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I'm just on my last nerve here. Since I first bought my car back in 2007 I was involved in 4 accidents. During that time up until last night I'd driven close to 100,000 miles.
1st time some idiot cut me off in South Florida, sent me into a pole. 2nd time someone T-boned me in Texas after running a stop-sign. 3rd time this past December someone dropped a refrigerator in the middle of the road in north Florida in which I hit at 75 mph with minor damage.
This straw that broke the camels back came in Washington state last night, where a semi rear ended me on the interstate and I was going about 70 mph, fish tailed and ended up crashing into the median and bashing my head against the glass. The only thing that stopped me from going into oncoming traffic was a center divide made of stakes and wires. I spun around for what seemed to be endlessly before coming to a halt. That's the last time that car will ever be on the road. It was confirmed: the semi drivers fault with several witnesses
I love road trips, and I pretty much have to travel as I do freelance assignments at this point thru the mountain west and was going to be going to Seattle for the first time. Road trips pay the bills and amount to a good 70% of my income and I have been traveling once a month since the year began.
But with as many accidents that have happened, not even being my fault I just wonder am I increasing my odds of dying here LOL. 2 of those accidents happened in the city and the other 2 were on the highway. But in less than 4 years that is very scary. That's 1 per year and it HAS been 1 per year. Except for 2008...that was a good year.
It's like I took drivers ed and passed with a B, took a speed course night school driving class, got a speeding ticket ONCE and took defensive driving last summer 2010...never caused an accident with another vehicle but people's stupidity just keeps on messing me up. I'm only 23. And I'm tired of it. Tired of people ruining my good car.
I still want to be able to do my monthly road trips, but I want to do it without being paranoid that some idiot is going to come plowing into me.
Ok, I hate to be the bad guy here, but something must be said: Any time a driver is involved in that many accidents that quickly, a portion of the blame must rest with him. And, before you think I'm being hyper-critical, I had 5 wrecks the first year I had a full drivers license (I was 15) and on reflection, I could have avoided every one of them being being more observant about what was going on around me and more aware of where I was and what I was doing.
In your first instance, sometimes that just happens and you can't do anything about it. But, you should expect it at all times and be prepared to take evasive action. Whenver a vehicle is beside you, you're flirting with death and that ought to make you more cautious. I'm curious, though, if the other car was on your right or left. If he was on your right, perhaps YOU weren't going fast enough to be in a passing lane. If you're not going faster than the car to your right, get over behind him.
In your second, T-bone accidents at stop signs are nearly always avoidable by simply looking at what the cross traffic is doing. You should have been able to tell, had you looked, that he wasn't going to stop. A car approaching a stop sign which isn't slowing down is probably either going to blow through it or do a panic stop which could lead him to sliding out into your lane. You should adjust your speed accordingly, coming to a complete stop if that's what's required and there's nobody on your tail. You may have the right of way, but don't bet your life on it.
In the third, for some reason, furniture in the roadway in South Florida is a fairly common occurance. I don't know why, but it's so. In any case, if it was during the day time, you should have been able to see it in plenty of time, had you been observant. You've got to SEE what's coming up, not just look. If you didn't see it until it's too late, my bet is that you've developed the habit of driving right out in front of your hood, instead of watching as far ahead as you can see. It's a common driving mistake, especially among the inexperienced. If at night, you were overdriving your headlights. That means you were going too fast to react to anything which suddenly emerged at the limits of your headlights. Slow down at night.
And, unless you were the only car on the road, it's more than likely that traffic ahead of you would have given you a clue, had you been watching. Did you see any brakelights come on for no apparent reason? Did a couple of cars suddenly change lanes at the same spot? My guess is that you don't know because you weren't watching. If you were, you apparently didn't take that as a clue that something was going on up ahead that you needed to be ready for.
In the last accident, I just have a few questions: What lane were you in and how fast were you going? Were you in a passing lane (anything to the left of the extreme right lane) and not passing? If so, how long had you been "hanging" there? Were you keeping up with the flow of traffic, or were you dawdling along, being passed on the right and/or left? Did the truck just drive up there and hit you, or did you suddenly slow down for some reason? Were you even aware he was there before he hit you? If no, why not? You have mirrors, don't you? Do you use them...regularly?
