Attention world. Please stop running into me with your car.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Over the course of 6 years, 3 different towns and two countries I’ve been hit four times.

The car I currently have is a replacement for the accident 6 years ago when someone decided I could avoid them if they pull out right in front of me while I’m moving at 45mph. They were wrong. The result was the side of my car being opened like a can of spam. Insurance calls it a total loss and I have to find a new car. My back hurt for months after.

A few years later I’m sitting at a light when out of nowhere comes a truck, going backwards, with no one driving. The end result is my car spending a week in the car-hospital getting a new passenger side.

One week ago the guy behind us at the light decided it was time to go. Traffic laws and logic do not agree as the light was still red. My car has a plastic rear bumper and I figured the slight imprint of his license plate on it wasn’t worth the fuss of having it replaced. Good thing I waited as that rear bumper is now a moot point.

Yesterday I’m sitting at a left turn waiting for a couple of oncoming cars to pass. I had just come from the grocery store and had spent a hour sitting in traffic because a garbage truck overturned on the on-ramp just down the street from me. It took me an hour to go about 2km.

As I’m waiting for the cars to pass I glance up at my rearview mirror as one does from time to time. I notice the car behind me is only a handful of meters away and getting closer FAST. I knew he’d have no time to stop. I took my foot off the brake (Newton’s Third Law of Motion and all), looked straight ahead, verified both hands were on the wheel with enough time left to say “shit”.

He hit me solid going about 40mph.

I let the car come to a stop about 60-70 feet away along the side of the road. I sit there for a time and give my brain a chance to absorb what just happened because it all happened so fast. Once it was done calculating the events, it reverted back to its first thought… this time it added an “ahhh” in front of “shit”.

Again, I look in my rear mirror. The car looks different then I remembered it from a moment ago. It’s in the middle of the road and a total mess. After seeing that, I didn’t want to get out and see my car. I like my little car. It’s kind of a dorky little car but I’ve some good memories with it over the past 6 years. I pictured the back of my car looking like the front of his. After about a minute from impact, I can feel the adrenalin fully kicking in so I get out of the car. Mine took the hit pretty well. It didn’t really look that bad. I can tell the trunk lid is well bent in and the aforementioned bumper is half off.

The other driver is dazed. I guess that happens to a person after getting slapped in the face by an airbag. His car is wasted (bummer for him because it looked fairly new). Plastic, glass and bits of car everywhere. The entire front end is smashed. Both front airbags deployed. I do not see any sign of an attempt to stop. No skid marks or scratched pavement. He hit my left rear side with his right front. This tells me he probably wasn’t going to gracefully make the easy right curve of the road. If I wasn’t there I suspect he would have nailed the oncoming car head on. (When I realize this, I feel a bit better that he hit me. Things would have been much worse for the person in the oncoming lane.)

He doesn’t want to call the police. He keeps saying “I call brother.” and “Brother come in few minute. He call police.” (English is not his first language.)

The witness tells me he was reading a map at the time of impact.

I write down some information of the driver and the witness. The witness give me a quick lesson on Canadian traffic accident process and leaves. I ask the driver again if he would please call the police. He said “wait for bother”. I do not have my mobile with me so I decide I need to see if my car will work well enough to get me the 1/2 kilometer home and I’ll make the call myself. I tell the driver I’m driving home, calling the police and I’ll return (I figure he’ll still be there… or at least his car will be). He didn’t like this idea but to hell with him. I have all his info.

My car doesn’t sound quite right for the drive home and at this point I’m starting to feel the impact on my back and neck. I return to the scene at the same time the PD and medical team arrive (they were quick). The driver’s family has arrived by then as well. I notice the drivers English gets much worse as the police start asking him questions.

The medical team ask me if I have any back or neck pain. 20 seconds after I say yes I’m in the back of their van on a backboard and neck brace. I spend the rest of the day at the hospital getting checked out. They release me that night with nothing broken but a fair amount of soft tissue damage to my back and neck.

When I return home I find the car was driven back to the house by my wife. The funny sounds I heard when I drove it has something to do with the back end mushed against the back tire (I still haven’t given it a good look). She couldn’t get the trunk open to retrieve the groceries even though the trunk space is pretty much the same shape it was pre-impact. She had to fold the back seat down to get the bags out. Later that night I find half the cans I bought are all dented from the impact. Not just kind of dented but really dented. One might say impressively dented.

I guess I’ll be needing a rental car.

I couldn’t sleep last night from the back pain. This morning is worse. My entire back, neck and back of my head feel like,. well,. like I’ve been hit with a car. I’ve a headache. I can tell where my seatbelt was across my chest. My forearms hurt for some reason. My legs as well. I can tell right now this is going to be something I feel for a while.

Overall I’m pleased with the results. I’m hurt but with enough time I should be right again. My dorky little car might be fixable. I’ve a good insurance company and the other driver has insurance as well. Best of all, no one died or lost a body part. I’m also pleased his new car is totally wasted. That should keep him off the road for a bit. I also like the idea of his insurance cashing out blue book on the car while his bank has the value at much higher. Nothing says “sucks to be you” like paying off a car loan for a car you no longer own.

I’m trying to keep a positive attitude about all this but I’m still mentally giving the other driver the finger. A really big finger. Made of steel and concrete. And I’m giving it to him upside the head.

