An abrupt end to our camping season

[xaugievike]

Well....I should be sitting by a campfire enjoying some nice fall weather right now. We were going to try and take advantage of a 3-day weekend and get one last trip in for the 2013 season. Unfortunately, a drunk driver had other plans. (Me on the left)



I had just picked my daughter up from school and we were but 1/4 mile from home and hooking up when the oncoming vehicle began swerving wildly from curb to curb. I saw it coming but really had nowhere to go. I got myself slowed nearly completely and just took it in the nose.

Fortunately and thankfully my daughter and I were completely unharmed -obviously that's the most important thing....the truck can be fixed/replaced, and we will have more fun trips as a family soon.....

But I'm just sitting here stewing about having the weekend taken from us. Huge thanks to the firemen, paramedics, and police out there that read this. Your brothers that arrived to help us were friendly, helpful, and professional.

So to the rest of you out there.....post up some trip photos when you get back! Show me some good times!

Have fun out there and be safe everyone.

[EPenney]

xaugievike,

Glad you and your daughter are OK.

I feel your pain about the lost camping opportunity. On 6/12/13 my truck was T-Boned by a construction water truck while I was traveling at 65 MPH on I-5. We lost out on going on our big camping trip for the summer, and had to settle for a 5-day stay at an RV Park on the coast after the truck got out of a lengthy stay at the repair shops.

Good luck with getting your truck repaired.

[Crowe]

Life is too short to live in any kind of harsh thoughts towards others.

Thanks for being a little more eloquent than I was. I also meant no harm nor did I mean to be critical. When we live with hatred not only do we bring ourselves down but we bring down others around us as well. My mother got scr**wed over by my father when they got divorced. For a long time she hated. Everything. Me included. Got worse when I first started dating my husband (we are high school sweethearts). Then she realized the damage it was doing. Being human is about making mistakes and forgiving the people who make those mistakes, including ourselves.

OP, you should be able to get a copy of the police report of the accident that may have her BAC on it. Whether it's a little over the legal limit or a lot of the legal limit will not change things but I understand the curiosity. And you should be proud of yourself by setting a good example for your daughter. We reap what we sow.

[noe-place]

After spending a career trying to get these fools off the road I am not surprised to hear off the OPs "accident." These idiots have no regard for the justice system once caught and I can prove it. Most of the DUI's I put away are back out there driving on our local roads somewhere tonight just waiting for the next crash. If the fed would concentrate on ridding us of these killers instead of taking guns from taxpayers maybe the roads wouldn't be so dangerous. It's a matter of priorities I guess and the most important one to politicians is to get re-elected.

[Tachdriver]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
crickeydog,

But I got even with him. I got even big time!
I got on my knees and forgave him. I wish him no harm. He has enough already.

I have learned to look at the positive side of life, and be very thankful for what I have and to be very thankful that I can still hitch up my TT and drag it into a lake somewhere to enjoy the thing I love most in my leisure activity.

Life is too short to live in any kind of harsh thoughts towards others.

I choose to live my life appreciating what I can still do. And what I have that many others don't.

I hope you take this in the way it is intended, in friendship, in love of a fellow man. It is not intended any other way.

Life is good.

It takes a real man/woman to forgive that's for sure.

My neighbor lost their 11 year old up the street in a residential neighborhood from a drunk driver who had priors, she has been sentenced to 35 years and is incarcerated. I cannot imagine losing a child but no matter how miserable you can make it for the person it will never bring that child back. Seems that some people are bent on revenge do live in such bitterness that it will affect their health and livelihood.

To the OP, glad to hear no one was hurt and you can walk away from that, not every one does.

[Desert_Captain]

My bride and I recently took a drunk driver off the road. We saw her weaving all over and called 911. We hung back following for miles directing the police to her through the 911 operator. After her arrest I spoke with the arresting officer and he confirmed she was extremely incapacitated.

Everyone is responsible for their actions and for those of you who can forgive them good on you but so many drunk drivers are repeat offenders that have been "forgiven" by their prior victims. They continue to drive drunk and kill people and are enabled to do so by the lenient (insane judges), and the folks who have forgiven them. The paper is full of reports of people with multiple, 5,6 or more arrests for DUI and yet they are still out there unlicensed, uninsured and driving drunk. It is time for this country to take a stand and end the nonsense. :M

[wa8yxm]

Francesca Knowles wrote:
Whew!- Glad you're O.K., and sorry to hear about the lost weekend. I know how it is...

Side note:

I'm actually a little disturbed that your air bags didn't deploy, especially since hers did. It's my understanding that speed-of-impact is key, and that's not just related to how fast you're going, but the speed of the other vehicle.

