Bummer Rocket,

Is there a reason that you could not have steered around him to your right? Did you get fixated?

The accident avoidance technique that is the opposite of fixation is one of the topics for my next defensive driving talk at SF06.

Happy to learn that you are OK and that it was relatively minor.

I am looking forward to meeting you at the "Buckeye run".

 

Matt, the driveway is very narrow and I would have probably done some amount of damage trying to go off the road to avoid him. I also made the incorrect assumption that if I completely stopped my forward motion he would react in time *sigh*.

His insurance company (Progressive) sent and adjuster today to asses the situation. They're about to cut a check in the amount of $1,047 to my mom. I'm trying to get ahold of our wonderful friend at Ganley to see what his take on the situation is.

P.S. - yes i know not to sign or endorse anything until all is said and done

EDIT: If finances allow, I'm gonna get an Amuse front lip. Might as well try and make the best of a bad situation and sexy the car up a lil.

 

Please don't take this wrong, because I've been unable to find the horn button in a panic, but isn't this the reason we have a horn? I know it's one of the reasons I replaced the wimpy '00 horn with Hella Supertones.

As I said, please don't take this as a flame, because I once watched a pickup back into my brand new Integra as the lady I let drive it fumbled with the gearshift trying to move the car and I tried to hit the horn button from the passenger seat; unfortunately, I'm of an age where I expected the center of the steering wheel, not two tiny buttons in the spokes, to sound the horn. I finally sounded the horn, and the dipshit kept backing up without looking for the source of the honking horn.

At least no one was hurt, the at-fault driver was cited, and he had insurance. You may not always be so lucky.

 

I didn't have the presence of mind to hit the horn untill right before the impact. The moment I got the idea was the moment I realized that he no longer had time to avoid me. I think my lenghty description gives a false sense of time to the occurance. From the time I firts saw him to the time we were standing outside of our cars was probably about 10 seconds.
I should get in the habit of using the horn, but I'm in the habit of revving my engine at friends and family rather than laying into our wimpy stock horn, lol.

 

It's interesting that you hesitated to use the horn. My son, Andrew, who just got his license also hesitates. While he was learning to drive, and since hes gotten his license, there have been occasions where he should have used the horn. Each time he failed to and when I asked why, he said that he didn't think of it.

 

Rocket's accident photos