I'm not excusing the truck driver by any means. Tailgating is an epidemic among truck drivers these days, but the victim in a tailgating crash bears a portion of the blame too for not getting out of his way or for doing something stupid while a big truck is parked on his azz.
Bottom line? Review your own driving habits before blaming everyone else. Especially take note of whether or not you're listening to the radio or have on headphones or are eating or day dreaming or anything else which takes your mind off the task at hand. If you can't multi-task, doing some or all of those things, AND pay attention to what's going on around you, stop whatever it is that's distracting you and concentrate on driving. Every time you get into a car, it's a life-threatening event. Don't let ANYTHING interfere with paying attention!
But with as many accidents that have happened, not even being my fault I just wonder am I increasing my odds of dying here LOL. That's 1 per year and it HAS been 1 per year. Except for 2008...that was a good year.
It's like I took drivers ed and passed with a B, took a speed course night school driving class, got a speeding ticket ONCE and took defensive driving last summer 2010...never caused an accident with another vehicle but people's stupidity just keeps on messing me up. I'm only 23. And I'm tired of it. Tired of people ruining my good car.
You are likely accident prone because of your self-awareness level. For example, I am constantly aware of everything around me. I drive in high pedestrian areas and I have to constantly worry about folks jaywalking, which happens a lot where I live.
You hit a refrigerator in the road at 75MPH. Did you not see the refrigerator? You had to have sideswiped it, as hitting something that large at 75MPH isn't going to just cause minor damage. Were you behind the truck/car that it fell off of? Did you not see it moving, giving indications it might go at any time? Stuff like refrigerators don't just appear as a road hazard. If one is good about their awareness, both right in front of them, to the sides, and miles ahead, they see things that give off indicators. Swerving traffic a half mile ahead is a good indicator. If the car in front of you swerves to avoid something and that is your only indicator, change your level of awareness and driving habits.
I would say 90% of the time I am more aware of my surroundings than the vast majority of other drivers. I've been ran off the road by semi-trucks where I was aware enough to look a ways down the shoulder to make sure it was clear, drive on the shoulder, and avoid the collision. I've seen retreads on the road when taking advantage of dips/hills, etc. which give one a longer view of the road ahead. I've seen retreads in the process of falling off, so I've been able to take evasive action.
However, there is still that 10-15% of the time where I lower my awareness through my own fault. Either talking on the phone, messing with the radio, daydreaming, etc.. Every so often I get so intense in thinking about something: Politics, issue at work, etc., that I totally forget my entire drive home. Also, I have struck things in the road I should have clearly seen coming right at me.
The goal is to raise awareness not of your driving, but of those driving around you. If you see a vehicle hauling in the fast lane a 1/4 mile behind you, just get over. Let some idiot like that just get around you and away from you. Keep an extra eye on them until they are out of sight. Same with chains and tie down straps on flatbed trailers. Are they flying uncontrollably? Is the item tied down wobbling? If so, create distance as fast as you safely can. Check out shoulders: How wide are they, are they clear for as far as you can see? When it is your turn to go on a green light or two-way or more stop, pause for a half second to see if anyone runs a red or goes out-of-turn.
Lastly, drive a safe vehicle. This is the number one issue that can really keep you from harm. Go to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety page. Check vehicle ratings. The more airbags the better. Front dash airbags are common, but make sure to have side curtain airbags and if possible, a side torso airbag. Without side airbags, ratings go from good to usually poor. I'm surprised that folks would rather spend an extra $1,000 on mudflaps, premium sound system, sunroof, etc., but balk at spending any extra on safety add-ons.
You hit a refrigerator in the road at 75MPH. Did you not see the refrigerator? You had to have sideswiped it, as hitting something that large at 75MPH isn't going to just cause minor damage. Were you behind the truck/car that it fell off of? Did you not see it moving, giving indications it might go at any time? Stuff like refrigerators don't just appear as a road hazard. If one is good about their awareness, both right in front of them, to the sides, and miles ahead, they see things that give off indicators. Swerving traffic a half mile ahead is a good indicator. If the car in front of you swerves to avoid something and that is your only indicator, change your level of awareness and driving habits.
