My first "Accident"

[mtpanorama]

It had to happen, i was finally involved in my first "accident" today. I have been driving for nearly 15 years and have had a few near misses, but it finally went crunch today.
Now it wasnt my fault and a lot of you will find in very amusing when i tell you where it happened. It was in the Dipper on Mt Panorama. I was filling in a bit of time and decided to take Natalie for a little drive around the track. I was doing the speed limit and having a nice drive. Came down thru the dipper at about 5okm/h and as i started to take the left hander a white Vl dunnydoor come at me on my side of the road at at least 80km/h or more. I had a quick move to the left (after looking the passenger straight in the face, boy was she scarred) and he managed to move left a bit, but caught the front right of my car with his drivers door. The impact sent his sideways across the road and into a tyre barrier they use for the hill climbs.

The airbag went off in my car, and i have the imprint of the stitching in my arm from it. It will need a new front bar, radiator, guard, bonet, and the front wheel is back about 6 inches and pointing out at 90 degrees to the car. I will go and have a better look on Monday.

Now this is the best bit. The ******** had only had his licence for three days, had three of his mates in the car and the copper only fines him for crossing onto the incorect side of the road. So he will not even loose his licence. And they wonder why there are so many idiots on the road.

Thankfully myself or my daughter were not hurt, and none of the others were either.

[Morris 1100]

What a pain in the arse!

Well now you can tell stories about your big prang in the Dipper! (I did mine in a race though)
Glad you were not in the Mini! (it would have hurt)
Proves the sort of idiots that drive Commodores!

If you get your insurance company to push the Police they may get a Neg driving charge for the Boofhead.
The worry is that the other driver may get his company to take you on as he was not charged for "neg driving" so get in first!

Glad you and your daughter are OK.

Congrats on the signature!

[marcus]

damm , bad luck Mount, it is a very tight piece of road just there and since I was just up there a few weeks ago its still frrsh in my memory , but it sure sounds like it could have been alot worse.

the amount of damage you have recieved is also a shame (what kind of car are you driving???)

I was just having a chat the other day about airbags as I have one but have never seen one go off , I think it would scare the heck out of ya and what happens to the actual steering wheel that is covering the airbag ???

yep Id say get in and try and get the guy for as much as you can , if nothing else it may just teach the guy a good lesson and he may think twice about being an idiot again.

[Lee Janotta]

Originally posted by marcus
I was just having a chat the other day about airbags as I have one but have never seen one go off , I think it would scare the heck out of ya and what happens to the actual steering wheel that is covering the airbag ???

The steering wheel actually splits open along that seam in the middle.

I think they're a menace. They give idiots who don't wear their belts one more barrier between themselves and Darwinian theory, and if yours goes off while the car's still moving... Well, if you might've avoided hitting something else beforehand, no way you're gonna be able to avoid it now!

I don't know about there, but they're mandatory here.

Give me a 5-point harness any day (one more reason I'd rather build a kit car).

[mtpanorama]

Marcus,
I drive an EL XR6 Falcon. The road isnt too narrow up there if both people are doing the speed limit and are on their own side of the road!!!!!!!!

I really didnt notice the airbag go off, the sound of impacting metal sort of drowned out the airbag noise. The first i really noticed the airbag was when i wondered what the smoke and horrible smell was in the car, then i saw the airbag and realised thats what it was. My daughter said "whats the smoke daddy". It smells really bad, i would hate to be trapped in a car after one had gone off, it was hard to breath for only the short time i was in the car.
I also noticed today that the hair on both my forearms is slightly singed, from the airbag.
I still dont think that it was nessecary for it to go off in my prang. The impact was more of a heavy glance off the side of the car, and not a full frontal hit. The airbag made no difference to my safety in the prang.

[DAVID PATERSON]

A real shame Shane.

Make sure you don't come out of this on the wrong end of hs insurance company.

Does anyone think that particluar bit of road would be safer if it was made a one way street?

