Today was not a Good Day
#21
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St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
Lol
#22
Burning Brakes
I give up after 20+ years in LE I can't reason with you. Just because your wife got a raw deal in one situation doesn't mean the entire world works that way. Never said the OP's accident was at night. I was making a point regarding lights to the rear. They have to work. They don't work the cops have to investigate the accident to determine who's at fault. No lights, they loose. Since there was no accident involving the truck it's mute. Just a guy and his wife in a Vette who should be happy no one was hurt. I am.
You are entitled to your opinion on this issue as am I however I'd fight tooth and nail and hire a lawyer if I rear ended someone with no brake lights and was found at fault. The lights are there for a reason. Not just decorative.
George
You are entitled to your opinion on this issue as am I however I'd fight tooth and nail and hire a lawyer if I rear ended someone with no brake lights and was found at fault. The lights are there for a reason. Not just decorative.
George
#23
Burning Brakes
Steve:
I stand corrected and I'm wrong. Just checked with a friend who (also in LE) OP would have been at fault and the truck cited for no brake or turn signal lights. Can't say I agree but I'm wrong.
Have to work on getting that law changed. :-)
George
I stand corrected and I'm wrong. Just checked with a friend who (also in LE) OP would have been at fault and the truck cited for no brake or turn signal lights. Can't say I agree but I'm wrong.
Have to work on getting that law changed. :-)
George
#25
Racer
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George...Not sure why you think the law should be changed.....
#26
Burning Brakes
I have a pet peeve for equipment violations. Your job to keep your veh mechanically sound. Lights working etc. How else is the guy behind you going to know you are stopping or turning? If the laws ignore this why bother to put brake and turn signal lights on vehicles?
I was a police/fire/911/medical dispatcher for 21 years. Yes I have an opinion. I contacted a friend I worked with who retired after 25 years as a Sgt. IMHO he would cite to avoid conflict. This "you rear end someone and it's your fault" is BS with no extenuating circumstances. So the person at the rear can go to court and contest the citation. Cops frequently cite and let the courts iron out the details. And like me, every cop has an opinion. Just like everyone on this forum.
I probably follow and get out with 2-3 people a week locally and let them know they have rear lights out. I live in a very small town. If they go where I go I let them know. I guess for my protection since they are one brake light away from me possibly rear ending them with no brake lights it's for my own protection.
I guess it all comes down to my expectation that others equipment is functional. I don't think any of you who is moving down the road behind traffic and all of a sudden the car in front of you is racing towards you with no sign of them stopping would disagree, they need brake lights if theirs are out for some reason. I sort of look for brake lights when I'm driving.
George
I was a police/fire/911/medical dispatcher for 21 years. Yes I have an opinion. I contacted a friend I worked with who retired after 25 years as a Sgt. IMHO he would cite to avoid conflict. This "you rear end someone and it's your fault" is BS with no extenuating circumstances. So the person at the rear can go to court and contest the citation. Cops frequently cite and let the courts iron out the details. And like me, every cop has an opinion. Just like everyone on this forum.
I probably follow and get out with 2-3 people a week locally and let them know they have rear lights out. I live in a very small town. If they go where I go I let them know. I guess for my protection since they are one brake light away from me possibly rear ending them with no brake lights it's for my own protection.
I guess it all comes down to my expectation that others equipment is functional. I don't think any of you who is moving down the road behind traffic and all of a sudden the car in front of you is racing towards you with no sign of them stopping would disagree, they need brake lights if theirs are out for some reason. I sort of look for brake lights when I'm driving.
George
#27
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St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
In my wife's accident she was stopped on a highway turning left. While waiting for oncoming traffic she was rear ended by a teenager who never hit the brakes and hit her at 55 mph or so. Messed her up pretty bad and destroyed the car. The kid got a ticket for causing the accident. His daddy hired a lawyer to contest the ticket and contest that his kid was at fault. Their argument was that my wife's brake lights and turn signals weren't on. Since the car was destroyed there was no way to test them after the accident. The judge gave both the kid and the lawyer a good tongue lashing while explaining that if you can't tell a car is stopped in your lane of traffic you shouldn't be driving. He found the kid at fault for the accident.
There may be extenuating circumstances, but in most cases if you run into the back of someone it's your fault.
OP, sorry for the hijack of your thread.
