Benefits of Driving an SUV

[Beej]

So last night I was involved in a head-on collision with my trusty 97. My opponent was a late 90's 4 door Toyota Tercel. It was late, around 11:30 with a light rain just settling on the roads. They had been dry all day and were quite slippery due to the oils on the surface. I was concious of this and was driving slowly; my tires are pretty worn and I had fishtailed when going around a gentle corner a few minutes earlier.

On my way home, I approached an intersection with a red light. The intersection was deserted except for the Toyota, directly across from me in the left turn lane with his signal on. As I was slowing down to stop for the red light, it turned green. I stepped back on the gas while glancing both ways and proceeded into the intersection. I was probably doing about 40km/h (25mph) as I went through the intersection. The speed limit is 50km/h on that stretch of road. At the same time, when the light turned green the driver of the Tercel started pulling ahead. I expected him to do this, but not to start turning directly in front of me. As he pulled steadily in front doing about 20km/h, I realized that he either did not see me, or thought he had enough time to make it. There was no chance though, because he literally pulled directly in my path with about 25 feet to go. I slammed on the brakes, but they immediately locked up and I began to slide. I actually felt no difference in my speed after applying the brakes. Unbelievably, he just continued slowly turning left in front of me, his eyes wide staring into my headlights as I steadily beared down on him. It happened with a strange slowness, in fact I actually had time to throw the tranny into reverse and hammer on the gas. With my rear wheels spinning in reverse we slowly collided.

I could see glass and plastic shards dancing in the the light cast by my headlights as my right front wheel drove right up onto his hood. His vehicle was driven down into the ground and pushed backwards about 10 feet. When we came to a stop, I backed the Jeep off of his hood and pulled off to the side. The steering wheel was out of center, and the Jeep pulled a bit to the left, but otherwise it seemed to drive pretty well. I got out and surveyed the front end of the Heep. The stock bumper was all but obliterated, crushed back and up against the 'frame', and the plastic endcaps were barely hanging in place. The front skid was also arced upward in the center and all of it bore the burgundy and silver paint of his Tercel. Surveying it in the light today, the tie rod has a slight bend in it.

His car, on the other hand, was completely destroyed. The force of the impact crushed his bumper and right front quarter panel and drove his hood up and onto the windsheild. The valve cover of his engine was torn off and components underneath were broken and dented. The engine bay was a bloody mess. All four of his tires were flat and the front rims were both crumpled on the bottoms. His windshield was shattered and his trunk and rear doors burst open from the force of the minor impact. The driver was fine, but was a little bewildered and was convinced that it was somehow my fault. I said nothing, but ensured that the two girls that had witnessed it called the police.

The one girl nailed it on the head when she said to me:
"I've been hassling my Mom lately about gas prices while she's driving around her Explorer when she could be taking the Honda, but after seeing this, I'm never going to drive the Honda again!"

 

[Dvipercop]

Glad to hear everyone involved is ok. I always knew there were more advantages to being taller...other than ground clearance.

 

[RichP]

Time to spring for that new front bumper I'm thinking and it was the front skid that limited the damage, that bugger is alot heavier than the factory rear gas tank skid, I know I wacked my head a couple of times putting mine on. Glad nobody got hurt....

 

[2manyToys]

I alway try and be extra extra alert when I'm driving my 300zx. I often have nightmares about about some soccer mom whore talking on the cell phone, doing her making, yelling at her brat kids running me over, and I do mena over. That car is shaped like a wedge as it is

 

[DDCxj]

Glad everyone was okay and thats the damage wasnt too bad on your Jeep.

I've had my share of accidents, none of them my fault, but all of them were involving small cars and the Jeep always came out better.

I really learned how well it holds up a few months ago. Unfortunately, it was in my driveway, and involing my sister and her car, and later a very angry father. I have a long common driveway with a pretty good curve in it and bushes planted all long the sides. I was pulling out to go to work and my sister was in her contour coming back from school. Between her going a little too fast around the curve and both of us being a little blinded by the bushes, and the fact that my Jeep has those wonderful brakes that never lock up how you want them to, we collided. Actually, it was more like she drove under me. I had to back off of her hood.