Do please make sure that part of your system is checked out while the rig's in the shop.

It is not speed it is G-Force (Acceleration). and his big truck "Absorbed" much more of the impact (Suffered less acceleration) than the drunk's little car did.

Also he can be glad the air bags did not deploy.. In my time as a police dispatcher and since I have heard of ONE accident where air bags deployed and the people in the car they deployed in were not injured.. .Yet many accidents with comparable size vehicles where, like the O/P here. no deployment, no injury.

What caused the injuries when the bag deployed.. The bag, of course.

[xaugievike]

BobsYourUncle wrote:

xaugievike wrote:

Front is punched pretty good, but fenders look fine, panel gaps are normal. Definitely torched I think the tranny cooler (front-most piece in front of the radiator). May have also punched the radiator too. Coolant was everywhere. There's a lot up there though, we will see I guess.

Your truck is pretty much the same up front as mine, aside from the GMC / Chevy difference.

Here is a picture of mine with the front end off of it.



You can see the trans cooler at the bottom front.
The next radiator you see there is the intercooler rad.
Then if you look behind that one you can see the engine radiator.

Mine got a new intercooler rad and rad support but the other two were ok.

Yeah -the tranny cooler is shredded for sure and there is some stuff into the intercooler. Cant really tell if it penetrated or not though....plus i cant see down to the lower parts that are covered by the pushed in bumper. The hood is pushed up, but doesnt appear bent and the fenders are actually fine. hoping the front frame sections didn't bend (or maybe i do?) and from what I looked at I dont see anything. I have a little concern about the steering wheel/column b/c I went hulkamania in bracing myself and felt like it moved in a weird way. I'll also want (demand) new seatbelts to replace the mine and the one my daughter was wearing.

[xaugievike]

All of you have given me a lot to think about - and I do appreciate it.

To say that I totally kept my cool would would be understating things - after making sure my daughter and I were OK, I jump out to check if she was OK (and that was when I was able to tell how well and truly tanked she was - i am very curious to hear what her level was, it has to have been astronomical). I suppose one regret I have is that nobody was there to write down some of the things I called her....I think I had a few good ones in there, but it was the adrenaline talking...

but really what good would it have done for me to rage even further. The woman probably woke up Saturday morning not knowing where she was or what happened......and at what point do I cross a line and get into trouble myself? And at that point it becomes ME who takes even more away from my own kid. She's 6 years old, and the only thing she really knows is that "daddy was really mad" - at least she didnt see me totally lose it. I'm as big a meat-head as most guys come, had it been a man in the other car, especially if he could have gotten out I cant say what would have happened for sure...but thats just me overanalyzing things in retrospect.

To those of you who have been in similar situations I appreciate your perspective (and I too am happy you're here to share). Crickeydog I appreciate yours as well. I AM furious. Furious, disappointed, grateful, and maybe even a bit scared. NoDine made mention of it being good that it was us and that we are unhurt so that someone down the road, maybe a pedestrian, didnt get it worse. I've thought about that as well - "taking one for the team" so to speak. there is actually a little comfort in that for me too.

[nodine]

xaugievike wrote:
Fortunately she is insured it appears.....so that's good.

Curious to hear about my truck (which, by the way, fared WAY better than her half-ton did).... Front is punched pretty good, but fenders look fine, panel gaps are normal. Definitely torched I think the tranny cooler (front-most piece in front of the radiator). May have also punched the radiator too. Coolant was everywhere. There's a lot up there though, we will see I guess.

We are certainly glad you and your daughter are OK. Judging from your description of the other driver I would guess you and your family gave up your camping weekend and had your truck damaged to save at least one live. If that girl had continued down the street she could have easily ran over a child or a senior citizen. Even if they were on the side walk because it sounds like she would eventually have ran up on the sidewalk.

Bob

[nremtp143]