#28
Burning Brakes
Amen Steve
Shame they didn't have an accident investigator on scene to check your wife's tail lights. Easy to determine if they worked or didn't by how the elements look. But it would likely take a fatality accident to bring in that level of investigation on a car crash. Glad that was not the case.
Hope your wife has recovered from this crash.
PS: I have friends who live on Wranglers Terrace in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs. Any idea how that area faired in the fires you guys have been having?
George
Shame they didn't have an accident investigator on scene to check your wife's tail lights. Easy to determine if they worked or didn't by how the elements look. But it would likely take a fatality accident to bring in that level of investigation on a car crash. Glad that was not the case.
Hope your wife has recovered from this crash.
PS: I have friends who live on Wranglers Terrace in the Black Forest of Colorado Springs. Any idea how that area faired in the fires you guys have been having?
George
Last edited by George's_Vette; 06-23-2013 at 12:41 AM.
#29
Racer
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My pet peeve is drivers that don't pay attention when driving.....one of the very basic fundamentals of driving is to pay attention to what's around you and any experienced driver can easily recognize a hazard ahead. Drivers have a duty to follow at a safe distance, reduce speed to avoid a collision. There may be contributing factors to a collision, but if I am stopped ahead of you on a road, you have a duty to observe that you are closing in on me and I'm not moving....( if I am visible ahead..no rain,fog, darkness w/o lights,etc) it doesn't matter at what speed your traveling, your experience and responsibility as a safe and lawful driver should tell you your closing rate is going to cause a problem. You don't need my lights to tell you that although its a very helpful tool that provides better safety for all.
I wasn't a dispatcher but an LEO,... Keep in mind the insurance side of accidents is a civil matter between parties and insurance companies. LEO job is to look for violations of law and contributing factors.
I hate to point it out but in this OP's case I just can't justify any driver not following at a safe enough distance not to recognize the vehicle ahead was slowing down or stopped ahead to avoid a rear end collision....surely an old beat up pickup truck can't stop quicker than Corvette. Even though the lights are contributing factors the OP could have done better as a driver in observing ahead or providing a safe distance.
How many manual transmission drivers to you thing slow down with out using their brakes( hence on brake lights) and if on flat level surfaces how many keep the foot on the brake pedal when stopped....with an auto you have to so not to move forward but not with a stick shift.
I wasn't a dispatcher but an LEO,... Keep in mind the insurance side of accidents is a civil matter between parties and insurance companies. LEO job is to look for violations of law and contributing factors.
I hate to point it out but in this OP's case I just can't justify any driver not following at a safe enough distance not to recognize the vehicle ahead was slowing down or stopped ahead to avoid a rear end collision....surely an old beat up pickup truck can't stop quicker than Corvette. Even though the lights are contributing factors the OP could have done better as a driver in observing ahead or providing a safe distance.
How many manual transmission drivers to you thing slow down with out using their brakes( hence on brake lights) and if on flat level surfaces how many keep the foot on the brake pedal when stopped....with an auto you have to so not to move forward but not with a stick shift.
#30
Le Mans Master
Sorry to hear about that. But I am glad to hear you and your wife are alright.
#32
Le Mans Master
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The truck's lights were not malfunctioning. The truck's driver just have a vastly more sophisticated sense of style then the OP. He had just tinted out his brakes because it looked 'sick' on his ride. I hope OP has learned his fashion lesson.
#33
Le Mans Master
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Last night was great! I washed and waxed the vette in anticipation of driving it and hanging out with the wife. However, today was not a good day. On the way home I was driving behind a beater pickup truck and was driving approximately 30 mph. Unbeknownst to me that truck had stopped to make a left turn, but it did not have any brake lights or a turn signal illuminated, and when I realized it had stopped I had to swerve to the right to avoid rear-ending it.
Unfortunately, a drainage ditch was the only route of evasion and I went into and out of that ditch. I could have swore I heard the Dukes of Hazard theme song playing because I got some serious air. Checking the damage the most apparent damage was a busted lower front bumper, a busted grill, a curled up corner on the top of one side of the bumper where it meets the hood and the bottom of the radiator was smashed and dragging the ground. It also took a gouge out of the sidewall of the right rear tire and a chunk out of the edge of the right rear rim. Looking under the car I did not see any fluids leaking other than the radiator fluid and didn't see any other parts hanging down that aren't supposed to.
