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[Tuvoc]

And it would have never happened if my dad didnt wake my up an hour early to take some papers to his account. The traffic on I-77 was horrid and i was trying to get over to the right-most lane so I wouldnt have to change lanes when the traffic got worse. Well I looked into my mirror and saw a truck pretty close in the next lane over so I turned around to see how close it actually was. The guy in front of me hit his breaks and i turned around and hit my brakes too late and Boom! right into the back of his pickup doin about 35 in my gto. This sucks soo bad. Another deductible from the insurace company and a fuckin ticket to top it off.

 

[Gattsu25]

The worst accident I've had involved a hit and run (other guy peeled out) and a brief chase before my car dismantled itself...add a fucking badacle neck injury and I think I didn't fare too well...but I'm still alive so it all seems minor now, while I thought it was a HUUGE deal back then. As long as you are still in good health and are able to survive, money wise, you might as well be thankful that, in later years, this will all seem funny. I hope you manage well, and sucks about the ticket =\

 

[Maxwell House]

I don't mean to be too preachy, but you really shouldn't need to turn your head around to look at other cars. That is what mirrors are for. I was in an accident sort of like this because I used to always turn my head when I needed to change lanes, etc. I realized after that if you just always check your mirrors you shouldn't ever have to move your head to look behind you, etc.

 

[tedtropy]

Yeah, as much as it sucks now, once time passes and you get a little perspective, you'll just be glad you got out of it with all the usual organs intact. There's an odd feeling that comes over you when you smash up something as expensive as a car, later replaced by the realization of how trivial a thing it is compared to what could've been.

 

[AirBrian]

I don't mean to be too preachy, but you really shouldn't need to turn your head around to look at other cars. That is what mirrors are for. I was in an accident sort of like this because I used to always turn my head when I needed to change lanes, etc. I realized after that if you just always check your mirrors you shouldn't ever have to move your head to look behind you, etc.

Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't been in more accidents. They're called "blind spots" for a reason.

 

[Loki]

And it would have never happened if my dad didnt wake my up an hour early to take some papers to his account. The traffic on I-77 was horrid and i was trying to get over to the right-most lane so I wouldnt have to change lanes when the traffic got worse. Well I looked into my mirror and saw a truck pretty close in the next lane over so I turned around to see how close it actually was. The guy in front of me hit his breaks and i turned around and hit my brakes too late and Boom! right into the back of his pickup doin about 35 in my gto. This sucks soo bad. Another deductible from the insurace company and a fuckin ticket to top it off.

This is the same exact way that I got into my one and only accident about 4 years ago. Luckily it was during a merging situation near an on-ramp, so I wasn't going too fast (about 20 MPH or so) when I hit the guy in front of me, and he was in a huge pickup truck and was thankfully unharmed. Sorry to hear about it. : /

Not to preach or anything, but you really shouldn't need to turn your head around to look at other cars. That is what mirrors are for.

Unfortunately, you're screwed either way. You're supposed to take a quick glance to your side/rear after checking your mirror when changing lanes, because there's typically a blind spot there that the mirror doesn't cover. Your best bet is to make sure you never try to do this at high speeds and with a car anywhere near you in front. Very dangerous.

 

[tedtropy]

Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't been in more accidents. They're called "blind spots" for a reason.

Hah, yeah, the ghosts of several flattened motorcyclists would agree. You're suppose to glance towards the lane you're switching to. Mirror or no, there is a blind spot you need to check before switching.

 

[Zaptruder]

Hah, yeah, the ghosts of several flattened motorcyclists would agree. You're suppose to glance towards the lane you're switching to. Mirror or no, there is a blind spot you need to check before switching.

You can use the mirrors to check for blindspots; it's simply a case of shifting your head forwards to check more acute angles to the car's body. This way, the front stays in your periphial vision while the blindspot is taken care of.

 

[ToxicAdam]

I have probably had 3 close calls doing the same thing you did. Lucky, I'm a slow merger ... it lets people honk and cuss at me before I smash thier car.

 

[Doth Togo]

Screw the car. If you're ok, then be grateful you can walk away.

Cars and insurance can be handled. Losing a life or limb is no joke.

 

[Fragamemnon]

Maintaining a proper following distance *should* allow sufficient time to react even when looking at a blind spot. Note that a proper following distance can be affected by a few things-in this case, speed and traffic density/ability to see in front of the car ahead of you.

I'm not saying you were tailgating or anything, not by any means. But I never get used to seeing how many people think that a 1-1.5s differential on a crowded freeway is a "safe" following distance.

 

[Maxwell House]

No, you can check blind spots by only looking partly to the side, with the front always in your periphery. You never have to turn your head so much that the front isn't in your periphery at all times. That is the truth.

People who turn their head completely to the side or look completely back aren't using their mirrors correctly.

I have a friend who always turns his head completely to the side and a little back every time he switches lanes. He completely loses all sight of what is in front of him. It is really scary being in a car with him driving. Of course, I try to avoid being in his car as much as possible. There is no reason for him to need to drive like he does...he just doesn't know how to use his mirrors.

 

[fart]

glad everyone's ok

 

[miyuru]

Another way to check your blind spot is to do it with your mirror. Just pull yourself forward so the angle you see through your mirror is that of the original blind spot.

I don't use this technique but my friend says it works for him. It makes sense too, but I just don't feel comfortable leaning forward in my seat while holding the wheel

Regardless, anyone will tell you're supposed to shoulder check, so I don't blame you in this case man. That really sucks. I've been in the same situation except the person in front has never really braked like that. So when I think about it, I've just been lucky I'll drive more carefully from now on

 

[mrkgoo]

Yeah, I thought the point of the side mirrors was to be adjusted for the blindspots. Teh main rearview mirror actually covers most of the rear - you don't need to have side mirrors point to the same bits. I figured all the mirrors are supposed to cover everything - at any rate, you can deifnitely adjust side mirrors to cover the edge of your peripheral vision to the edge of the rear view, without having t turn your head. HAving said that, I'm a head turner.

 

[CrystalGemini]

And it would have never happened if my dad didnt wake my up an hour early to take some papers to his account. The traffic on I-77 was horrid and i was trying to get over to the right-most lane so I wouldnt have to change lanes when the traffic got worse. Well I looked into my mirror and saw a truck pretty close in the next lane over so I turned around to see how close it actually was. The guy in front of me hit his breaks and i turned around and hit my brakes too late and Boom! right into the back of his pickup doin about 35 in my gto. This sucks soo bad. Another deductible from the insurace company and a fuckin ticket to top it off.

That is EXACTLY what happened to me two years back. Only it was because my sister wanted to go shopping and I had just came back from my shift that started at 5am. It was during 5pm traffic so there was a lot of stop-and-go traffic on 580. That sucked. The dude even called the highway patrol. :-( They were pretty pissed that he called them for a fender bender though.