So I was in a car accident yesterday...

[dalekphalm]

Uh.. You do know not everyone slams their brakes, right? And my reaction times are enough that yeah, I can brake and move to the side because I've had to do it enough times because drivers here are beyond dumb. A lot of streets here are at 40 or 55 MPH, I still leave at least a truck length between (mind you I'm going by the size of my truck, 6 meters) and have enough room to brake. Especially if I slam on the brakes, it stops quick. Also, leaving 5 lengths of space between you and the vehicle in front of you makes you an asshole in traffic like here Leave space but not that much.

Obviously most people don't slam their brakes, and under normal conditions you'll never have to... But that's not the point The point is that 1% situation where it's an emergency and you're avoiding an accident.

 

With 6 meters of room between you and the next car, for city driving, that could be adequate, but man you gotta be quick and you can't be distracted at all with that little room.

 

As for Highway driving, yeah 5 car lengths... In fact, that's WAY under the recommended amount. You're supposed to leave a 2 to 3 second gap between you and the guy in front of you while on the highway. At 60 MPH that's 500 to 800 meters (That's 1600 to 2600 feet for you 'muricans). That's 50 to 80 Meters - which is about 160 to 260 Feet. (Sorry, online calculator I was using was using a weird number of decimal points and it threw me off).

 

And why would that make you an asshole? You're still driving at the same speed as everyone else, just easing off if someone merges in front of you.

[cae]

Uh.. You do know not everyone slams their brakes, right? And my reaction times are enough that yeah, I can brake and move to the side because I've had to do it enough times because drivers here are beyond dumb. A lot of streets here are at 40 or 55 MPH, I still leave at least a truck length between (mind you I'm going by the size of my truck, 6 meters) and have enough room to brake. Especially if I slam on the brakes, it stops quick. Also, leaving 5 lengths of space between you and the vehicle in front of you makes you an asshole in traffic like here Leave space but not that much.

 

I have a pretty maneuverable car with a really good stopping distance and I still leave plenty of space. My stopping distance from 100kph is around 35m, average length of a car around ~5m, so about 7 car lengths. Factor in reaction time and even higher speeds on the freeways and the gaps widen.

 

 

As for Highway driving, yeah 5 car lengths... In fact, that's WAY under the recommended amount. You're supposed to leave a 2 to 3 second gap between you and the guy in front of you while on the highway. At 60 MPH that's 500 to 800 meters (That's 1600 to 2600 feet for you 'muricans).

 

I agree that more space is needed, but not nearly that much. That'd be nearly half a mile or one kilometer at the extreme.

[Foxxer]

Based on my trips to Dubai.. It should be 55 lol

Yep, crazy mofos here.

[SeriouslyMikey]

Should be more careful. 

[dalekphalm]

I have a pretty maneuverable car with a really good stopping distance and I still leave plenty of space. My stopping distance from 100kph is around 35m, average length of a car around ~5m, so about 7 car lengths. Factor in reaction time and even higher speeds on the freeways and the gaps widen.

 

 

 

 

I agree that more space is needed, but not nearly that much. That'd be nearly half a mile or one kilometer at the extreme.

Well consider that at 100 KM/h you're still driving at over 27 meters per SECOND! Granted, 800 meters is way more than enough (As I said, that's the government recommended safety practice). Just posting a correction - the online calculator I was using posted a strange number of decimal points. 2 to 3 seconds would be 50 to 80 meters, not 800 meters

 

So yeah, 50 to 80 meters is spot on with what I was approximating in my head as what I'd consider pretty damn safe. Apologies for the calculation mistake.

[felixthemaster1]

I'm glad we have free healthcare

[AlwaysFSX]

Obviously most people don't slam their brakes, and under normal conditions you'll never have to... But that's not the point The point is that 1% situation where it's an emergency and you're avoiding an accident.

 

With 6 meters of room between you and the next car, for city driving, that could be adequate, but man you gotta be quick and you can't be distracted at all with that little room.

 

As for Highway driving, yeah 5 car lengths... In fact, that's WAY under the recommended amount. You're supposed to leave a 2 to 3 second gap between you and the guy in front of you while on the highway. At 60 MPH that's 500 to 800 meters (That's 1600 to 2600 feet for you 'muricans). That's 50 to 80 Meters - which is about 160 to 260 Feet. (Sorry, online calculator I was using was using a weird number of decimal points and it threw me off).

 

And why would that make you an asshole? You're still driving at the same speed as everyone else, just easing off if someone merges in front of you.

