Close Call

[TotallyCRZ]

So here's what happened...

I'm parked infront of a Pizza shop, its lunch time, its sorta busy, nothing out of the ordinary...

And out of the corner of my eye when I'm in the shop, I see a red car come zooming in the lot and the driver jumped it ontop of a square cement barrier that separates the Pizza shop from the next building over, about 1 ft tall, about 4 ft from my car.

What's truly ironic about this is that my friend was in the passenger seat of that car. His friend "supposedly" hit the gas instead of the brake, and jumped ontop of the barrier.

If that barrier wasn't there, my car would've been pretty bruised...

Nonetheless, it took them about 30 minutes to get it off the barrier, they eventually pushed it off the brick, and just let it sit in its place... The front bumper was scraped and wrecked underneath, the front was crunched a bit, the tire was ripped, the rim was slightly bent, the passenger door was scraped from a second cement barrier that was there, and the side skirt completely fell off.

I feel bad for the guy, considering there's about 5k of damage or more on his 07 Camry, but I'm thankful those barriers were there. I'm sure his parents aren't too happy with that either.

Any close calls for you?

[alan111209]

i was on the my way too work and i was going 40 in a 35
two lane road and apperently i wasnt going fast enough for this 20 something year old with like 3 UNBUCKLED kids in the back (i know cause i saw em standing up). so she trys to cut me off but didnt see there was a van in the other lane i was about too pass
passeing me by half a car lenght then having to slow down cause of the van, i passed em both. something in her mind told her i got mad and tried too stop her. which i could care less cause i was going into work an hour early. so she goes back into my lane angry as hell!
coming onto a HUGE red light intersection i slowed down, but she gunned it so she could tailgate me or something but i came to a complete stop and all i hear is the most terrifying skretch of my life. i look in the rear veiw mirror and shes like 3 car lenghts away trying to stop at 50mph.
i put it in first gear and drove almost 20ft into the intersection (remember it a big intersection so no where near a passing car) which was enough to keep her rear ending my car by inches. and i could tell that one of the kids in the back flew to the front of the car. i know it wasnt smart what i did but it was pretty much i lose/lose situation for me

three ddays later i backed into my dads truck
$750 repair

[TotallyCRZ]

^ People are ridiculous when you're driving on the highway, or even on a city road. I'm already going a bit above the speed limit, don't tailgate me, f**k off or pass, I'm not keeping anyone from passing... And when you move, they're still going the same speed... Not any faster.. UGH! I'm 18 and I already have to be scared about idiots like that.

Oh, and the funniest is when someone who's truly going slow gets infront of them...

But I'm sorry to hear about you backing up into your dad's truck... Damage on your CR Z and his truck

I'm hoping for the best, from what I've seen here, more than a few people have had their CR Z's damaged within 6 months ownership.

[alan111209]

100% agree
theres some stupid drivers out there when it comes too other peoples safety

and wouldnt be too worried about the truck
there wasnt a stratch on it! haha

but since that happened im debating on storing my car in the garage in a few months when winter rolls around

[carlg1212]

The Company I work for made us take this driving class Smith: Home

It's designed to help save money on gas and maintenance, and as a defensive driving tool.

It's not going to help people from jumping the curb and smashing into your car, but our instructor said there's no such thing as an "accident". Everything is preventable. It's a mindset. Pretty cool once you have an open mind and listen to the instructor.

We sat in a classroom for 3 days then tested our knowledge out on the streets of Washington, D.C. We didn't stop for one red light, that's how cool the Smith System is.

[Widget]

Originally Posted by carlg1212

The Company I work for made us take this driving class Smith: Home

It's designed to help save money on gas and maintenance, and as a defensive driving tool.

It's not going to help people from jumping the curb and smashing into your car, but our instructor said there's no such thing as an "accident". Everything is preventable. It's a mindset. Pretty cool once you have an open mind and listen to the instructor.

We sat in a classroom for 3 days then tested our knowledge out on the streets of Washington, D.C. We didn't stop for one red light, that's how cool the Smith System is.

Fully agree here - defensive driving isn't just some BS ploy that you have to take when you get a speeding ticket - it's a useful way of thinking.

[luddite]

This happened on the very first day that I bought my Zed.

My hobby is shooting and straight after picking up my pride and joy from the dealer I called home to pick up my gun and headed for the range.

The range is up a dirt track past a car repair shop; I was passing the repair shop when a car which was parked outside set off with a flourish as I was driving past!

I didn't have time to brake and the track was narrow with walls on either side so I couldn't swerve.

Luckily the guy saw me and stopped before we made contact, his drivers door must have been microns from my passenger door when he stopped.

My Zed remains unblemished to this day 15 months later.

[cyeung]

Here's my close call with my lovely CR-Z... I was driving at the speed limit. The lane to my right was, for some odd reason, crowded. The lane I was in, on the other hand, was very smoothly flowing. I dialed up my vigilance, made sure the lights ahead of me were green, checked the lights again, and kept going. All of a sudden, the car in the center lane started to execute the turn and getting into my lane. I pretty much stood on the brakes (enough to make the tires squeal and ABS operate).

Fortunately, the driver stopped the turn. Unfortunately, where I stopped would have been past where that car would turn into.

[TotallyCRZ]

@carlg1212 - wow, this looks very professional... Good training most definitely, I took a drivers training course, I and think my insurance is slightly lower as a result, but none the less its really good practice.

@luddite- Yikes! Thank goodness the other guy was paying attention omg

@cyeung - oh no! thats horrible! At least you managed to save the car and not get it damaged!

[cyeung]

I was at the receiving end of a rear-ending today from an inattentive driver (driving a Prius). He made the same mistake I did a few years ago of thinking that I was starting to move and applied a bit too much on the accelerator. It felt as if someone gave me a firm whack on the back, but nothing more than what one would feel on a roller coaster.

We got out, made sure we were all right, and got down to business. We made a list of events leading up to the accident and a damage assessment that we both signed off on and exchanged contact/insurance information. He was very apologetic, and he thought I was very composed for someone whose car got hit.

For both of us, the damage was cosmetic. For him, his front bumper needs a bit of touch-up. For me, the piece below the bumper snapped out of place and also needs touching up in a fairly inconspicuous spot. I banged it back in place and it looks as if nothing ever happened.

So, with the both of us being all right, cars both relatively unscathed, the formalities were just that. Here's a photo if you're interested: http://cyeungrun.com/miscFiles/Marie...1006-00004.jpg. I am going to hit it with a touch-up pen. Got any pointers?