This is why 84 year olds shouldn't drive!!!

[IhaveNoPantsOn]

So, I had just turned on to a 2-lane, one way street, and was in the left lane. This guy pulls away from the curb, on the right side of the street, across the right lane, and directly into the right fender of my GP. Luckily, nothing else was damaged. Header panel is slightly scuffed, as is the rest of the car, up to just before the rear wheel. And, the hood won't open, since the fender is pressing against it. The impact popped my tire too, so I had to use the spare. Since this was the first time it has ever been used, it was incredibly low on air, and almost came completely off the rim by the time I drove it the 2 blocks to get back home. I'm actually more upset about this than the crushed in fender. Just one of those little things, I guess.
Anyways, it was completely the old f*ck's fault, so insurance is covering everything. This guy had 2 hearing aides, and looked like he was blind in one eye. WTF is he still doing driving? Whatever. I have one of the original steel wheels with a pretty good tire on it, so I'm just gonna throw that on, and wait to hear back from the insurance company.
On the plus side, I had a good excuse to call out of work! Anyone else with a crash/accident story to share?


Oh, and his 99 Buick Century (what else? hahaha) barely had any damage, even though he hit me with the headlight/bumper area of his car..Just a lot more structural support behind it than my fender, I guess...

 

[outsider_27]

Back in '89 I was 17. I had this old 77 Nova. Driving across town I crossed through a green light and some old guy driving a big old Chevy pickup with a steel grill guard turned left into the side of my car. My driver side front fender and the door were worse than what yours is. He got 3 tickets and after getting my car started after it stalled I drove home. Had to pull the fender lip up so the tire didn't rub, but drove it for another month or so. The insurance company said it was worth $900, but the amount to fix was a little over $1000. They actually gave us the money to fix it. It was only a $500 car when it was bought! Ended up selling it for $100 and got another car.
I forgot to mention he was half blind, had no license, and no insurance. There is no way he should have been on the road.

 

[custom442]

Oh, and his 99 Buick Century (what else? hahaha) barely had any damage, even though he hit me with the headlight/bumper area of his car..Just a lot more structural support behind it than my fender, I guess...

well he hit you on the front fender, the least protected area on these cars. I was surprised how light they were when I took them off before

...good thing is it should be an easy fix after you get the new fender in. hopefully your hood just got wedged over and not bent

 

[Wants_a_wagon]

old guys tend to have good insurance.

I was 17, and some idiot broad blew a stop sign behind another guy who blew a stop sign, and my 81 Cutlass proceeded to make the side of her 70s Monte into scrap.

I needed a new fender and a header panel, and her car was ready for the crusher.

The moral of the story is don't be young and get in a wreck, because they wrote me a ticket on the say-so of some idiot fireman who said my skid marks measured a zillion feet. Anyway, they didn't give me the ticket that night, they just said they'd look into it, and mail me one if it was warranted.

Well, the cops show up looking for me one day for nonpayment -- fortunately I wasn't there, and I got it straitened out.

I remember the boob who was driving the Chevy saying to me "didn't you see me?" I told her yes, I saw you run the stop sign.

 

[pontiacgp]

:?

 

[yourownself]

an 88 year old woman killed a 4 year old girl in my town this week in broad daylight, in the center of town, in a crosswalk, between an ice cream parlor and a pop warner football field.

no charges are being pressed for this "accident".

i'm currently on a "old people should be tested for their rights to vote and drive" kick.

you wouldn't let a burden of the state get a license, why would you let someone with Alzheimer's and/or dementia renew theirs?

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/19 ... etail.html


disgusting.

 

[pontiacgp]

:?

 

[IhaveNoPantsOn]

I don't agree with generalizing about elderly people's abilities regarding driving. It does make sense to test elderly people after a certain age since it is common to loose abilities as we grow older. There are many fatal accidents each day and more are caused by people who are not elderly so why are the accidents caused by elderly people focused on?. And remember it usually takes two to have an accident and it's very rare that one is completely innocent of not contributing to the cause of the accident. I think anyone who is held to be at fault should be made to take a driving course no matter what their age is. There are some bonehead people out there of all ages.

I don't think all old people are bad drivers either. Hell, a woman that lives/lived down the street from my parents was well into her 90's, and still driving fine. It's the partially (or completely) deaf and/or blind corpses that can barely see over the steering wheel, and have the reflexes and cognitive skills of a drunk that shouldn't be out there. There should be testing every 6 months or 1 year, if you are over a certain age, or if you have more than one accident in a given amount of time. I know that would probably be expensive, so I doubt the state/federal gov't would ever consider it. Oh well, time to go change a tire!

 

[pontiacgp]

I hope the tire fits with the fender being pushed in like that...if it does fit you might want to check it doesn't run making left hand turns....

 

[IhaveNoPantsOn]

This just got better!!
No, the full size tire doesn't rub, at all, but...something is bent to ****. The steering wheel is 90 degrees from where it should be when driving straight, both wheels are toed way out, and even though I only got it up to about 10 mph driving it from the street in front of my house to the lot behind it, it shook a little, and I had to fight with it to keep it going straight. So, now I am more upset that I don't have a ride for a while, but happy that I will likely have some new front end parts, for free.