[marcus]

yeah Dave I believe thats a good idea , I actually did a lap going the other way while I was up there and the amount of people that were cutting corners and such was amazing its just a big accident waiting to happen.

interesting stuff about the airbags there mount , guess i really dont wanna see mine going off.
I think it depends on G forces or something , maybe your crash while not majorly serious could of actually had more of an impact thatn you thought , I dont know what limits have to be put on the car before one does but I know a mechanic who when airbags first came out had to be carefull with his rattle gun undoing tyres because they were set to low , I guess these days they have just about perfected the science of it , but a real shame if it goes off for no reason or a light contact cause from what I hear they are very expensive to replace

[Lee Janotta]

They're ridiculously expensive, and are targets for thieves as a result.

It's cheaper to get a nice MOMO replacement wheel!

[Wrex]

Sorry to hear that Mount but very glad Nat's ok (and you I guess).

If you were driving a real car, this could have been avoided.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Wrex, having driven through the dipper 20 times quite recently I can assure you that no car would avoid the accident Shane suffered. There is absolutely no where else to go, the road is very narrow and the edge of the road on both sides is a concrete wall.

[kristof14]

i nearly had a crash today, a vauxhall nova full of joyriders came flying past on the wrong side of the road and nearly hit a car coming in the other direction, he carved across in front of me and i had to brake heavily and was nearly rear ended by the car behind! To make matters worse the persuing police car nearly hit me as well!!!!

[Airhead]

Glad you and Nat are OK Mount - can't wangle a BA XR6 out of it then?

[elephino]

Good to hear no damage to the people involved (even those in the other car).

There is more than enough room if people drive properly around there. You obviously cannot take the racing line up the dipper but you can easily drive around the outside with enough space for a car inside.

Also, if the airbag went off, it means that you could have done some damage to yourself hitting the steering wheel instead of the airbag.

[mtpanorama]

Moff,
If the car is written off I should have enough for a Ba Xr6. I dont think it will be a write off, its insured for too much unfortunately. Having said that i had a look at the car today, and with the wheel off there is a lot more damage underneath than i would have thought. The "k" frame that bolts to the chasis that holds the suspension is ripped way from the chasis and the strut tower has a crease in it.The firewall where the inner guard meets it is also torn appart in a couple of places

[Airhead]

Mount, want a lend of a sledge hammer???

A N/A BA XR6 would be a nice replacement.

[mtpanorama]

It doesnt look to bad body wise, its just that the whole right hand front suspension needs replacing

[Airhead]

Not a glamour shot but very impressive Mt none the less.

OUCH!!!

[marcus]

bugger Mount , looks bad enough , modern cars always look terrible after a crash , I hope you can either get it back on the road or get a nice insurance payout for that new BA

[mtpanorama]

It will be fixed......unfortunately. I wont be keeping it long after i get it back though. Just enough time to wait for a second hand BA Xr6.
Anyone want to buy a nice EL xr6 falcon??????????

[Maisie]

One careful owner?

[marcus]

I forgot to ask Mount , whats the go with the actual accident , have the police apportioned blame on the ohter driver ???
what kind of charges is he facing and whats likely to happen???

[Diabando]

Sorry to hear about this Shane As long as you and Nat are ok, thats the main thing. I remember being in a few accidents with my Dad (none his fault) when I was Nat's age, and after the initial fright was gone, I considered it as "just another big thing that happened on holidays" - I hope she feels somewhat the same way

We have been having to use the HQeeeee whilst we look for a new car, and its renewed my faith in decent cars

[marcus]

Originally posted by Diabando


We have been having to use the HQeeeee whilst we look for a new car, and its renewed my faith in decent cars

AMEN

[Amaroo Park]

Originally posted by Morris 1100

Proves the sort of idiots that drive Commodores!

Whats this ****????? Listen if there was more Commodore drivers on the road the world would be a better place. Anyway people in glass houses etc,etc...............

[Mattracer]

I'm glad there were no serious injuries, but I have to say that there is a brewing debate about whether Mt Panorama should be one way or not.

If they make it one way, then everyone will be pretty much racing won't they, and the constabulary will be getting plenty each month.

if they keep it two way, then there is a natural deterrent for traffic in either direction. No-one is game to try anything from the scene of their imagination regarding racing lines at the moment because (a) they might get collected by something coming the other way and (b) $$$$$.

Two way or not two way, that is the question.