So Monday morning I was on my way to work taking my usual route and I looked to the left and the lady that hit me was probably about a hundred yards away so I looked to the right and there was nothing coming, so I looked to the left one more time as I was rolling out and she was right on top of me,she shouldn't of gotten that close within the 2 seconds it took me to turn my head if she was doing the 30 mph speed limit. Anyway here's the scene and aftermath. Also tell me if that looks like 30 mph worth of damage. It's totaled.

 

Assuming the vehicle that hit you was traveling at exactly 30mph and was exactly 100 yards away when you first saw it, it would take that vehicle just under 7 seconds to reach you (6.82 to be exact). Now, let's walk through how that time is spent.

We'll also assume it took you 2 seconds to look each direction because of what you stated before. There goes 4 of the seconds before the car hits you, leaving you with 2.82 seconds. You take another 0.5 seconds to a full second to decide it's safe to pull out of the intersection, leaving you with only 1.82-2.32 seconds before impact. Let's take the average and say you have 2.07 seconds before impact at this time (when you actually put your foot on the pedal).

Because you are in a 30mph zone, it's safe to assume you didn't pull out into the intersection with heavy acceleration. It's also safe to assume you stopped short of the exact point where the intersection occurs, otherwise you would've been hit while you sat still. I can get into the math of it all and make some assumptions about your actual rate of acceleration if you'd like, but you can see where it's certainly plausible for the car traveling at 30mph to hit you if it was only 100 yards away when you first saw it.

And this is why drivers should always be taught to look left, right, and left again before leaving an intersection.

 

I have to say that a vehicle moving 30 mph can do significant damage. I am by no means a expert but that damage does not appear to be outside of what I would expect for a 30 mph impact. A lot has to do with the weight of the other vehicle too.

 

Hate to say it but you should have looked left again BEFORE rolling out. Glad you aren't hurt, sucks about the truck.

 

I got rear ended last week by a car going about 25-30mph. The damage to your truck is definitely plausible for a car going at that speed.

 

It truly does suck, I hate that it happened this way it's my baby. I will have another soon and I will be much more careful with it and not take anything for granted. That was my first wreck and let me say it was one hell of a ride. I still have a headache (possibly a concussion) and my back is still sore, but other than that I'm good, I haven't been behind the wheel since (it's only day two) I've been having my girlfriend drive when we go somewhere because I'm still a little scared right now. Here's the other car.

 

Be my guest, not being a smartass but any information you have could educate me more and prevent this from happening again. If you need any more information let me know, I'll be as specific as possible

 

3 words.

Man that sucks.

By the looks of your truck you really liked it too,looks like it had a grill, some headlights and rims at least.

 

You just described me, taillights too. I'm about to cry again thanks man. It was my baby, even if I replace it which I will, it wont be that one. I'm not giving it up to insurance, I can't bring myself to do that. The engine and drivetrain are still good, just frame and front end damage. It's undriveable, the radiator is crushed between the block and bumper. I'm still caught off guard when I pull in the driveway and see it.

 

The math and details about where you stopped at the intersection, your acceleration, etc. really aren't that important at this point because I've already made the case that it's certainly possible for the car to have hit you and still be under the posted speed limit. Cars may not appear to be going as fast as you think when you're sitting in another car, but ride a motorcycle or stand on the shoulder of a highway and you'll see a much different perspective.

The most important thing for you to do in the future is to look left, right, and left again before you pull out into an intersection. Look 3 times if you have to. It may seem counter-intuitive, but most accidents like yours (pulling out in front of someone) occur on the driver's side of the vehicle for this very reason. My wife makes fun of me sometimes because I usually wait much longer for cars to pass than she does, but guess who's never been hit in an intersection.

 

It's not really lack of knowledge or skill that got me, I was late for work and ended up being an hour late and showing up in a lyft instead of 3 minutes because I was rushing it. I usually do look a few times, but like I said this time I was rushing it. Luckily this time it only cost a truck and not my life. I will be much careful next time because for a first accident, it sure as hell hurt. I'm still very upset when I pull in the driveway and see my baby like that. When I can get a couple friends to help me push it, I'm gonna hide it in the car shed out back (it used to be for tools and parts, now my first ranger) also my airbags didn't go out, should they in that collision?

 

The airbags didn't go off in either car in the accident I was in last week, so I guess the answer to your question is "no." Although I was really surprised the airbags didn't deploy in the car that hit me since the damage was so bad and the impact was square on the front end. It must take much more of an impact for the airbags to deploy than I thought.

 

I was wondering because a lot of people have complained about 01s and airbag sensors not working, there's even been a recall about it, I guess it's a little late now to act on it.

 

Since this is your first wreck, I suggest recording everything you remember from the wreck.

Keep any and all paper work for the wreck especially the pictures.

Some people have the tendency to wait just before the statue of limitations run out to file a suit against you and the insurance company.

I know this from experience from my first wreck as well.

Since I had no paper work, pictures my insurance company and I were bent over.

 

I'm pretty sure me and state farm got it handled, they said since the police report is incorrect, oh yeah did I mention the police didn't talk to me at all, they only asked me what happened that's it, weird right? Anyway they said its best for me to accept responsibility for the accident to avoid any lawsuits, they said they know what really happened because of the dash cam I have, the police also wouldn't accept that, and they'll keep my rates the same to the best of their ability, so I think I got out of this one pretty good, but I guess it's not over until the statute of limitations says it's over.

 

Seen couple of wreck on 30mph close to that, really sucks to have that kind of accident. Still glad no one is hurt.

 

Thanks mate, I'm going to attempt to fix it, I got a guy that can help me straighten out the frame, and we also have certifit for parts, I call it sortafit because you always have to drill extra holes or something, I'm going to strip it down this weekend and see what I'm working with.

 

Well the ranger is f****d, I brought a Explorer, 2nd gen, at the end of last week. I wanted another Ranger but the Explorer was to good of a deal to pass up, and its almost the same as a Ranger from what I hear, my sound system, wheels and tire can go over to it, I'm trying to find a body lift for it, has anyone had any luck lifting an Explorer or Ranger via Torsion Bars? If you need any info on the truck to answer these questions, I will be happy to provide it.