Her car was totaled. It needed a hood, two fenders, bumper, radiator, radiator support, and a bunch oof other little things. My header panel was bent down just a little and the fender rolled a little bit and I rattle canned the underside of the bumper. I paid a guy at a shop my dad works for, $50 to pull out the header panel and the fender came right back with it.

Now I just have to listen to my sister complain about how I ran her over, but I see it as she ran me under.

By the way Beej, I didn't know you typed that much at one time. Kind of long for you.

 

[PstrKd4BrthCntrll]

yeah... My bud's lowered Maita vs my Chero.... that could be bad...

 

[Beej]

By the way Beej, I didn't know you typed that much at one time. Kind of long for you.

There's more.
During the aftermath, the police were interviewing us about our perspectives of what had happened, and I overheard some of what the other guy was saying to the cop. He said he was an African exchange student who had just bought the car. He was explaining to the cop that he didn't yield to me because he believed he had the right of way since he was in the intersection first. I didn't hear it all, but it looked like he was given a ticket for his part in the accident. The cop told me it was not my fault and wrote it up that way too. It was a serious bummer for him and a relatively minor inconvenience for me, although I was pretty jumpy today.:scared:
I'm pretty thankful that I drive an XJ...

 

[XJ_ranger]

There's more.
During the aftermath, the police were interviewing us about our perspectives of what had happened, and I overheard some of what the other guy was saying to the cop. He said he was an African exchange student who had just bought the car. He was explaining to the cop that he didn't yield to me because he believed he had the right of way since he was in the intersection first. I didn't hear it all, but it looked like he was given a ticket for his part in the accident. The cop told me it was not my fault and wrote it up that way too. It was a serious bummer for him and a relatively minor inconvenience for me, although I was pretty jumpy today.:scared:
I'm pretty thankful that I drive an XJ...

any problems with you driving a "modified" vehicle?

did he even have insurance?

 

[bajacalal]

Well, I'm sorry to hear youve got a nice dent in your nice XJ... but good thing youre ok, your jeep is driving...

Anyway since XJ toughness stories are bieng shared, I know what you mean. I was rear ended by a honda a few years back. I wiped the streaks of honda paint off my bumper and as hard as I tried I couldn't find anything wrong with the Jeep. The honda was pretty messed up though.

 

[CaptTrev]

I got rear-ended by a volvo a couple years ago...

it was relatively low speed, I was stopped they were doing maybe 15 mph im guessing.

I was at 4" and on 31s, and I still had a stock bumper at the time.
the volovos nose smashed up into my trailer hitch, and cimply dented my stock rear bumper..

volvo= front right 1/4 panel, hood, radiator, right headlight, all destroyed, im sure the list went on.

The 17 year old girl (after paying my $750 for a quote I got to get a new OEM rear bumper, brackets, painting it, end caps etc etc) said her volvo was going to be like 2800 to fix.

I took the 750 and bought a nice aftermarket bumper for a 1/3 the price!

 

[muduck18]

I got rear-ended by a volvo a couple years ago...

it was relatively low speed, I was stopped they were doing maybe 15 mph im guessing.

I was at 4" and on 31s, and I still had a stock bumper at the time.
the volovos nose smashed up into my trailer hitch, and cimply dented my stock rear bumper..

volvo= front right 1/4 panel, hood, radiator, right headlight, all destroyed, im sure the list went on.

The 17 year old girl (after paying my $750 for a quote I got to get a new OEM rear bumper, brackets, painting it, end caps etc etc) said her volvo was going to be like 2800 to fix.

I took the 750 and bought a nice aftermarket bumper for a 1/3 the price!

Same deal here, except the girls dodge aries type car was totaled, and the $2200 i got for the frame straightening, new lift gate, oem bumper, triailer hitch, tail pipe/exhaust mnts, and CB antenna mount. paid for my RE 4.5 superflexy lift, raven exhaust sys, and the metal for my bumpers which are still in progress.
I drove away from the accident
her car needed a roll back and 4 tries to get the thing on it, because the bumper and frame kept getting caught on the lip of the roll back because the strut mounts broke and the frame of the car was sitting on the ground.... ouch


glad to hear you are a survivor Beej

 

[RTicUL8]

Beej = "pain in the brain" + "pain in the neck" :laugh3:

Ouch!

