Dan wrote: "I saw a Ford Exploder get nailed one time when they started to cross a six lane road from the side road on a green light and a dump truck came through at speed from the other direction and T-boned the Exploder. I am sure the Exploder driver was seriously injured if not killed. I called 911 after seeing the impact. It was not something I ever want to see again."
As an attorney that has investigated and litigated lots of car accidents for both the plaintiff and the defendant, I have seen WAY too many fatal or catastrophic car accidents. I have learned a few things: 1. While high speeds can lead to tragic results, most fatal accidents I have seen are not related to excessive speeds. Many of them involved highway speeds, but very few truly excessive speeds. The few exceptions were usually in one car accidents where the driver is driving at excessive speeds and loses control. 2. Most serious car accidents are (as expected) usually attributable to simple negligence. Somebody is not paying attention and bad crashes happen. It is not usually outrageous conduct. 4. Distracted drivers are nearly as bad as impaired drivers. 5. Larger and safer vehicles do protect the occupants. 6. Large does not always equal safe. 7. All of the anecdotal evidence from groups like this is based in fact. Mercedes, BMWs, and Volvos do hold up better in crashes. 8. The increases in the use of air bags (side, head, etc) is helping. 9. Roll over crashes seem to be less frequent. 10. Big trucks (semis) kill. They are dangerous. We need to transport more by railroad. But, until railroad transportation can get as cheap and fast Semi's, we are going to continue to have to share the road with Semis. 11. Many people don't respect a Semi and and don't give them enough room and many drivers don't understand the amount of time and room it takes to maneuver and stop a semi. In summary, Drive a MB, BMW, or Volvo. Drive carefully and pay attention. The other drivers are idiots. Don Snook > On Jun 5, 2017, at 12:21 AM, Karl Wittnebel via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Man I could not agree more about the importance of the car weight/size. > > Yesterday I am at Sunset and Barrington. Four lanes on Sunset plus a > turn lane in the middle. Two going my direction on Barrington, headed > left onto eastbound sunset. I am in the right of two left turn lanes. > > The two roads are nearly parallel, then barrington does a little dog > leg left into the light at sunset. So it is almost a 150 degree left > turn after the light. A Tacoma was sitting next to me on my left, > going my direction, and we were both turning left. That is the hairpin > direction, so not possible to see oncoming cars from the left. > > After watching a number of cars sail through totally red lights here > over the years, and reading about accidents at this intersection, I > adopted The > Rule: I am never the first guy into ANY intersection after the light > turns green - under any circumstance. Guy next to me reading a paper? > I am like a zen master. If a two lane road, I am like a soap box derby > car off the line, but later and slower. > > So our left turn arrow turns green. I wait for the tacoma to go first. > He hesitates a couple of seconds, for whatever reason. No problem - I > wait. He meanders forward. I follow. We are both across lane #1, > almost into lane 2 when some crazy lady in a mid size suv blows > through the intersection on Sunset from the left at full tilt, going > 40+. She is looking straight forward, like nothing unusual is going on. Red > lip stick. Short brown hair. > Maybe in her 50s. No braking, no panic, no swerving, no mouth open, no > apparent awareness of anything unusual - just driving. My hood > ornament was practically spinning. Then she is gone, and the day goes > on, like a giant meteor almost hit the earth, but didn't: the > cretaceous extinction never happened, and diplodocuses are still roaming > around. > > I am so glad the Tacoma hesitated a bit, or she would have certainly > taken him into us. I am also glad that I did not cane it on the green, > as the 4.2 liter v8 would certainly have launched me out ahead of the > Tacoma and into the strike zone. I mean, we were really late getting > out there, and STILL almost got nailed. > > It is like being completely paranoid, then realizing they really are > out to get you. I was actually planning for that lady to do exactly > what she did, but not really expecting it to happen. > > Anyway I don't have much to say except maybe that I am calling my > friend to see if he will sell me the g55 back. If 3500 lb is good, 5500 is > better. > When you see how much casual disregard for human life is all around > you, it is easy to get a bit jaded. > > > > > On Jun 4, 2017 5:00 PM, "Peter Frederick via Mercedes" < > mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > This is why I drive them. Same sort of thing happened to me, guy in a > work van ran a traffic light and hit me in the driver's door. > Battered but alive, car was a mess. > > Peter > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