I too am glad you guys are ok! I've been a medic for 27 years now and see this day in and day out. It is usually the sober driver's that end up hurt most of the time. Again, glad you weren't. As for the airbags, in this instance you probably should be glad they didn't deploy. For one, the impact may have been a stout, but it still wasn't that high of a speed to do the damage I see in the pic. I AM IN NO WAY DISCOUNTING THE WRECK AT ALL! Just pointing out that the fact that, if the bags had deployed, without the truck damage making it to the crumple zones, you could have been injured by the bag itself. When accidents happen at higher speeds, even with seatbelts, the occupant travels forward and is met by the airbag coming out at them. Even though they may have some facial 'burns" for the lack of a better term, the impact of the bag on the upper body is 'soft'. meaning occupants equate it to landing in a bed. If they remember it at all. at slower speeds, when they deploy, it is like getting punched in the face. At this speed, the occupant does not go forward very far and is met by a fully expanded airbag which has a 'punch' to it. Resulting in bruised facial tissue, busted lips, etc. I can't tell what model your truck is, whether it has the GenII airbags or not. They usually are a little slower and more forgiving airbag in slower crashes. Also, if the bags had deployed the expense to repair your vehicle just went up considerably considering the cost of each bag. Some cars we see, have very little damage to speak of, but the bags deployed making the cost vs. value ratio too high, and the vehicle is totaled. Please do not think I am making light of your accident at all, actually quite the opposite. Any impact can be serious for occupants. I am just glad yours was no worse than it appears to be in this pic. There is probably more damage than we can see in this pic like damage at the door/fender/windshield lines. Again, I am glad you weren't injured and I hope the drunk driver is made to pay both monetarily and socially for the accident. I wish we could find an absolute way to stop people from driving drunk, but they do it everyday regardless of the possible consequences. I hope you get your vehicle repaired soon and it is repaired to your liking. Happy camping days are still ahead as you are still able to camp. Just may be delayed a little.

[mlts22]

For the OP: If your daughter is injured in any way, that might be an injury to a child criminal charge. I'd have her checked thoroughly out at the doctor's at the opposing driver's insurance expense.

One good thing -- the drunk driver didn't try to drive off. Here in Austin, if a drunk its something (or someone), they almost always will try to drive off in hopes of not getting caught. They will take the risk of a hit and run charge almost always.

[BobsYourUncle]

crickeydog,

If I could just make a little comment, meant totally in good faith, with a smile on my face and a friendly hand on your shoulder:

I know we all react differently to these things because we are all very different people.

It is easy to lash out either verbally, physically or on the keyboard to somebody who has slighted us in some way, whether it be big or small.

I detest drunk drivers, big time, especially after the twenty thousand dollar hit my truck took on October 18, 2012. Yeah I like a drink myself - most of us do from time to time. If I have one sip of a beer, I WILL NOT get behind the wheel, under any circumstances. period.

There are others that feel differently and think nothing will happen. They will be careful. They will avoid busy traffic. etc etc etc. But! They are impaired, make poor decisions and the end result is what the OP posted here or in my case the thread I posted nearly a year ago.

I understand wanting to make them pay pay pay for their indiscretions. But sometimes we need to look beyond that and realize that everyone has a life to live and is in a different place in living. There are many lessons to learn from things like this.

I lost my father and stepmother in a grisly head on crash that killed them both instantly. Not their fault. My first reaction was rage, big time rage, wanting to "get even". But after I calmed, I had to teach myself to accept that I cannot bring them back by any amount of retaliation to the woman who crossed the center line and hit my dads car head on. This was May 20, 1994. I learned a lot from that lesson. I forgave the woman. It was hard but I got on my knees one evening.

The main thing with this incident here is that nobody was hurt. Trucks can be replaced. Human lives cannot.

I wasn't so lucky. I have lost a lot of work time, a lot of money and I am still tangled up with lawyers and insurance and blah blah blah. I am still going to physio and chiro. I hurt. I hurt a lot sometimes but it is not up to me to decide what I should be paid back or compensated. That will come out one day in the future.

At the scene of the crash, the first thing I did was walk over to the remains of a Mazda Protege and help the drunk get out of the wreckage. I made sure he was ok, nothing broken etc. I phoned him 3 times in the following weeks to make sure he was ok. He is a human being, like you and I. Yeah he chose to drive drunk and could have killed someone, no question about it. He has to pay back 20 grand to our provincial insurance company. He has to pay back the 2800 or whatever it was for my rental truck. He lost his car, as his insurance is invalid because of being drunk.

Safe to say he has a lot of trouble on his plate for driving while impaired. I sincerely hope he has learned something of value.

But I got even with him. I got even big time!
I got on my knees and forgave him. I wish him no harm. He has enough already.

I have learned to look at the positive side of life, and be very thankful for what I have and to be very thankful that I can still hitch up my TT and drag it into a lake somewhere to enjoy the thing I love most in my leisure activity.

Life is too short to live in any kind of harsh thoughts towards others.

I choose to live my life appreciating what I can still do. And what I have that many others don't.

I hope you take this in the way it is intended, in friendship, in love of a fellow man. It is not intended any other way.

Life is good.

[dave17352]

Prisons are over crowded now if u put every dui in prison for 1 year your states tax rate would sky rocket to pay for all the free room and board. Dui is no joke just saying......

[Jarlaxle]

Escargot wrote:
Mandatory 1 year prison term for drunk drivers. Period. The end!

No...15-20 first offense, death for the second. BAC for it should be .001%.