, get rid of it.

Just do a neutral drop for me on your way to the junkyard :cool:

[p8ntball1016]

Originally posted by Thordic
My alignment is forever f'ed up anyway. Due to someone leaving some rather large debris in the highway last year, something is wrong that keeps my alignment about a permanant 1/4" to the right anyway :) then dump it. a new car is better than screwed up alignment.

[Thordic]

I've been driving with the messed up alignment since Oct. 2002 with no problems :)

We'll see what happens. I've been wanting to get a new car for a while now. Time to start looking for real.

[logamus]

glad your ok.


insurance is going to suck bad. it goes up just buying a new car, throw in a quality wreck in the mix and it gets really painfull. i dont know how you nj boys afford to drive.

[theraidenproject]

I'm glad everyone's allright. Was the "My other ride is your mom" bumper sticker saved? :D

[graycie]

cars can be replaced, but you can't be so i'm glad you made it out ok.

that happened to me around 5 years ago but i was on a main throroughfare in the city, didn't see the explorer in my blind spot and changed lanes and tapped the back wheel of the explorer. no damage at all to that car but the front bumper of my car was barely hanging on. moral from that story is don't have arguments with your significant other in the car and check your blind spots.

anyway, why are insurance rates in jersey so high?

[1stdeadeye]

Originally posted by graycie
anyway, why are insurance rates in jersey so high?

A) We have no fault insurance

B) We are the most densely populated state in the nation

C) With our current system, suburban drivers have to subsidize the urban areas (Camden, Tenton, Newark, etc...)

D) Lack of competition.