Please Read: Almost MY Last Day of Pool

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lstevedus

One of the 47%
Silver Member
A year ago this month I had just left the pool room where I play and stopped at my credit union to see how much I still owed on my 2006 Honda Civic that I bought new and had been making payments on for 5 years. I was happy to find out it was only about $125. and I was stopped in traffic waiting behind a pickup truck making a left turn figuring when to send them the payoff. The pickup truck had a big trailer hitch on the back.

I glanced up in my rear view mirror to see a girl going about 35 mph, looking down, reading a text and knew what was going to happen next, and it did. She hit me in the back and shoved me up under the back of the truck in front of me. I think the Honda saved me cause I was just real shook up. You feel real helpless when you know what is going to happen and can't do anything about it. My car was totaled but I was ok. I was more worried about my pool cues in the car than anything else till I saw the girl step out of her car in traffic to see if I was ok. I remembered what happened to Adam Smith's girlfriend going home from the Derby and told her to get back in her car till the cops got there.

Anyway..I saw the thing about the guy's last text on the internet this morning and thought I would share my story here on AZ. Please don't read or send texts while driving. You could save a life, and it might just be yours or mine.
 
So glad to hear you're ok. You know, I laugh at these idiots -- and I'm not shy to call them idiots -- that refer to distracted driving laws as "prophylactic" laws. (I.e. the "hey, I'm capable of texting and driving at the same time; why am I being punished because someone else can't do two things at once?" types.)

More and more, just like that "last TXT message sent before he went off the road after realizing he drifted into oncoming traffic" Facebook post, it's coming to light just how important it is to maintain focus when driving. Navigating a car is not to pass the time -- you're driving a deadly weapon. It deserves your undivided attention.

Anyway, glad to hear you're ok. It sucks that this happened when it did, but I hope another silver lining (besides the fact you're ok) comes out of if for you!

-Sean
 
Sorry to hear you became a victim, but glad to hear that you're are alive and safe. Did her insurance make you and your vehicle whole?

You wouldn't close your eyes while driving, as you never take your eyes off the road. When people text, basically they're closing their eyes to the road.

This video "Your Final Text Message by AT&T" was posted on Youtube 2 years ago as public service announcement. Doesn't seem many people got the message, such as the girl that hit you or the kid that died recently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_ICkoaJXE
 
lstevedus said:
A year ago this month I had just left the pool room where I play and stopped at my credit union to see how much I still owed on my 2006 Honda Civic that I bought new and had been making payments on for 5 years. I was happy to find out it was only about $125. and I was stopped in traffic waiting behind a pickup truck making a left turn figuring when to send them the payoff. The pickup truck had a big trailer hitch on the back.

I glanced up in my rear view mirror to see a girl going about 35 mph, looking down, reading a text and knew what was going to happen next, and it did. She hit me in the back and shoved me up under the back of the truck in front of me. I think the Honda saved me cause I was just real shook up. You feel real helpless when you know what is going to happen and can't do anything about it. My car was totaled but I was ok. I was more worried about my pool cues in the car than anything else till I saw the girl step out of her car in traffic to see if I was ok. I remembered what happened to Adam Smith's girlfriend going home from the Derby and told her to get back in her car till the cops got there.

Anyway..I saw the thing about the guy's last text on the internet this morning and thought I would share my story here on AZ. Please don't read or send texts while driving. You could save a life, and it might just be yours or mine.
Click to expand...

Glad to hear you're ok. That could have easily been a very bad ending. We recently lost a family friend to that sort of accident. Thankfully it has really opened my kids eyes about texting and driving. It was their friend, a 17 year old girl that lost her life in the accident.
 
It's all about minimizing risks, I have a friend who won't fly because he's afraid of a crash, yet he texts all the time on the road and does not wear a seat belt.

Same thing with smoking, all it does is increase chances of getting sick, it's like waking up in the morning and throwing a knife over your head first thing each day. It may not pierce your skill that day, but why take the chance?

It's too bad that humans don't seem to learn from what happens to others and forget lessons they learn themselves so fast. You go though drivers ed, though safety courses, through a ton of stuff about smoking and other health hazards, then a year later it's goes into the "this happens to others not to me" pile.
 
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I'm glad you are OK. My car was totaled 1.5 months ago at a traffic backup getting onto the freeway in the morning. I was rear ended like you, hit at speed, like you, tires screeching moments before which caused me to take a look in the rear view mirror and immediately brace for impact. The person took off immediately, after my car was thrown 2 car lengths forward, diagonally. Fortunately, I wasn't injured, and fortunately the light just turned and the traffic backup started moving just before I was hit so I didn't hit the person in front of me.

