leaving work heading home

[05fjrBluedevil]

So, i'm heading east on 264 just passing the newburgh road exit the bardstown road exit is up a half mile....

I am just merging into the fast lane, everything is going well. Just starting to rain.....

Speed up going around 60-63 miles per hour, then just like tv, a car off to my right and in front of me maybe three or four car lengths start to lose control.

First he goes right then left then clips a small blue car which sends it off to the right and him to the left , now he hits a small black car that has tried to evade him and thus blocks my escape route. So the little black car is heading for the concrete dividing the highway and he has now spun around and as I am slowing a rapidly as I can he has spun and it appears we are now going to hit head on. i vere as far as I can and am now full on the breaks as Contact is approaching...... So as I am bracing for impact and steering away slightly to the left to avoid a full on front end collision.... Now I see him he is now headed right for me a straight middle of the vehicle hit, then i move more towards the left and then crunch.... waiting for the air bag to explode in my face but no!!!

At this point I am still in the fast lane maybe angled into the median off to the left, he has been hit so hard that it spun him back facing straight ahead from traveling from i oclock on the face of a clock toward 7 0clock... my avalanch is out of commission as well as the truck is received a fatal blow to the radiator and the front end is busted up pretty good.

thats not going to happen, so I had manuvered far enough to the left that the drivers front of his grand prix hits my passenger front left center this totally busts up his car and he is out of commission. Now i am waiting for my impact from other cars however none comes thank goodness for that....

I get out after waiting a few moments as does he, we both ask if each of us are okay and then he proceeds towards the little black car she is shook up, but okay... the little blue car and two others on the other side of the highway seem to be okay. But no way i am trying to walk over there...

Now I'm dialing 911 when they come on the line I see a police officer approaching from behind, and advise them and disconnect.

I gues that fact that a jtown officer was on scene so fast prevented any more collisions.... So he checks to see if everyone is okay and makes sure louisvlle metro is enroute...then after I sweep up the debrie in front of my tuck we push it over off the road. now all the cars are off the road So I'm thinking maybe I should have updated the onstar to digital service, because had I needed it it would not have been there for me.....

I a just thankful that no one was hurt and I was able to get the speed down to a non airbag deployment collision.....

So as I call the claim in to my insurer I am just thinking wow, two major home owners claims in the last six months and now this.... I bet they love me....

And to think if I would have been on my perfectblueride this would have not ended near as well......Funny thing is I would have been had I not made plans to hang out with my son after work only to have him cancel on me about 20 min.'s prior to me getting off work....

But the next time you watch nascar, and someone loses control from the high side and is moving down to the apron and all the traffic is trying to get around him untouched that was how it was this evening....makes you wonder how things can go from fine to total havoc with the blink of an eye......

So

at least the rain is suppose to go away for a few days.....

 

[HotRodZilla]

OUCH...Glad your ok. I had a truck roll over in front of me a few months ago. Luckily the only thing I damaged was my shorts. Sometimes its good not to be on your MC. Sounds like this was one of those times.

 

[TheAxeman]

Geez Mike, your luck has GOT to change here shortly. You have had one rough year. I'm glad to hear that you are OK and the only thing damaged is the vehicle. Thats the second time in a week that an air bag hasn't deployed for someone I know. One of my employees mother hit a utility pole dead on a couple of days ago in a Honda Element and the bag didn't deploy for some reason. She hit it hard enough to cause thousands of dollars of damage to the vehicle and hard enough to send her to the hospital but evidently not hard enough to warrant the air bag.

 

[Knifemaker]

Glad you are OK and everyone else too it seems.

Would not make any assumptions about how diffrent it would have turned out had you been on your bike, as we do "drive" diffrently when on two wheels, and sometimes the advantage of the smaller size comes into play:

Way back in my early days I owned, rode , and even raced a RD-400. It was my primary (read only) form of transport, so rain or shine it was how I got to work everyday.

Had a day simular to yours, got off work , got on the interstate and it started to rain...just lightly. I only had a 5 mile ride on the highway and then to an exit and side streets.

Half a mile from my exit, the same scenario you descibed plays out...a car enters the highway from the onramp a good 500-600 feet ahead of me and just looses it. Spins like a top, hitting one car, then crossing to the center, bounces off the guardrail and spins back just in time to get nailed by a truck.

