Today my father was in an accident - he was driving home from a local gas station - which the speed limit on that road is 50 mph, it drops from 55 to 50 just before the station. So he's driving but someone in front of him is making a left on a side street so he comes to a stop.

Meanwhile, a teenager driving with 3 other people in the car doesn't see him stopped until last minute, they were going faster than 50, however she did try to stop last minute. The driver wasn't 17 yet, in Ohio you're only allowed one other passenger that isn't a family member until you turn 17. My dad said he saw them in the rear view mirror all talking, one in the backseat had her head between the seats, etc. He knew they weren't going to stop but he had no way to get out of the way. He always wears his seat belt though.





It's a shame the young driver didn't take other measures - if it were me I'd be turning to the right, I'd rather put my car in a ditch and destroy mine rather than hit someone else, but she probably couldn't think that fast. The good news is she'll loose her license until she is 18. However, all the girls in the car were ok, they had seat belts on. My dad is fine too, he's resting at home, he banged his knee on the dash after impact and his back hurts but nothing too major, he should be back to normal in a week.

This is why cops NEED to enforce this more, it is a LAW after all. This happens all to often, last year I almost got rear ended under the same circumstances but the driver of the car braked hard and hopped the curb so I wasn't hit, but my dad wasn't as lucky.

 

glad hes ok, when i read the thread title i thought it was the monte that got rear ended :p
that sucks tho

 

Ouch, he is GOING to be in a lot of pain tomorrow. Getting rear-ended that hard hurts, a lot!

Hopefully he doesn't get anything serious from this.

 

DANG! i hope he's ok . . . whiplash is a b****. I also thought it was the monte that got it. I would normally insert a "crappy" ford/mercury joke here, but it's no fun when parent's are hurt, hope everything works out buddy

 

Best wishes bud, glad it wasn't much worst.

 

Oh we figure that, I told him to take 2 Advil every 6 hours, it should help until he goes in to the doctors tomorrow morning.

HEY! I've got a Furd too buddy! Ha, thanks Brett.

 

you bet

 

Tell him to at least pop an ibprophen. He's going to be sore for a couple of days.

Back when I was about 21, an 18 year old him me at 45MPH (me waiting to make a left hand turn). I just heard the screech of the brakes, muttered "Oh Sh**" and that's it. If I could have thought faster, I should have slammed the gas and tried to go forward, I know he would have made contact, but the car may have survived. Here's what it looked like in impound ('93 Buick Century in May of 2001, had the car roughly 6 months so I no longer had to drive the Camaro in the winter):


My glasses were found in the back seat of the car, my ash tray and the coins I kept in it were all over the place and the floor pan was rippled.

BTW - That law of drivers under 17 can only have 1 passenger must be a newer one. Back when I got my license, it did not matter.

I understand your concern enforcing that law, but in all honesty, how can they? You MUST have probable cause to pull someone over. Probable cause is NOT I "think" the driver is too young with too many passengers. Also, keep in mind, that's only one part of many pieces to young drivers doing wrong. You have radios, cell phones, texting, not respectful of road laws and a list of other issues.

In this case, the girl made an error in judgement by not watching the road. I hope she learns her lesson regardless of what punishment she gets.

 

True, it just annoys me that when they finally try to crack down on kids to stop them from driving stupidly and they can't, and yeah, it's a new law. It all started over here in Medina, a kid was going up a street at almost 80mph around a hairpin turn, he overshot the road, hit a driveway/ditch and flipped the car, killing one passenger so her parents pushed for that law and some car simulators at Medina High school.

 

I hope your dad and everyone will be okay. The physical pain will come tomorrow. But the physical pain will eventually fade. The question is the psychological factor. Is your dad going to be paranoid of drivers behind him now? Hopefully not.

The girl driving needs to lose her licence, no doubt about that. But her reaction (or lack of action) in emergency avoidance is a sign of her inexperience behind the wheel. Taking her off the road eliminates the risk of an accident, but only until she gets her licence back when she's 18. Then she becomes an inexperienced 18 year old driver, instead of an inexperienced 16 year old driver.

What she needs is, to be forced to go to a driving school for some more advanced driving skillls. She needs to learn how to react in various situations, and how to avoid accidents in the first place. Admittedly, some of that is common sense. Like watch where you're going. But basically, I think she needs to get more training before she's allowed to get her licence back. Or else it'll just happen again two years from now.

Please wish your dad well for me. Hope he gets better, and back on the road soon!