Because leaving a lot of space means you're going to get cut off because you're usually going slower than the traffic. If you leave too much space you're allowing yourself to be cut off waaaaaaaaaay easier than you need to be. Also, I've asked many driving instructors why you're supposed to leave so much space in front of you and all them say so you have braking distance from the car in front of you in case of an emergency. A good driver is supposed to watch the traffic in front of the car ahead of them so you can preemptively brake if something happens. I see traffic a quarter mile ahead of me starting to brake I let off the gas and move to my brake and slow down, I see people cutting off someone a few cars ahead of me I brake before the people in front of me start to because they over react and hit their brakes hard. I don't need 30 meters of space in front of me because I know when I need to slow down by looking ahead of me.

[dalekphalm]

Because leaving a lot of space means you're going to get cut off because you're usually going slower than the traffic. If you leave too much space you're allowing yourself to be cut off waaaaaaaaaay easier than you need to be. Also, I've asked many driving instructors why you're supposed to leave so much space in front of you and all them say so you have braking distance from the car in front of you in case of an emergency. A good driver is supposed to watch the traffic in front of the car ahead of them so you can preemptively brake if something happens. I see traffic a quarter mile ahead of me starting to brake I let off the gas and move to my brake and slow down, I see people cutting off someone a few cars ahead of me I brake before the people in front of me start to because they over react and hit their brakes hard. I don't need 30 meters of space in front of me because I know when I need to slow down by looking ahead of me.

Except you can't possibly always know when traffic will suddenly break. What if a Deer jumps out in front of the car in front of you. They move so fast that in all likelihood, the car in front of you will have already hit it before your brain even processes that you just saw a deer jump out.

 

You might not need 30 meters most of the time, but you're not doing it for "most" of the time. You're doing it for those rare emergency moments.

[Hidden Orange]

Except you can't possibly always know when traffic will suddenly break. What if a Deer jumps out in front of the car in front of you. They move so fast that in all likelihood, the car in front of you will have already hit it before your brain even processes that you just saw a deer jump out.

 

You might not need 30 meters most of the time, but you're not doing it for "most" of the time. You're doing it for those rare emergency moments.

And then there's this.

 

Traffic is the most chaotic thing we deal with in our everyday lives.

[AlwaysFSX]

Except you can't possibly always know when traffic will suddenly break. What if a Deer jumps out in front of the car in front of you. They move so fast that in all likelihood, the car in front of you will have already hit it before your brain even processes that you just saw a deer jump out.

 

You might not need 30 meters most of the time, but you're not doing it for "most" of the time. You're doing it for those rare emergency moments.

I can judge it pretty well when you can see when cars move to other lanes, enter the street, etc. In a deer crossing area well no duh they're fast but generally those areas are two lane streets, just move off to the side. I don't know about the average person but I can react decently quick to things that happen in front of me.

[marioo1182]

Shouldn't your insurance cover it? The car is the least of your worries. 

What you should be worries about is being sued for things like medical bills.

We all make mistakes but I guess you've learned pretty quickly how much distance you need to keep haha.

I know here in Canada a repair for that would be around $1500

No idea what you would have to pay though.

 

Hopefully you can offer some assistance in the repair to lower the cost

 

Goodluck!

[dalekphalm]

Shouldn't your insurance cover it? The car is the least of your worries. 

What you should be worries about is being sued for things like medical bills.

We all make mistakes but I guess you've learned pretty quickly how much distance you need to keep haha.

I know here in Canada a repair for that would be around $1500

No idea what you would have to pay though.

 

Hopefully you can offer some assistance in the repair to lower the cost

 

Goodluck!

Depends on the local insurance laws. In Canada, having liability insurance is mandatory. Liability insurance is what pays for stuff when you get sued. Medical bills, emotional trauma, legal fees, etc.

 

As for the insurance covering his repairs, well that really depends on what plan he's got as well. If you don't have comprehensive and collision insurance, then all it covers is the cost of the other person if you are at fault. If the other driver is at fault, then insurance should cover it. He also likely has a deductible as well, since he's young - Higher deductibles mean lower rates, but you'd be liable for potentially up to $1000 of the repair bill every time anyway.

[marioo1182]

Depends on the local insurance laws. In Canada, having liability insurance is mandatory. Liability insurance is what pays for stuff when you get sued. Medical bills, emotional trauma, legal fees, etc.

 

As for the insurance covering his repairs, well that really depends on what plan he's got as well. If you don't have comprehensive and collision insurance, then all it covers is the cost of the other person if you are at fault. If the other driver is at fault, then insurance should cover it. He also likely has a deductible as well, since he's young - Higher deductibles mean lower rates, but you'd be liable for potentially up to $1000 of the repair bill every time anyway.

Oh I see. I'm from BC, how it works here is basically everything is covered I believe up a maximum of whatever you choose, min 1 million, most people choose 5 though.

However if you are in an accident and you are at fault your insurance goes way up.