Most importantly, the wife and I were not hurt, even though my pride was hurt when I had to watch the vette leave the scene on the back of a tow truck. But, the insurance company was great so far and I'm only out $500.00 for the deductible. I will meet the insurance rep at the repair shop on Monday to find out how extensive the damage will actually be, so I'll update then.
Finally, for those of you in Florida, don't think the person driving a Yukon is crazy when they give you the wave as your driving your vettes; its just me with separation anxiety.
Unfortunately, a drainage ditch was the only route of evasion and I went into and out of that ditch. I could have swore I heard the Dukes of Hazard theme song playing because I got some serious air. Checking the damage the most apparent damage was a busted lower front bumper, a busted grill, a curled up corner on the top of one side of the bumper where it meets the hood and the bottom of the radiator was smashed and dragging the ground. It also took a gouge out of the sidewall of the right rear tire and a chunk out of the edge of the right rear rim. Looking under the car I did not see any fluids leaking other than the radiator fluid and didn't see any other parts hanging down that aren't supposed to.
Most importantly, the wife and I were not hurt, even though my pride was hurt when I had to watch the vette leave the scene on the back of a tow truck. But, the insurance company was great so far and I'm only out $500.00 for the deductible. I will meet the insurance rep at the repair shop on Monday to find out how extensive the damage will actually be, so I'll update then.
Finally, for those of you in Florida, don't think the person driving a Yukon is crazy when they give you the wave as your driving your vettes; its just me with separation anxiety.
It should have been beknownst to you by that fact that this one vehicle was not moving and as you proceeded down the road the vehicle became closer and closer.
All kidding aside, would you have felt justified ramming into the rear of the truck if it had broken down in the road? Would you have felt justified if it was not a truck, but rather a child on a bike stopped in the road? Would you have blamed him for not having brake/turn signals?
'right' or 'wrong', inattentive driving is expensive.
#35
I have been kicking myself in the butt since this happened because I'm usually very attentive when driving. I agree it was my fault for being inattentive and I'm not blaming the driver of the truck with the in-op lights. Thankfully, we were not injured, but venting on the forum is a little therapy for me since I won't know how bad the damage really is until tomorrow.
#36
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17
I have been kicking myself in the butt since this happened because I'm usually very attentive when driving. I agree it was my fault for being inattentive and I'm not blaming the driver of the truck with the in-op lights. Thankfully, we were not injured, but venting on the forum is a little therapy for me since I won't know how bad the damage really is until tomorrow.
#38
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I have been kicking myself in the butt since this happened because I'm usually very attentive when driving. I agree it was my fault for being inattentive and I'm not blaming the driver of the truck with the in-op lights. Thankfully, we were not injured, but venting on the forum is a little therapy for me since I won't know how bad the damage really is until tomorrow.
#39
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2016 C6 of Year Finalist
This was right after he backed into me trying to respond to a call.
#40
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St. Jude Donor '03,'04,'05,'07,08,'09,'10,’17
I work for a company that has thousands of company vehicles on the road including the one I drive. This is a huge liability to the company and because of that, they pound driving safety into our brains .... over and over. Smith Driving, etc. As a result, I have not had an accident that was my fault in over 25 years and I drive quite a few miles annually in the Houston area.
With all of that, I can tell you that I came close to rear ending an old truck about 6 mos ago because his brake lights weren't working. I can tell you that we rely on other vehicles brake lights more than you realize ....until one stops in front of you. Trust me - it will surprise you when they stop and no brake lights come on.
If it were up to me, I would split the liability 50/50 for this accident. But it's not up to me and the driver of veh 1 did not stick around.
To the OP - sorry that happened. Glad you and your wife were not hurt.
And one more thing - many people would be too embarassed to post what you did. Thanks for sharing it with us. By raising awareness, you may have unknowingly prevented someone else from having a similar accident.
With all of that, I can tell you that I came close to rear ending an old truck about 6 mos ago because his brake lights weren't working. I can tell you that we rely on other vehicles brake lights more than you realize ....until one stops in front of you. Trust me - it will surprise you when they stop and no brake lights come on.
If it were up to me, I would split the liability 50/50 for this accident. But it's not up to me and the driver of veh 1 did not stick around.
To the OP - sorry that happened. Glad you and your wife were not hurt.
And one more thing - many people would be too embarassed to post what you did. Thanks for sharing it with us. By raising awareness, you may have unknowingly prevented someone else from having a similar accident.