Yesterday, my mom got into an accident. Luckily, she's fine. A little shaken, but otherwise ok. Her car however, is not, as you can see from the pic.



The SUV next to her Hyundai is the one she rear ended.

Supposedly, she was only going about 30-35 and was 100' behind the guy when he slammed on his brakes (she slammed on hers too), apparently cause the person in front of him slammed on their brakes.

Does that make sense to you?

Both her airbags deployed, neither of his did.

Something just isn't making sense to me. I'm not sure she's telling me the whole story, and/or leaving parts out.

That, and she doesn't have a copy of the accident report yet. She was told it'd take 2-3 business days... huh? But they gave her a ticket for following too close right on the spot.

 

did the suv run into the car in front of him? if not, thats why the airbags didnt go off

 

IF she had a 100' to stop from 35 mph she would not have hit the guy unless her brakes failed i once was going 55 mph on the high way i was about 35 feet from the car in front of me, suddenly everyone slammed on their brakes and came to a screeching hault, i had 35 feet to stop from 55 mph and i did with about 2 feet to spare inbetween my bumper and the car in front of me, ither she was to close to the guy or she was going way to fast

 

Sorry to hear about your Mom and I hope she's OK.
However,if the Hyundai didn't hit the car in front,she's at fault.
She will be cited for "Following too close".
UNLESS,she can prove the Hyundai had non-working Brake lights(Highly unlikely).
As long as she and no one else was hurt,it's an accident and that's what Insurance is for...
The vehicles can be repaired/replaced,so it's not that bad.

 

No, the SUV's airbags didn't go off. I understand that much.

My thoughts too, just going by what she told me, but like I said it's not adding up.

 

Your intuition is warranted, Mr. Watson

 

At 30 mph, you are travelling 44 feet per second. With a 1/2 second reaction time, she would have travelled about 22 feet before hitting the brakes.

From 30 mph under ideal conditions, most cars will stop in well under 50 feet.

Looks like she was still going a10 mph+- when she hit the Hyundai.

So one or more of the following is probably true:

She was following closer than a 100'
She was going faster than 30 mph
She was not paying attention
Her reaction time is very poor
Her braking skills are not so good

My guess is she knows she was at fault, but she's got her story and is sticking to it. Pressing her to confess the truth is probably just going to **** her off.

 

I'm not sure about the laws in CT, but here in NY, if you're the person in the car that runs into somebody in front of you, you're pretty much guarateed to be found at fault. My son was recently rear ended and the police officer said it was a 100% no brainer. (Of course my son was stopped at a light at the time too.)

As for the ticket, that sounds a bit like "piling on" by the officer to me. Most cops won't write that ticket because everybody's beat up enough already. Now if the other person wanted to press the charge, that may explain it. Technically though, if you're "following at a safe distance", you should be able to stop.

As for the air bags not going off in the other vehicle, remember, they go off (or don't) based on a sensor reading the force of the impact. Most of those sensors are located in the passenger compartment (makes sense right?) and your mom's vehicle submarined the other vehicle. Most of the force of the crash (in the other vehicle) was absorbed by your mom's hood buckling up and the rest of the front end crumpling.

 

Time to get back in the kitchen. LOL Jk.

 

I don't understand why it is necessary to tailgate. There must be a reason the person behind the wheel is going at a speed they feel is warranted. Thus you just need to be patient -- you don't own the road. Ever hear of a shared roadway?!

Any highway, street, avenue, etc is a shared roadway for all motorists, most of which include cyclists.

I don't get mad when people do 40 in a 55 zone. I just patiently wait, most of the time it will deter me from having to stop at so many red lights because I'm going at the sync speed of the lights.

Which brings me into another issue...

WHY THE HECK DO YOU PASS ME IN A 55 MPH, AND THEN HIT A RED LIGHT?! I don't understand... and yet they can be sitting there, and they get in MY way because I planned ahead and slowed down for the light so I didn't have to stop for a useless light.

People are dumb.

I don't mean to be a crude person -- but you're mom deserved the ticket and I sure hope she gets sued.

I got rear ended, and you betcha, 2 tickets on the fella that rear ended me.

 

i agree manual..idk why people ride other peoples tailgates..im not sure what purpose it serves....if someone is going 40 in a 55..i will pass them if necessary. if not, i wait...when people are turning, i will get over and pass them.but most of the time when i am turning onto my oil top, people tailgate, and slow down behind me, almost hitting me, instead of passing by

 

Unfortunately for her, she rear ended somebody, it is her fault, unless, there were mitigating circunstances, such as an icy road conditions, snow, etc........

 

CT has the same law as NY when it comes to rear ending someone. If you hit another car from behind, you get cited for following too close. Period. No questions asked.

Well, I'd like to thank you for that unwarranted rant. I'd also like to say I know and totally understand she desered a ticket. Your last comment though... That's not crude, it's just an a$$hole thing to say. So next time keep your hole shut. I asked for opinions on how others think the accident happened since I had doubts.

Must be nice to be flawless and able to cast judgement and wish ill will on others during the holiday season no less. Merry Effing Christmas.

 

Unfortunately, no. Now maybe Sunday there will be!

Another thing I don't understand, and maybe you, being an officer can answer... 2 to 3 business days to get a copy of the accident report?! I've never been in an accident (knock on wood), but don't all involved parties usually get a copy right then and there? Or does it depend on the department?

 

For some reason it does take a few days to get the accident report. I remember it being a few days when my brother got his truck hit.

If you know any cops you can get it quicker like my brother did.