So, Uh....when are you parting it out?

 

[XJ Dreamin']

Glad to hear you're all right, and that the heep survived. No doubt, between an XJ and any rice coup there is no contest. A little while back I wittnessed a head-on between one of those little Chevy mini-suv things and a Pontiac Grand Am with a combined speed of around 60 mph. Both totaled. Both deployed air bags and both drivers suffered only minor strains and bag burns. It happened right in front of me as I was sitting waiting to turn left. They were both non-stop cross-traffic to me, head-on to each other. The Grand Am tried to turn in front of the Chevy (I think they're called Scamps?). It happened so fast that the only thing in my mind after was a still shot of the Scamp in the middle of pirouetting off of the Grand Am's hood. I wasn't really watching them though. I had already put them out of mind, waiting for them to clear. When they made contact I was looking off up the road for other traffic. When I heard the collision and looked back, there was the Scamp, dancing off the Grand Am: all four off the ground.

I am glad to be driving an XJ, even stock. I gotta say though, the toughest thing I've ever driven was a '62 Dodge 330. That thing had three collisions while we owned it and it never stopped rolling. Hell, it never even dented! I used to joke with people that it had 1/8" plate for body panels.

I hope you get something out of this guy. From the way my brother talked about the driving in Africa, I'd keep an eye out for this guy in future. Their driver's ed seems a bit week over there.

Take Care. I have two rules when I drive: 1) Don't hit anything (short of some aschat pulling in front of you), and; 2) Always assume everybody else has their heads up their butts.

 

[bjoehandley]

Glad to hear you both came out ok Beej.

 

[Beej]

I have two rules when I drive: 1) Don't hit anything (short of some aschat pulling in front of you), and; 2) Always assume everybody else has their heads up their butts.

Great minds think alike ...
I've followed those rules since the day I started driving, twenty years ago. Actually, although I don't remember it, I'm sure my Dad passed on wisdom like that a time or two!

any problems with you driving a "modified" vehicle?

did he even have insurance?

The cops didn't even notice. There are lots of stockers out there that sit higher. Its funny, but with 31's and 4" of lift, XJ's look stock to me. I've never had anyone notice the lift, including mechanics and inspectors, other than other XJ owners anyway.

Insofar as they insurance goes, you can't drive without insurance in Canada. You can't even register a vehicle without proof of insurance, so I didn't even think about that at all. He was driving on the road, therefore he has insurance. I know there will always be morons who just want to 'test out their car' before its insured or registered, but I would hope they would not be out driving on main roads at night... :gag:

 

[XJ_ranger]

Rangerola


i can dig that...

 

[cherokee89]

My cousin was t-boned by a crazy bitch in a Durango while he was going through an intersection. She ran a red light and hit him right in the driver's door. He said she was doing like 35MPH. He told me he ended up sitting in the middle of the Jeep with everything all smashed in. He had some bumps and bruises, and had to take it easy for a while, but he would have died if he had been in a regular passenger car. Emergency crews had to cut him out of the Jeep. The XJ was totaled, but he is fine. They are tough vehicles. I often think of getting a Mini or a little sports car, but I think about him almost every time I go through a major intersection. I'll keep my XJ, thanks.

Glad you are OK.

 

[XJ Dreamin']

Great minds think alike ...
I've followed those rules since the day I started driving, twenty years ago. Actually, although I don't remember it, I'm sure my Dad passed on wisdom like that a time or two!

Yeah, I wish I followed them all the time. I've caught myself in a few close calls where luck played alot bigger role than makes me comfortable. My Dad refuses to use his turn signals because he believes that no one should ever trust them. That and because when people turn on their signal they think they have a right to do whatever they want. I use mine because when it comes down to assigning fault I want to be able to say that I signaled my intent, but I never trust anyones signals around my. Aside from that, I abide by all the advise my Dad gave me. There are a bunch of crazy-a$$ SOB's out there.