I have no idea if the person was texting or not, but it was clearly inattentive. Worst yet, was that the person left without taking any responsibility. I am grateful for technology, and crumple zones, and I am grateful for the shoulder next to me instead of a busy lane. I barely got a glance at the truck, and nobody stopped to be a witness. It was a busy time of day with lots of cars, so more than a few people saw it.
 
Glad to hear the OP was ok! I was in a similar situation but was lucky enough to see it early enough to remove myself from harm's way. A long time ago a highway patrolman told me a tip which got me out of the way that day. When you come up behind someone always stop short enough so you can see the bottom of their tires. That way you know you have enough room to get out from behind them if necessary.

I went back to check on the gal who ended up hitting the truck in front of me. She said, "I don't know what happened. That truck appeared from no where!" She was completely oblivious to the traffic around her....never even hit her brakes!

Ken
 
A few years back a woman was pushing a baby buggy through an intersection that had 2 traffic lanes and 1
turning lane. Her daughter was holding onto the buggy with the baby inside. She had a clear walking light.

As she was walking past the stopped traffic a girl.. (texting) ..ran the light and took out the buggy and both
children. She told the police she was only on the phone afterwards to call for help. The mother was in shock.
 
Sorry to hear about your accident but glad you are ok. There is a lot of that going on in autos and sad but it does not seem to be ending soon.
 
I got rear ended pretty good one time(that's what she said). I was goin down the highway at that time of day where it's almost rush hour, so traffic is really heavy but still moving pretty quick. I was in the middle lane behind a semi and we were all accelerating. I'd say we were going about 40-50 at the time. Up ahead of of me on the right some lady tried to get on the highway at the last possible second at the end of the on ramp and clipped her rear on another car and went sideways. I immediately start breaking and so does the semi. Lemme tell you those things can stop FAST when they need to. So I'm slamming on my breaks and I glance in my rear view mirror and see this white thing flyin up at me. I made the split second decision to let off the breaks a little and swerve right. I didn't even have time to look. Well i thought i got out of the way in time by i got Nailed in the back left just before i could get away. i went across two lanes clean and off the road through a bunch of trees eventually stopping when i hit a chain link fence.

I didn't get hurt at all in the accident but it was most likely the kind of situation where I either do not get hurt or I die. The pictures will explain why.

Photo Album

The last picture was taken by one of my sisters friends who works for the newspaper. My car isn't visible because its off through those trees behind the trucks. That gash in the back of my car is where it was "pinched" between the truck and the semi and if you notice in one of the other pictures my driver side mirror is broken. That is where it hit the back of the semi while i was swerving. I think if i would have hesitated just one second i'd be dead. Glad that we are both alright and able to still shoot some pool!
 
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Video

The video attached to post #3 is pretty powerful. Thanks for posting it ---
And glad o hear orig. post is ok important public service msg.
MCP
 
ctyhntr said:
Sorry to hear you became a victim, but glad to hear that you're are alive and safe. Did her insurance make you and your vehicle whole?

You wouldn't close your eyes while driving, as you never take your eyes off the road. When people text, basically they're closing their eyes to the road.

This video "Your Final Text Message by AT&T" was posted on Youtube 2 years ago as public service announcement. Doesn't seem many people got the message, such as the girl that hit you or the kid that died recently.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7_ICkoaJXE
Click to expand...

The girl had state minimum coverage with Progressive that did not cover all the cost of my car, but my insurance company, State Farm did. I was told that the only insurance company that was worse when it comes to handling claims against them is Allstate. State Farm has always been really good about taking care of any problems that I have had. I have never signed a release and won't. I think the Honda really saved me from getting hurt. It folded up like an accordian.
 
Drexting

Texting while driving(Drexting) is illegal in the state of Tennessee now. I wonder how many states have made it illegal or is a nationwide law.
 
I almost bought it the other day, and it would have been all my fault. I was coming back from the dentist and decided to take a different route home. I was doing a safe double-nickel, singing some silly ditty and enjoying the warm, sunny afternoon.

All of a sudden I realized that I was driving right into a big, open intersection with two traffic lights side by side, red as red can be. I hit the brakes hard and the truck skidded sideways and finally stopped just short of going into the intersection. A semi-truck with a flat bed full of steel beams came flying past me an instant later.

Later on I came down with the first migraine headache I ever had, still have traces of it in fact. My wife who gets them all the time said I was probably having a pre-migraine aura, where you can lose your sense of things around you a bit.

Freaked me right out, and pretty embarrassing to do such a boneheaded thing. You just never know. Glad you survived, I've been in some bad ones that weren't my fault, but the worst I ever suffered was a busted up knee. Just got lucky, I guess.
 
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