Eveyone behind this is hitting their brakes, and half of them are now loosing control also. I realize that if I begin braking hard I will loose the ability to turn if needed, and I will be simply slowing down to match the speed of all the other cars...so I look hard at what is going on in front of me and try to pick a line though it. A big incentive is I know there is a semi behind me, and alot of more traffic that has not seen what is going on. As the road is slick, I don't want to make any sharp movements either, but I see that the car directly if front of me has veered to the right, hit the car next to it , and now is headed right towards the guardrail on the left. I'm actualy hoping he hits it real hard...

Because I am now aiming myself right at his point of impact, betting he will bounce off just like the other car, leaving me a clear shot to get by him, past the car ahead that does not seem to be moving, and right on past the whole mess before the semi behind be comes in and takes everyone out...

God must love the young because the car hits the rail, bounces off a good 2 feet , cocks sideways just in time for me to blast through ...but the impact causes it to spin to the right..and I clearly can see the back of the car moving at me and I'm now worried it will hit my rear or crush me against the rail.. But I manage to accellerate past it and somehow end up on the other side of the wreckage a good distance from that first car that started the whole chain reaction. And get to see the car that was in front of me get shoved back into the guardrail by that truck that was behind me.

Count me as a lucky son of a bitch. There were several injuries , the worst the guy in the first car that got hit by the truck. I'm shaking like a junkie sitting naked on an iceburg...but I'm fine and the bike is still on the rubber.

Had I been driving a car or truck, there would have been no way it would have not sustained some damage, and who knows about me.

So, sometimes being small has advantages...

KM

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

OUCH...Glad your ok. I had a truck roll over in front of me a few months ago. Luckily the only thing I damaged was my shorts. Sometimes its good not to be on your MC. Sounds like this was one of those times.

Yep thanks, based on it just starting to rain and the road being slick, it would have more than likely ended badly, with me going over into the west bound traffic.... or laying it down and hoping to slide throught he whole mess. But I did think there for a moment, had i been on my bike i would not have had to wait so long to get to the left lane and the little black car that prevented me from gaining access to that lane earlier and made it past the whole deal would not have been able to prevent by blast by.... But i was glad everyone was alright and really tried to ride the dam truck through the whole deal and was almost clear when he knock the other little black car into the wall, blocking my path and thus setting up impact that i thought for sure would have been worse than it was... i was just thankful that i did enough so that the traffic behind me didn't plow us.....too....

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Geez Mike, your luck has GOT to change here shortly. You have had one rough year. I'm glad to hear that you are OK and the only thing damaged is the vehicle. Thats the second time in a week that an air bag hasn't deployed for someone I know. One of my employees mother hit a utility pole dead on a couple of days ago in a Honda Element and the bag didn't deploy for some reason. She hit it hard enough to cause thousands of dollars of damage to the vehicle and hard enough to send her to the hospital but evidently not hard enough to warrant the air bag.

Hey Chris, you are dam right .... i just have not figured it out yet.... Is someone trying to hurt me or just get my attention!!!!!!!! :blink:

Yeah maybe the fact that no one was in the passenger seat and the impact was more to that side of the truck since I moved away at the last moment to avoid crunching him head on...... But i still think they should have blown.......at least mine maybe not...... makes me wonder if the impact had to be highed up in the vechicles center of gravity to cause the force neccessary to cause it to blow....

But it did make me program in numbers that i might need for a tow where as i would not have to call my insurance agent...

Now the fun of getting it fixed....hey i didn't know that state farm wanted to use used parts and after market instead of gm parts..... I haven't had to deal with this stuff in over 20 years and maybe that is why some of the chevy dealers are not under contract with them... maybe they do not want to stand behind junk yard stuff.....

My adjuster and i will have a conversation about this........

i had it towed to where i bought it and in speaking to the adjuster he said they were not under sontract to garee. the work with state farm, so i agreed to have it picked up by another dealer that was. But in speaking with the person there she stated that to me and i ask about genuin gm parts and she said used and after market for some things.....

i guess i do not care except my 04 avalanch only had 41000 miles and was mint.......

I guess the fun begins....

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Glad you are OK and everyone else too it seems.
Would not make any assumptions about how diffrent it would have turned out had you been on your bike, as we do "drive" diffrently when on two wheels, and sometimes the advantage of the smaller size comes into play:

Way back in my early days I owned, rode , and even raced a RD-400. It was my primary (read only) form of transport, so rain or shine it was how I got to work everyday.