I once had someone try to tell me that there was a law that you had to move right when someone was entering the highway. I'm like, lets think about that. The book says that when entering the highway you must yield right-of-way to existing traffic. It also says that when changing lanes you must yield to all other existing traffic. Why would there be a law to force existing traffic to give way to traffic that, by law, must give way to existing traffic? Any why would you give up your right-of-way as existing traffic to someone who, by law, must give way to you? Crazy people got their licenses and don't know the law.

Insofar as they insurance goes, you can't drive without insurance in Canada. You can't even register a vehicle without proof of insurance, so I didn't even think about that at all. He was driving on the road, therefore he has insurance. I know there will always be morons who just want to 'test out their car' before its insured or registered, but I would hope they would not be out driving on main roads at night... :gag:

That's always assuming they keep up their premiums in between registrations. Can we say, "Son of a ..." :laugh3:

 

[Beej]

I once had someone try to tell me that there was a law that you had to move right when someone was entering the highway. I'm like, lets think about that. The book says that when entering the highway you must yield right-of-way to existing traffic. It also says that when changing lanes you must yield to all other existing traffic. Why would there be a law to force existing traffic to give way to traffic that, by law, must give way to existing traffic? Any why would you give up your right-of-way as existing traffic to someone who, by law, must give way to you? Crazy people got their licenses and don't know the law.

I hate to break it to you, but they are right. It only applies on a merging lane when someone is merging into already moving traffic. If their lane has no signage, then they are not required to yield to moving traffic, they must signal their intention and the moving traffic must allow their vehicle to enter the lane. The moving traffic doesn't have to change lanes, but they must allow a space to open up for the merging vehicle to enter. (Sorry - teaching driver's ed right now! )

That's always assuming they keep up their premiums in between registrations. Can we say, "Son of a ..." :laugh3:

True enough. If that were the case, I'd feel very sorry for the poor SOB that had to deal with my lawyer, she's a pitbull of a negotiator!

 

[XJ Dreamin']

I hate to break it to you, but they are right. It only applies on a merging lane when someone is merging into already moving traffic. If their lane has no signage, then they are not required to yield to moving traffic, they must signal their intention and the moving traffic must allow their vehicle to enter the lane. The moving traffic doesn't have to change lanes, but they must allow a space to open up for the merging vehicle to enter. (Sorry - teaching driver's ed right now! )
True enough. If that were the case, I'd feel very sorry for the poor SOB that had to deal with my lawyer, she's a pitbull of a negotiator!

I yield to you on BC rules:laugh3: . I retain my position, however, as related to Texas rules: at least until I double check the book. I've got to take a DDC myself within the next couple of weeks (82 in a 65 :gag: ).

But, IIRC, on an acceleration ramp, equipped with a yield sign, you're on your own to merge without interfering with existing traffic. Existing traffic has no responsibility that I've ever heard of to provide a space. Technically, existing traffic should be rolling with a 2-3 second interval. That's plenty of space to enter the flow, if you're up to speed. What kills me is, they roll up to 70mph traffic at 45mph and expect a hole to open up. And when that white line on their right pinches off, that's the edge of the world to them: they are coming out come hell or high water - still at 45mph!!.

At an uncontrolled intersection (such as a driveway with no signage) you must yield to all existing traffic. There is not even a "proceed if the intersection is clear." You are totally on your own not to cause a problem.

In adjacent lanes, the vehicle changing lanes must yield to all existing traffic. The vehicle changing lanes is responsible to avoid interfering with existing traffic. Where two vehicles are moving into the same lane, the vehicle moving from right to left must yield to the vehicle moving from right to left. Both must yield to existing traffic in all lanes.

In your case of a left turn in front of you, my Dad taught me to watch his left front tire as I approached the intersection. The orientation of that tire will dictate where that vehicle is going. A driver usually won't turn the wheel until they decide to go. That wheel can roll straight without being a danger, but if it starts to turn, begin evasive maneuvers. Of course, you had to proceed through the intersection (you'd have been obstructing traffic if you hadn't) and at some point you become dependent on that driver not being a dip-shit. Unfortunately, you found a ripe one.