At a previous job one of our drivers hit a refrigerator in the road at 65 mph.
He was coming over a hill into the morning sun, the white fridge was on it's side just over the crest of the hill. The road was white due to recent winter weather and heavy salting. It was a perfect storm of events that not only could no one have predicted, but it was also unavoidable. The police officer who was traveling about a half mile behind said that had he gotten to that hill first, it would have been him that hit the fridge, not our driver. Sometimes the most unpredictable and ridiculous stuff happens, and there's nothing you can do about it.
By the way, there was no "swerving traffic" or brake lights ahead, because there were no vehicles ahead.
At a previous job one of our drivers hit a refrigerator in the road at 65 mph.
He was coming over a hill into the morning sun, the white fridge was on it's side just over the crest of the hill. The road was white due to recent winter weather and heavy salting. It was a perfect storm of events that not only could no one have predicted, but it was also unavoidable. The police officer who was traveling about a half mile behind said that had he gotten to that hill first, it would have been him that hit the fridge, not our driver. Sometimes the most unpredictable and ridiculous stuff happens, and there's nothing you can do about it.
By the way, there was no "swerving traffic" or brake lights ahead, because there were no vehicles ahead.
Sometimes, things like that happen. A friend of mine topped a small hill in Louisiana and found a pile of logs in the road which had just fallen off a log truck. The log truck apparently hadn't even had time to stop yet. My friend did a great arc down through the median and back up onto the road without hitting anything.
As for furniture items in the roadway? It really is a problem in South Florida, particularly at night. I've come upon mattresses, couches, dining room tables, recliner chairs...just about everything you'd need to outfit a house. Naturally, it's much more common on rural highways than it is in the heart of urban areas, but I've found stuff in the road even there too. Locals tell me it has something to do with the Cuban culture, but I don't know.
Sometimes, things like that happen. A friend of mine topped a small hill in Louisiana and found a pile of logs in the road which had just fallen off a log truck. The log truck apparently hadn't even had time to stop yet. My friend did a great arc down through the median and back up onto the road without hitting anything.
He was probably driving a car which is far more manueverable than the box truck our driver was in.
Stillkit, when I first started trucking, I quickly came to the realization that any crash that happened outside of being parked legally in a parking space was my fault. My first reaction was: "That's not fair". But then I finally came to realize that I'M the professional and it is MY job to keep everyone I share that road with safe. Always leave them an out. Anticipate their next move; even if you are thinking "They CAN'T be that stupid". So, I do understand why some of our drivers have been judged "preventable" after crashes that didn't seem like it was their fault.
Northbound on I-15 in Salt Lake City one year, I was following a pickup in the second lane from the right. Suddenly the door flew off the freezer he had in the bed. Fortunately, I had enough space to react and the lane to my right was clear. But he never even slowed down. (I suspect he was trying to flee) Couldn't see anyone behind me hit it and wasn't fast enough to get his plate #...
Stillkit, when I first started trucking, I quickly came to the realization that any crash that happened outside of being parked legally in a parking space was my fault. My first reaction was: "That's not fair". But then I finally came to realize that I'M the professional and it is MY job to keep everyone I share that road with safe. Always leave them an out. Anticipate their next move; even if you are thinking "They CAN'T be that stupid". So, I do understand why some of our drivers have been judged "preventable" after crashes that didn't seem like it was their fault.
Northbound on I-15 in Salt Lake City one year, I was following a pickup in the second lane from the right. Suddenly the door flew off the freezer he had in the bed. Fortunately, I had enough space to react and the lane to my right was clear. But he never even slowed down. (I suspect he was trying to flee) Couldn't see anyone behind me hit it and wasn't fast enough to get his plate #...
LOL I went through the same thing!
I once had a safety man tell me I was an accident waiting to happen and, if I didn't do something differently, a major accident was lurking in my future.
"Oh, pshaw!" I thought. "What the hell does he know about what I'm up against out there every day."
But, on reflection, I came to understand that he was right. I'd had like 5 minor accidents in 3 years (3 chargeable) and only one of them could not have been prevented by me, had I done something differently (a woman hit my truck which was parked in an alley).
It was me....ME who ultimately bore the responsibility!
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