Had a day simular to yours, got off work , got on the interstate and it started to rain...just lightly. I only had a 5 mile ride on the highway and then to an exit and side streets.

Half a mile from my exit, the same scenario you descibed plays out...a car enters the highway from the onramp a good 500-600 feet ahead of me and just looses it. Spins like a top, hitting one car, then crossing to the center, bounces off the guardrail and spins back just in time to get nailed by a truck.

Eveyone behind this is hitting their brakes, and half of them are now loosing control also. I realize that if I begin braking hard I will loose the ability to turn if needed, and I will be simply slowing down to match the speed of all the other cars...so I look hard at what is going on in front of me and try to pick a line though it. A big incentive is I know there is a semi behind me, and alot of more traffic that has not seen what is going on. As the road is slick, I don't want to make any sharp movements either, but I see that the car directly if front of me has veered to the right, hit the car next to it , and now is headed right towards the guardrail on the left. I'm actualy hoping he hits it real hard...

Because I am now aiming myself right at his point of impact, betting he will bounce off just like the other car, leaving me a clear shot to get by him, past the car ahead that does not seem to be moving, and right on past the whole mess before the semi behind be comes in and takes everyone out...

God must love the young because the car hits the rail, bounces off a good 2 feet , cocks sideways just in time for me to blast through ...but the impact causes it to spin to the right..and I clearly can see the back of the car moving at me and I'm now worried it will hit my rear or crush me against the rail.. But I manage to accellerate past it and somehow end up on the other side of the wreckage a good distance from that first car that started the whole chain reaction. And get to see the car that was in front of me get shoved back into the guardrail by that truck that was behind me.

Count me as a lucky son of a bitch. There were several injuries , the worst the guy in the first car that got hit by the truck. I'm shaking like a junkie sitting naked on an iceburg...but I'm fine and the bike is still on the rubber.

Had I been driving a car or truck, there would have been no way it would have not sustained some damage, and who knows about me.

So, sometimes being small has advantages...

KM

Yeah seems that he or she does because i remember as i was 18 pre enlisted in the Marine Corp to go in on my 19th birthday and i had purchased a 68 r/t charger that summer for (800.00 those were the days) I was rounding a curve and decided to pass a county work truck and he decided to make a left with no signal and i moved to the left and slide through the grass and almost fish tailed it around him only to have him clip my passenger rear quarter panel and send me spinning out of control into an imbankment and then cart wheeling down the troad and then landing on my roof and sliding another 300 feet. was just a kid no set belt, so i crawl out of the gas smelling wreckage and all i could think about was my new to me panosonic stereo that i had just wired into the car and had not securely installed in the dash... It was smashed up my car was toast and I walked away with not a scratch... maybe i cheated someone and they are trying to collect.......

btw the county never did pay me for the car because i went in the service and did not place a value on my car...... so they dismissed the case because of a loop hole even thought he person driving was legally blind in one eye and was not suppose to be driving except in this po dunk little town where polotics ruled in the early 80's.......

Or the time as a youth I was driving my girlfriends 350ss 71 elcamino.... We had been drinking and we decided we needed to go home to her house, some guy in a 69 camaro comes flying over a hill and loses it, goes out into a corn field and as I am backing up to see if he is okay... there would be no way that anyone could come up from behind me with the way that road is, so i am backing and this fool some how save it and is coming to catch us thinking we caused it.... So i think man i need to move and move fast, so i go to slam the colume shifter in drive and miss, stomping the gas pedal burning rubber his tires are squillin, my tires are burning rubber BAM.....totaled his car, him and his buddies are throwing beer bottle over into the field now they're all confronting us, my girlfriend say she wants to leave, i say you can but i'm not driving away from this so off we go, her behind the wheel, we get around the corner and we switch, i'm behind the wheel, we see lights flashing and get scared and off we go, I'm driving....... I use all the old school bus routes to evade... looking back what a fool... but I kill the lights hit 64 west and off we go and the lights go on by.... So we are now heading to her house, she demands to drive on this tewisty Axx road and I pull over we are fish tailing around corners as she navigates with me saying please slow down please slow down them lights come around a corner and BAM.... a head on collision..... So this girl and i totaled 3 cars in one night and walked away.... by the way after the fact the rear of the el camino only had 250 dollars worth of damage after totally trashing the camaro.......

