In the pickup. Wacked from behind at the intersection. It felt like an atomic bomb going off behind me. I drove myself to emergency and got an xray. Whiplash. Soft tissue injury. The guy was insured and they are treating me well. My neck feels not so much painful as weak. Kinda floppy. Doc said don't worry. Be happy. I was hoping I could get a million dollars out of this but no joy so far. Apparently the average judgement for pain and suffering on a whiplash is about $200. Perry Mason always seemed to do better than that. Oh well. I'll mend. The guy that hit me was a nice guy too. He feels bad. Not as bad as me mind you. Just medium bad I guess.

If I could get hit by a drunken US Senator maybe I could get rich. Harry? Where are you Harry?

EB

I got rear-ended at red lights 3 times in less than 2 years when I lived in California, never got a dime out of any of them. The last time it happened the cop told my I really shouldn't be so quick to stop just because the light turned red, like maybe it was my fault or something. That was one of the many reasons I left california and never looked back.

This was my first motor vehicle accident of any kind since January 1971.

I got rear ended once on the way to a wedding reception. I was ready to sue for a million bucks. Turned out it was friends going to the same reception. Darn

I really worry about it when I'm towing my glider trailer. One good rearender could cost upwards of $150K. Guess I could get insurance for it

One good rearender could cost upwards of $150K. Guess I could get insurance for it

Yes. Insurance AND extra bright brake lights high, medium, and low.....

I think cell phones contribute significantly to the increased number of rear enders....

OH SHIT! WAS I DRIVING?!
lc

Hey Bumper... You have a hundred and fifty thousand $$ glider? Holy cow . I did not know they were that Expensive.

OregonMaule wrote:I got rear ended once on the way to a wedding reception. I was ready to sue for a million bucks. Turned out it was friends going to the same reception. Darn

Ah screw 'em. Friends are easy to come by.......just kidding! Could you split it with them?

Glad your OK and didn't get too banged up.

This is the back of one of our newer rigs. I don't even like to follow this trailer.

Glad you're OK Emory Bored. Hope it works out that you make a full recovery.

Get well, EB!


Mercifully Free From the Ravages of Intelligence

This is the back of one of our newer rigs. I don't even like to follow this trailer.

Ok, ok, Skylane.....
High and low is good enough-forget 'medium'!

lc

And EB, I'm glad it was minor, too!
May you have a speedy recovery.....

See? It is better in an airplane where you are pretty much responsible for you own fate!

Have gotten rear-ended twice since I moved to SNY. The first time it was a 17 year old boy with a couple of his friends in his folks' car. He hit me while I was stopped for a red light. He said he didn't see me. What I found out later was there were a couple of girls in shorts walking down the sidewalk when he hit me. He was looking at their rear-ends instead of mine. Damage to my truck was $500.
Second rear-ender I was stopped in traffic at an intersection waiting for traffic ahead of me to clear the intersection. The 17 year old boy was drinking a carton of milk when he hit me doing about 40mph. Destroyed his car, did about $4k damage to my 3/4 ton pickup. They hauled me off to the hospital on a backboard with a neck brace. A year later after several shots in the back I had back surgery. Fought his insurance company for three years and finally got an out of court settlement of six figures.
The pain ain't worth it!
I watch my rear view mirror for fast approaching vehicles nowdays!!

low rider wrote:Hey Bumper... You have a hundred and fifty thousand $$ glider? Holy cow . I did not know they were that Expensive.

When I bought the ASH26E (self launch) back in '02, the Euro was at $.92 and glider and trailer were around $130K. Euro is $1.26 now but has been over $1.40, so replacement cost has increased much more than depreciation.

Since the dollar is so weak, a new ASH31Mi (the "almost the same" replacement for the 26E) is running over $250 delivered. It's numbingly expensive unless you consider a new Husky is north of $250K . . . which sounds pretty bad until you compare it to a new Cessna.

I should add that the self-launch feature adds at least $40K to the cost of a new glider. You could probably hire a tow plane to follow you around for less!

I'll be fine I guess. Hi Country, your story is what keeps me thinking. Staff at the hospital kept asking me if it hurt and how much on a scale of 1 to 10. I told the old nurse, "hell I'm 62, there's no such thing as a one or two". She laughed and said she could relate first hand to that.

They say I shot a man named Ray
And took his wife to Italy.
She inherited a million bucks
And when she died it came to me
I can't help it, if I'm lucky. (Bob Dylan)

EB

I got rear ended 1 1/2 years ago...totaled my car. Nice woman dialing a cell phone. The car was 10 years old but really low miles and in fantastic condition. Her insurance company gave me an amount that would not buy a similar car in that condition. I went and bought a new truck. With less than 5K miles on it a dump truck driver ran a red light and t-boned me. He was texting. $7500 in body and frame work. Insurance refused to pay for diminished value (a new truck with structural repair is worth a lot less than one without). I had to start a law suit. They settled right before court date. I had no fault in either accident. After 35 years of motorcycling, I hung it up. No defense against someone who isn't looking at the road at all.

I think the improper use of cell phones while driving is pretty rampant. No one should dial or text while moving and all conversation should be hands free. Eyes stay on the road, hands on the wheel.

The DOT.....

....says that using a cell phone while driving is the equivilent of driving while intoxicated. They have even tested drivers in automobile simulators both normal cell phones and hands free. The results were the same. Might as well be drunk.

Our minds are just not on the task at hand when driving and using a cell phone. Our mental image is not with the vehicle but rather with the person and subject which were are conversing with and about.

Soo....why in the hell don't we charge people with driving while using a cell phone? Fine them, take away their licence and if necessary put them in jail. Just like drunk drivers.

The facts are valid. Your neck is just as broken if I hit you while drunk or while talking on my cell.

Bob(I don't use the cell phone while driving and don't know how to text??? Whatever.)

THey should be fined and treated just like a drunk.

Here in the last two months there have been 6 kids killed in two accidents, both inwhich the driver was texting.

DOT gives a truck driver a 3,500 fine and the company they work for a 11,000 dollar fine for texting, should be for all.

We have the laws already don't need more it could fall under wreckless or intatentive driving with no problem.

My 0.02.

Cheyenne WY has a $600 fine for cell phone use while driving. It is posted as you enter the city.

They made it illegal here in Washington a year or two ago to use a non-hands-free cell phone while driving, but I still see it all the time. Not sure how much better hands-free cell use is anyway.
May be just as bad to talk with your passengers, then you're tempted to take your eyes off the road to look at them. I've heard a joke (?), some thing about the most dangerous vehicle is one in which 4 women are conversing.