Got rear ended in my Miata on Monday - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

t walgamuth · #1 06-10-2010, 06:28 AM

I was on my way to work. There is a place where there is three lanes on fourth street with the left a turn left only, the center a turn left or go straight and the right a straight only. The cross street is Columbia a one way to the left. When I come up to that intersection I go in whichever looks to be less traveled.

On monday I came up in the center lane beside an old van in the turn left only lane and was turning left from the center lane when I had to stop for pedestrians crossing columbia street.

Whap!

The fellow in the van decided he wanted to go straight and apparently either did not see me at all or assumed I had turned and was not in his way.

It was a good firm hit but did not hurt much (my neck being short and thick and conditioned by four years of autocrossing with a helmet increasing the g forces)

.

I climbed out and said to him "You are in a turn only lane!". He said "Yes".

My tail light lense is broken, a dent above the taillight and the bumper cover was compressed and where it had been painted before the paint is all cracked and looks terrible. The damage looks really light, actually.

The van has a bumper pushed in at least 6" nearly dead center...surprising how weak those old heavy chevy truck bumpers are.

Fortunately there was a witness and he has insurance.

I am working to get my best deal on the repair work. I may do some of it myself.

LUVMBDiesels · #2 06-10-2010, 06:44 AM

WOW, sorry about that! At least you are OK and the car is not too bad. You would think a Chevy van would have done much more damage to a Miata.

Be careful about the neck for a few days.
If you start getting stiff go to a Dr.

dynalow · #3 06-10-2010, 08:26 AM

"Rear ended" in a Miata ????

Uh... Er.....Umm...

http://www.lapsincorporated.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453

Waiting for Aklim to weigh in.

TX76513 · #4 06-10-2010, 08:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dynalow

"Rear ended" in a Miata ????

Uh... Er.....Umm...

http://www.lapsincorporated.com/forum/showthread.php?t=453

Waiting for Aklim to weigh in.

OK, just got that - little slow this morning

catmandoo62 · #5 06-10-2010, 08:54 AM

i got in a head-on on monday in my jetta.pulling up to a stop sign,my roads a 2 lane city street,the cross street is an undivided 4-lane.just as i'm pulling up to the stop sign a 2005 ford roush pickup comes around the corner from the left,he's turning wide,really wide and coming right at me i have time to smack the horn button once and pull my hands off the wheel foot off the brake and brace for airbag.the guy was looking across the street at a new car lot while he was turning and wasn't even looking my way.he looked up about 5 nanoseconds before impact.hit me at about 7 mph or so.and the airbag surprisingly didn't go off.didn't do the jetta much good though,estimate came out just under 5k.so looks like i'll be looking for another one.

HuskyMan · #6 06-10-2010, 09:53 AM

I recently witnessed a merc 420SEL that had been rear ended by an eight ton dump truck that was traveling approx 60 MPH. the rear of the mercedes had collapsed up to the back most portion of the rear window. the driver of the benz WALKED AWAY with few injuries.

wonder how well a mazda miata would fare if rear ended by an eight ton dump truck doing 60 mph??

t walgamuth · #7 06-10-2010, 10:04 AM

I try not to drive in front of Those!

Jim B. · #8 06-10-2010, 10:19 AM

Tom,

~~~Daily diary of how you feel physically, for awhile.

~~~Obtain rental car on other guy's insurance company's dime, (direct billed to his insurance company)

~~~Post loss appraisal on the car

~~~Demand HIS insurance company pay up, do NOT use yours, and then have them subrogate,

~~~Brief MD visit, bill direct to adverse party's Insurance company

DieselPaul · #9 06-10-2010, 10:38 AM

My buddy just rolled his NA, first it was old benzes, now Miatas are dropping like flies!

Sorry to hear man.

pj67coll · #10 06-10-2010, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

wonder how well a mazda miata would fare if rear ended by an eight ton dump truck doing 60 mph??

I would think that it couldn't rear end such a vehicle as the whole miata would just dissapper under the trucks chassis.

- Peter.

TylerH860 · #11 06-10-2010, 10:43 AM

I wouldn't start telling people that around the water cooler if I were you.

SwampYankee · #12 06-10-2010, 11:04 AM

Sorry to hear that, Tom. Glad to hear you're ok, at least so far. I think Jim has the right idea, though. Better to be safe now than sorry later!

And some folks here seem to be not quite comfortable with their manhood, I guess.

Kudos for not being one of them!

HuskyMan · #13 06-10-2010, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pj67coll

I would think that it couldn't rear end such a vehicle as the whole miata would just dissapper under the trucks chassis.

- Peter.

that is a scary thought.....the driver would probably be decapitated in the process as well. no thanks, I"ll stick with a benz or a volvo. at least both benz and volvo make safety a priority.

not only does an eight ton dump trucks get my attention, but so do 18 wheelers traveling 10 to 20 mph over the speed limit while eating my rear bumper. I'll usually floor board the car and try and put some distance between me and the truck. I think the truckers should have on board governors that force them to stay within the speed limits. at the very least.

SwampYankee · #14 06-10-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

I think the truckers should have on board governors that force them to stay within the speed limits. at the very least.

Some of the big carriers already do. IIRC Swift Trucking (ironically

), J.B. Hunt, and Schneider do. It will probably come to that. Can't help but wonder could passenger vehicles be next?

A lot of carriers do average speed tracking via GPS. They don't pay if you average over their limit (many seem to be 62-63 mph) and subsequently removed if it occurs on a regular basis.