Now that was some crazy stuff as a kid and not thinking about stuff the way i do now.... seat belts always on its a rule... after this my wrist hurt, my back hurt, but it seems to be getting better....

talk to you all later thanks for the kind wishes.... may the havor wrecker now pass me by......

 

[Berde]

Glad you are o.k. Just when is starting to rain the road is the slickest. All the dust, oils, and pollen just wet forming a vey slick stuff. When is pouring all that stuff is washed away and the tire threads are doing their job evacuating water from the contact patch. No water to evacuate when is just wet so this stuff remains in contact with the tire like silicone spray. Remember back in the day when you put Armour All in a vinyl seat and then go for the first turn? pretty slick, well a wet road is almost the same.

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Well

I was suppose to be able to get my truck back today and they called and said they ordered the wrong bumper bracket so it would be Monday before they should have it finished.

So since I had built up enough extra time to get it I decided to go ahead and pay them an un announced visit. So I asked if I could take a look at my truck and the girl says yes and we walk on out.

So I walk out, new passenger fender and a lot of new front end parts, condenser etc. so I take a few steps back to look at the left front toe hook assembly and it appears tweaked... So I say something to the girl and she agrees then we have another shop guy come over and he agrees. So I ask for a tape measure and start measuring things and sure enough because the impact was from the left front toward the left center and the car was a grand prix and sets lower with that pointed front it kind of went under the truck there and twisted that. So they look and could only find the whole assembly. which is for both sides and has a front support rod running across to connect the two sides together. I guess they will actually have to remove all the front end stuff the installed in order to cut this stuff off and then weld everything back together.....

Now what puzzles me is when I went over there and looked at it with their body shop guy he stated it looked tweaked and they would place it on the frame straightened and see if it could be corrected... So why did they not do that prior to placing parts back on it....

My though is had they got the right bracket for the bumper they would have just covered it up.

Now they know I know it is an issue.... that part is like 1900.00 to fix.....

It almost makes me think they work it out for the best of the insurance companies and themselves.....

Oh well I hope they get it right the first time......

photos to be added soon I hope, i think i managed to sweet talk the girl into email me photos.....

 

[k7lvo]

A while back - quite awhile; 20 years ago last December - I was headed east on I-84 out of Portland, OR on a sunny December day (yes, the get a FEW of those in Portland) when a guy in an original Bronco came on the freeway from the cloverleaf on ramp. Now, even though it was sunny, the temperature was pretty low, especially for Portland. Where the sun was shinning on it, the road was wet; where it was in the shadow, the road was icy. This guy comes buzzing around on the sunny part of the ramp -then he hits the shade, and, just that quick, he's spun 90 degrees to the left, catches traction, and launches across the freeway at ~40 mph. I was in the left lane with a car off my right quarter panel, so the only thing left was the brakes. 17 feet of skid marks don't shave a lot of speed off from 55 mph. The Suburban I was driving slammed into the left side of the Bronco right at the front tire, and for the next few seconds I was on an "E" ticket ride - slowing, spinning, bouncing, with nothing to do but hang on and go along for the ride.

Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah... Amazingly enough neither of us was hurt, but it turned me into a seatbelt believer. The Suburban had one frame rail bent and the other one broken. I wanted to total it, but the insurance company wanted to fix it. Okay, as we all know, you have the right to pick the shop. There was a local painter/customizer in Vancouver that all the hotrodders loved. (Kenny Rogers - any of you PDX/Vancouver guys know if he's stil there?) When I got it back, it drove just as good as it ever had, and the new parts were painted factory-original, black under-hood parts were black, panels and the hood were painted on BOTH sides, and the color matched, even though it was 3-year-old GM metallic blue.

So, the moral of the story: Pick the right shop! Fortunately, I knew which shop was the right one; too many times we don't have that information available.

 

[05fjrBluedevil]

Yep, I would say we need practice we do not want in order to pick the best shops most of the time... I had it moved to this one from one that was a chevy dealer just because this one was under contract with my insurance company to warranty the work for as long as I owned the vehicle...

Hopefully they understand now that I will be inspecting it with more than just the casual glance.....

phots added....