[Jozi]

In my country 15yrs = tractor, moped license. 16yrs = light motorcycle, 18yrs = car, limited motorcycle license, 20/21 = unlimited motorcycle license T_T

[Snickerzz]

Legal age in the US. In some States you can start at 15.

 

Depends on height and maturity. I agree with you for the most part though. These people around highschools are fucking insane when they drive.

you can drive at 15 with a permit but you need to be with a parent

[Huginn]

In my country 15yrs = tractor, moped license. 16yrs = light motorcycle, 18yrs = car, limited motorcycle license, 20/21 = unlimited motorcycle license T_T

 

Same here, however you're allowed to drink beer when you're 16. And you can drink w/e you want when you're 18.

Anyway, this made me think of this 

Recently been on the news in Belgium, the BMW driver has had 12 charges so far, keeps driving like an idiot (gets really bad at 0:26). Point is, you have to be awake and be capable of braking all the time.

Also, I don't know how it's in America, but between the age of 18-28 insurance for cars are UNPAYABLE. They won't even insure a car if it's more than a 2l engine. If possible, NEVER get insurance involved. Exchange numbers, ID, go to a local garage and ask for a price to fix it. Pay that to the person, it saves you a lot of problems.

 

Also, money can solve everything but health problems. A friend of mine got in a car accident and now his left side is paralyzed, and he has difficulties speaking. It's only money you're losing.

[Chiggles01]

haha 16 and driving unsupervised. ppffft. come to australia.  you can do that stuff at 21 here.

[juretrn]

I show you a conducted test and you rebut with an anecdote? What do you think we're making cars out of? We've been using high-strength steel for a while now. Most body panels are not structural parts of the car, yet we still make them from steel. :huh:

http://youtu.be/qBDyeWofcLY

The guy you're quoting is obviously full of it.

How can you possibly compare a 20 year old car to new ones? That is truly beyond me.

[Leonard]

title says all. But there is one problem. Since the guy who shall remain anonymous slammed on his brakes and I hit him from behind, im at fault...

The car accident was somewhat minor, The guy I hit recieved some scratched paint and a good size dent but as you can tell by the pic I recieved quite a bit more...

 

 

and im only 16... so ya this is gonna be a big problem money wise... considering with my current job I only get $40 in my pocket each week after everything is payed for (insurance, gas, etc.)

 

 

and I know a lot of you will say "pics or it didnt happen" so here: http://imgur.com/Bl5DPID

Five words for you to fix your car........Gorilla Tape and Sharpie Marker!

 

Glad you and the other driver are ok though.

[dalekphalm]

The guy you're quoting is obviously full of it.

How can you possibly compare a 20 year old car to new ones? That is truly beyond me.

Agreed, the person who thinks older cars are safer doesn't understand physics, and WHY newer cars are built the way they do. I'm not surprised at all that the Renault beats that old Volvo. The guy (test dummy) in the volvo would more than likely lose both legs. AND an airbag would NOT have saved his legs.

 

Crumple zones are the safest way to build cars. Yeah, the newer car might get totalled, but YOU will survive to get a new one. In an older car, your odds of surviving without death (let alone other serious injury) is so much lower.

[Axypha]

[geforceftw]

This happened to my car... But i wasn't driving it my brother was, and now i don't have a car anymore (he still has a car)... https://imgur.com/a/Dx2Mk We still may fix it its ~$500 for all the parts i need.

 

Like @d3sl91 said you can get flashers and headlights for cheap on amazon. You can also get a fender for cheap too and a hood if you want one. I would go to a salvage yard or amazon. 

[geforceftw]

Same here, however you're allowed to drink beer when you're 16. And you can drink w/e you want when you're 18.

Anyway, this made me think of this 

 

Fuck that guy driving... People like that need have their license revoked.

[Huginn]

Fuck that guy driving... People like that need have their license revoked.

 

Saddening thing is that he has like 12 charges against him or something. It's a bit sketchy, wouldn't be surprised if it's some political bigshot. Or maybe a guy from another country who drives here. Can't really explain how he keeps getting away with it else, there's a new video of him doing the same exact stuff. Saw it in the news this afternoon, can't find it though.

[FireFox]

title says all. But there is one problem. Since the guy who shall remain anonymous slammed on his brakes and I hit him from behind, im at fault...

The car accident was somewhat minor, The guy I hit recieved some scratched paint and a good size dent but as you can tell by the pic I recieved quite a bit more...

 

 

and im only 16... so ya this is gonna be a big problem money wise... considering with my current job I only get $40 in my pocket each week after everything is payed for (insurance, gas, etc.)

 

 

and I know a lot of you will say "pics or it didnt happen" so here: http://imgur.com/Bl5DPID

 

At the end of the day mate it is your own fault, next time you'll manage a safe stopping distance when you drive next. I hope you've learnt from it.