OPINION
I mean
Published on June 17, 2008 By Big Fat Daddy In Misc

The light turned green, there wasn't any oncoming traffic so Fred started out to make his left turn. Just as he got into the intersection, he caught a movement in the corner of his eye...a big SUV was coming fast on the cross street to his left. He saw the SUV driver's astonished face.  Who had apparently forgotten that "Red means stop" or had stepped out of his mind for a second...in any case, he was doing the 45 mph speed limit and was micro-seconds from impact. Fred later told me that the only thought he had at that point was that this was gonna be BAD. And it was. Fred's trusty Taurus took it on the rear of the left front fender, just under the door post.

The SUV driver was immediately all over the place seeking forgiveness, promising to pay for everything, assuring Fred he was going to take care of EVERYTHING. And so far, he has. So...no harm, no foul. Except an 86 year old man had to spend the next week in the hospital with 7 broken ribs, a punctured and bruised lung, a dislocated shoulder and broken shoulder blade. Did you know they don't even put a cast on a cracked scapula?   "Just try not to move it around for the next 8 weeks or so."

The accident was a couple weeks ago and he is still on O2 until his lung capacity is 100% again. The pain is slowly receeding and Fred is shopping for a replacement car. I tried to talk him into a '06 GTO but he is too gas-price conscious. I asked him to consider what shape he would be in if he had been in some little hybrid. That caused him to pause, but not enough to buy the Goat.

There are a lot of left turn accidents here in the Swirling Epicenter, seems that Colorful State drivers can't quit get the hang of it. When I was out in a truck every day, there wasn't a day went by when some silly wouldn't turn in front of me. It is usually the turner's fault (unlike by pal, Fred). I have driven all over the world and have never seen a place like this, it seems to be a point of pride to see how close you can cut it. Left turns and stop lights. The local joke is: "How can you tell which car is the Texan?...He's the fourth one through the intersection after the light turns red". Locals here in the Swirl don't like Texans or Californians very much.

I was just visiting with Fred for a few minutes and I was thinking about traffic accidents...You know, the National Safety Council quit calling them "accidents"? They are "Crashes" now. Part of my duties when I was green (OD...not the tree-hugging shade) was to investigate crashes, report on them up the chain of command, and handle claims from local nationals - what ever nation we were in at the time. I got so tired of drivers telling me, "I never saw him coming". I finally started answering, "That's 'cause you can't see when your head is so far up your butt." Acci...crashes are rarely accidents...usually SOMEONE did something they shouldn't have. And it can be really funny listening to their explanations..."I had to swerve left then right before I hit him".

So. I thought I would start a new series about crashes I have seen, or investigated, or reported on. Some are funny, some sad. I wrote about Barnaby, a kid I liked that flew off the bridge over Kist in 1970. That was a sad one.

If you got a good one, share it with me...if not, I'll be sending one or two out soon.

 


Comments
on Jun 17, 2008

Sorry about Fred's acc...er, crash.  That is quite a lot of injuries he's got going there.  Hope he is getting some financial compensation for all the pain.

When I was a freshman in hs, my best friend was a senior.  She drove a brown Maverick.  She let me drive it all the time.  I wasn't a very good driver because I was just learning.

One day after a good rain I was driving on an old country road.  I was speeding and not paying close attention.  We came out of a 90 degree curve and I hit the grass....the road was between two steep grassy ditches.  We were going pretty fast.  I hit the ditch came back up the other side, went air born, and came down between two huge oak trees, taking out a couple bushes, a fence, hitting a house, then finally coming to rest in a barren field, where the engine block dropped.

My brother in the back seat suffered a broken arm, my friend a concussion, me just a heart attack.

She claimed she was driving so the insurance would cover it.

A few years later I joined the AF and one of my jobs was driving semi tractor trailers loaded with bombs and other explosives...hahahahaha.

 

on Jun 17, 2008
My sister knows well that you cant cast a scapula. Her arm was in a sling for weeks when she broke hers. And saying "dont move it" is almost equivalent to saying dont breath.
on Jun 17, 2008

I'm glad Fred survived!   I can't tell you how much these drivers where I am are such bad ones who are selfish and don't care who else is on the road!  You have to drive on the defense at all times!  I don't like crashes or accidents, I know no one does. I'll look forward to see how you present them for your readers.

on Jun 17, 2008

A few years later I joined the AF and one of my jobs was driving semi tractor trailers loaded with bombs and other explosives...hahahahaha.

Heeheeheeee.  The rules are very simple...always stay between the ditches and keep the shiny side up, dirty side down.

"My sister knows well that you cant cast a scapula. Her arm was in a sling for weeks when she broke hers. And saying "dont move it" is almost equivalent to saying dont breath. "
Yeah...they want him walking around and exercising the dislocated/relocated shoulder...the same one with the broken wing.  We love docs.
 "...who are selfish"
Bang on the money... 

 

on Jun 18, 2008
Aaaah, a subject where I’ve got too much experience. Did I ever tell you about the time I thought it would be an interesting experiment to cross my feet and operate the clutch with my right foot and the gas and brake with my left foot??? The conclusion was that I was a stupid teenager who still can’t always tell her right from her left. Thankfully most of the stupidity has cleared up since then   

I’m glad to hear Fred is doing okay and is having some luck finding a replacement car…might I suggest something of the little brown roller-skate variety…5-star crash test ratings and pretty good mpg for people without a lead foot????
on Jun 18, 2008

people without a lead foot????

Let me see if I can remember the quote exactly..."if he hadn't have had nitrous, I would have got him, too".  Sound familiar?

on Jun 19, 2008
Wellllllll, they're also good for people with lead feet/foots???
The mpg just goes down...................... a lot