Driving Mishaps

[Remus]

I've had 2 accidents total. The first was kinda my fault, the second not even close. My first accident I tried to cut through tourist traffic on a turnoff and got hit in the back by some out of state geriactrics. They tried to tell me that their van, with its little dent under the front right headlight, was more damaged than my escort, with its trunk nearly torn off, back bumper dragging the road. The officer that arrived saw no fault from either side, just "accidents happen" so we paid our own repair bills and went on our merry way.

The second accident happened maybe a mile from my house. I met a dumptruck on a blind S curve, on a rural wooded street, no shoulder at all, just ditch then a valley. I veered to miss hitting him head on and rolled my escort, totalling it definitively this time. This resulted in a $3500 payoff for the loss of the car - later $8500 when the insurance company saw I was pursuing a lawsuit against the truck driver, on the stipulation that I don't sue, and $2500 in paid medical bills, for X rays on my back and neck and 3 months of visits to a chiropractor to reallign. With the $8500 I purchased a used Mustang - great torque for hugging corners btw - with cash leftover to buy 2 kayaks, something I always wanted, and a christmas list of DVDs. I was more than happy to be rid of the escort. It slides entirely too easily and it was tiny. Its only saving grace was its 29MPG.

 

[Something Amyss]

I am more scared of you than anyone else on this thread! I'm sure that attitude has caused many accidents.

Accidents for OTHER people, perhaps.

 

[baconsarnie]

My dad once ran me over (technically it was just my foot) but no actual scrapes since i started driving.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

Once I left an 8 hour shift at McDonald's on a hot summer day, (I don't work there anymore so don't pity me) as I was driving home a huge fucking grasshopper or locus or something flew onto the windshield of my car. Needless to say, it was distracting. I tried squirting it off and using my wipers but it was just out of reach and then I slammed into the curb at 30 mph. I was lucky there were no cars on the street for some reason otherwise I would have fucked shit up.

Well, I was chatting with my friends instead of paying attention, so rather then stop at the red light, I stopped for about half a second, then drove straight through the intersection. As my friends were screaming something along the lines of "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" and "OH GOD THIS IS HOW I DIE!" I realized my folly, and managed to weave through three perpendicular lanes of moving traffic and emerge on the other side completely unscathed.

One exam week, I was very out of it (little sleep, threat of not passing classes, etc) and stopped at a stop light and pulled into the intersection on red and almost got hit by a truck. Not as dramatic as your story but freaky as shit none the less.

I was more than happy to be rid of the escort. It slides entirely too easily and it was tiny. Its only saving grace was its 29MPG.

I drove an escort too. I hated that car. The air conditioning was crap, no power windows, my power sunroof stopped working and so did my remote locks. And I had the 2 door version so it was a pain to carry more than 2 people in it. Luckily I bought a slightly used Mazda 3 with lots of bells and wistles and the escort is my little sister's problem now. Of course, I had to relearn how to drive without the steering wheel crushing my legs

 

[The]

When I was younger, my mom, distracted by our childish yelling, scraped the side of the car against a rail in an underground garage, a whole line of paint hanging from the rail.

 

[Rylot]

I was once driving on a really icy road when I just kinda slid into the back of a Mercedes, didn't do much damage to her car and only took out one head light of mine. Probably the dumbest thing I've done is when I'd just started driving I was looking for a bank. I'm terrible with directions so while looking at street signs I ran a red light and didn't realize it till I was half way through. Then I turned the wrong way down a one way street, a fairly busy one. Turning and looking into three lanes of on coming traffic is probably one of the scariest moments in my life. I probably should be on that show 'I shouldn't be alive'. Now that I've been driving for a decade I'm much more confident and better at it.

 

[NoMercy Rider]

I have a pretty embarrassing moment from about two years ago. I was driving a company van that had a ladder rack on top, on my way to a training conference. The conference was in a bigger city and the only parking available downtown was in parking garages. So I cautiously entered a parking garage, one with the "clearance chains" hanging over the front entrance. I didn't hear any chains rattling, so figured I must have been good. Made it up the first two floors no problem, then about halfway up the third floor... BAM! The ladder rack collided with a low hanging support beam and knocked half the ladder rack off the van. Fortunately, there was a toolbox in the van and I was able to quickly disassmble the ladder rack and put all the parts in the van before too many people saw. Unfortunately, I took a huge hit to my pride when I had to file a report and explain the incident to my supervisor.

Other than that, I am a great driver. Have had my license for ten years now and have had no accidents and been pulled over twice, one was for a broken taillight. Of course I am sure that pristine record won't last forever