Of course there is the other voice in my head shouting “FUCK! Will you people PLEASE pay attention while operating your automobiles! I’m fucking tired of this shit.”

2

Wow. Hope this is the end of your string of auto-related bad luck. I hope your car can be fixed, and that you feel better soon.

3

Damn. That’s some messed up shit. I hate it when people aren’t paying attention to what they’re doing. This is even more evident as a pedestrian, where I’ve nearly been hit about half a dozen times from drivers who are making their turn without giving due consideration to the idea that there might be someone crossing because, y’know, they have the walk signal.

A buddy of mine recently went through a week of bad luck with cars: Five days, three accidents. The first with his relatively new VW Jetta where he got T-boned – fortunately not heavily but enough to render the driver’s side door useless. Then with his first rental car, where someone rear-ended him in traffic. Then with his second rental car where he rear-ended someone else. (His fault, as he took his attention away from the road for a brief moment whilst driving on a curving decline)

All of this was during the first week of his new job. The first accident occurred on his first day. Karma was wearing the steel toes that week.

At least everything will be okay with you eventually, and what did happen wasn’t a total disaster. I must admit to a sense of just righteousness at the idea that the other guy’s car was wasted – I mean shit, trying to follow a map while driving? “Dumbass” just doesn’t cut it.

4

Hi! I’m Seven’s identical twin.

Hubby and I have never had to sell an old car. Every vehicle that we’ve had has been totalled by another driver-- all hit-from-behinds.

A couple of months ago, I broke a tail light. I told Hubby I’d call the shop and schedule an appointment. “Don’t bother,” he said. “We’ll get hit soon enough.”

I really hope your back isn’t permenantly injured. My back has never recovered from the last time I was hit. I’ve been given that beautifully vague diagnosis of “soft tissue damage.” It’s really uncomfortable and there’s no way to fix it, though my doctors have come up with all sorts of inventive treatment methods. Oh, did I mention that it can’t be medically proven to exist? So, if you get into insurance issues, as I did, you’ll have the pleasant experience of being treated as a gold-digging malingerer.

But I didn’t mention the best part: the driver who hit me had the state-minimum insurance which didn’t even cover *half *of my medical bills.

5

My insurance will cover my medical out of pocket at the moment. I’ll have my Canadian Care Card soon so I’ll be covered for basics.

Because I’m in so much pain, I decided it would be best to contact a lawyer at this point. I’m not very versed in Canadian legaleese and process so it wouldn’t hurt.

I just want my car fixed/replaced and my back to feel better (which it will shortly as I’ve managed to see a doctor and got a script for relaxers and pain killers).

I’m not a “sue um till they bleed” kind of guy but I will be seeking damages for pain and suffering on this one if I hurt for more than 2 weeks.

Sorry to hear you’ve had the same problems. For future reference, what have you found works best for your “soft tissue damage”?

6

Super lame.

My car has been hit twice, and I was not in it either time. I let a friend borrow my car and she was rear ended by some stupid frat boys speeding. They trashed their car and my brother fixed mine up okay. Then I was hit in a parking lot when I was inside the mall. No note. Again, I am glad to have a mechanic brother.

Someone almost hit me today. We pulled off in a two-lane left turn lane, me in the right behind a car, her in the left. After the turn I was going 40, 5mph over, not too far behind the car in front of me, and the bitch was riding RIGHT next to me and decided she wanted to me in my lane. And she didn’t swerve back over, she made me slam on my breaks to not get hit. I honked at her severly and she seemed not to notice, or care.

I am just glad there was not a car right behind me or there could have been an accident anyway.

It’s not that hard to drive safely. People just need to pay more attention. Accidents happen but a lot of them could be prevented.

7

My brother got rear-ended 4 times this summer, all on the same stretch of highway on the way home from work. He takes a different way home now.

8

Take pictures of the the vehicle, and bruises, and the dented cans. You can help yourself at settlement time if you have some pictures to explain the force of the impact.

9

One of the best things my doctor prescribed for me was Lidoderm Patches. They’re 4"X6" rectangular patches that you can apply to ouchy spots and wear for up to twelve hours. They were a god-send. They don’t entirely take away the pain, but they certainly take the edge off and make me able to do the things I need to do.

I went through more than forty sessions of physical therapy. Electrical stim felt really nice while it was being applied, but the pain came right back. I tried deep-muscle massage, but it hurt like hell and had no lasting effects. I tried a chiropractor with very poor results.

My most important suggestion to you is that you start keeping a journal. I wish to God I had. Keep track of doctor’s appointments (and what the doctor’s specialty is), mileage, expenses and any time your discomfort keeps you from doing something. I just had a deposition and I couldn’t even remember seeing some of the doctors on my list. (They all sort of blend together after a while.)

If you do get into a lawsuit, it may take a long, long time. The accident which injured me happened nearly five years ago. It might be settled next year, says my attorney.

I, too, didn’t want to sue. The other driver was a sweet old lady and it was an accident-- There, but for the grace of God, go I. Her $25,000 policy was used up very quickly, so I had to make a claim against my underinsured driver coverage. (Esseentially, I’m suing my own insurance company.)

10

I’m glad you’re okay. I promise to never run into you with my car.

11

Pain and suffering. I picture it as how much would they have to pay you to sit in the car and let him hit you again. It wouldnt be cheap.