Pics from my car wreck...

[CalebHayes]

I was going 70 and then, I'll let the photos do the rest of the talking

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

1. I'll bet you don't hit 70 again for a while...

Looks like you're lucky to be above ground.

[CalebHayes]

2. just picture this

insurance for a teen driver that did that! I think I'm looking at least 300 a month

[mikeytherat]

3. Definitely a BMW - 3 or 5 series

mikey_the_rat

[CalebHayes]

30. 525i

[crim son]

4. You're lucky to have legs.

Wow.

[flvegan]

5. It looks like:

1. You're pretty lucky. Seriously;

2. The car did EXACTLY what she was supposed to do in that situation.

3. You're the proud owner of a fancy new section of guardrail

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. Yeah, the bill for the rail and hydrant should be stunning.

My BIL barely damaged a rail on I-5 and is still paying for it. He has good insurance too and they refused to cover what ODOT wanted.

[BarenakedLady]

7. Yikes

You are lucky to be smiling.

[Wcross]

8. You were driving 70mph on that road?

No offense but that was a very selfish thing to do. If you were the only person using the road I wouldn't care if you went 70 or 170, it is your life. What if you had struck another vehicle on that narrow road? How would you feel if you had killed an innocent driver because you weren't able to control your vehicle? How about if the vehicle you struck had some kids riding in it, would you be able to smile then? Think about that.

[cobalt1999]

9. Michael Schumacher you're not.

I guess you over-estimated your driving skills.

[CalebHayes]

31. true dat

[Connonym]

10. Oh that's scary

I'm so glad you're okay. Wow.

[VenusRising]

11. Whoa!!

Be careful from now on, please.

I'm sure that I can speak for everyone when I say you are more useful all in one piece.

I'm very glad you are ok.

[swag]

12. Cool.

The Illustrated JG Ballard.

[MrCoffee]

13. seriously, man...WAY TO CHEAT DEATH!

still feeling ok?

[Taverner]

33. Right on - Death is the enemy

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. Ummmmm

What is the speed limit on that section of the road? I doubt it is 70. That means the accident was probably your fault. It really nothing to be proud of you know.

I spent 7 years supervising claim litigation for an insurance company. I wish I could show you some of the accident photos and autopsy reports. You need to know that sometimes when a car is struck by another vehicle going 45 miles an hour that the impact penetrates into the backseat and decapitates the front seat occupants. For what it's worth, the backseat passenger survived but was paralyzed. And 45 is a whole lot slower than 70. You need to know that sometimes the best way to determine who was driving a vehicle is to look and see whose abdomen was impaled on the stick shift. Or who had their genitalia torn away. Or their rectum pierced. Auto accidents can be very gruesome. Maybe your soon to be increased insurance premiums will remind you to consider the safety of other drivers. I hope so.

You need to be smiling because no one else was involved in the accident. Your insurance company is only liable for the limits of the policy it issued. Medical costs for just a single victim can easily exceed those limits. A four week stay in a trauma care unit can easily top $400,000. Who is responsible for the damages that exceed your policy limit? You are - unless you happen to have a supplemental liability policy such as an umbrella policy. And if the damages exceed the limits of the combined policies you personally are liable and could easily be bankrupted and have many of your assets liquidated. If you total somebody else's $50,000 vehicle and put four people in a trauma unit for a month then you could easily be looking at actual damages approaching $2 million - before any claim for pain and suffering and emotional distress is made.

Yeah, you've got a reason to smile. It just ain't what you think it is.

[marzipanni]

15. Thank you.

I grew up next to a road similar to that, near a curve. The speed limit was 40 mph.
My dad had an old Jaguar, his friends had a Porsche and a Triumph, and they loved cars. They called the curve "Drunkman's Curve" and "Deadman's Curve".
Due to the horrible sounds and scenes of accidents I witnessed as a kid, I didn't drive until I was 27, and I hate driving fast.

[Coyote_Bandit]

25. I'm sorry you had to witness that

Most people do not realize how consistently gruesome injury auto accidents are.

I'm sure you are a careful, responsible driver because of those early observations.

[redqueen]

17. Sorry to burst the lecturers' bubbles (not really)

but I drive through rural areas often and most of the roads are just like that... speed limit? 65.

That ain't much of a curve at all.

[Coyote_Bandit]

19. I'm sure speed limits vary from place to place

In the five states where I worked auto insurance claims a stretch of road similar to that depicted would not have had a speed limit higher than 55. Divided highways carried higher speed limits.

[redqueen]

21. I'm sure they do.

That's why I don't see the point of the lectures.

[Coyote_Bandit]

23. ?????

I care about how the folks I share thr road with drive. I've seen first hand the carnage that can result.

You don't have to care. Change the channel.

[redqueen]

24. Oh my.

So now I don't care?

Yeah, thanks. I'll bow out now.

:hi:

[Coyote_Bandit]

29. For what it's worth

the National Institute of Highway Safety reports (http://www.iihs.org/laws/speedlimits.aspx) that 32 states have roads with speed limits of 70 or higher. Almost exclusively those limits are applicable only on interstates and limited access highways. There are only four states reported to have roads other than interstates and limited access highways with speed limits of 70 or higher. Those states are: Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. The road depicted in the photos certainly does not appear to be an interstate or limited access highway. So, unless the accident occurred in Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma or South Dakota it is somewhat probable that the driver was speeding. Again, perhaps the OP will clarify what the speed limit was.

The very first sentence in my first post was an inquiry asking what the speed limit was. I attributed probable fault based on the photos in the OP and my own experience supervising over 50,000 auto claims in a five state area. Again, perhaps the OP will clarify what the speed limit was.

Speed limits are irrelevant if a driver is traveling too fast for conditions or if he fails to maintain control of his vehicle. People do stupid things in their cars every day that cause accidents. A driver doesn't have to be speeding to be at fault.

I think that people who use poor judgment when driving and fail to acknowledge it need to be confronted. If you don't care to confront them that is your choice. I probably would have entirely skipped my post had the OP admitted being careless or inattentive - or if he had offered any excuse or explanation of how the accident occurred - or if he had simply expressed gratitude that he didn't hurt himself or a passenger or another driver or a pedestrian or an animal. He didn't. Instead, he seemed to be documenting his battle scars without acknowledging his role in acquiring them.

[Wcross]

20. Obviously 70mph was too fast for the conditions.

I really don't care if someone takes a chance with their own life. It is irresponsible to take a chance with other peoples lives. That is a two lane road with narrow shoulders which leaves little room for error. The question is, what is the speed limit on THAT road, not the roads you drive.

[redqueen]

22. And it is a question.

But I guess assuming is easier than asking!

[CalebHayes]

32. Look, this is the lounge

I learned my lesson but anything goes here, I wrote about it when it happened and I thought DU might want to see it.

[cloudbase]

16. That'll buff right out.

Glad you're okay.

[redqueen]

18. Glad you're ok!

[Book Lover]

26. Screw the Anti-Destination Leaguers here

Glad to know you are safe. I hope this doesn't scare you away from driving fast in your sweet ride where appropriate.

(Hey, ADL'ers - I said where appropriate. Now back off and have a nice day)

[Mugu]

27. There's an old saying about airplanes and landing to the effect:

A good landing is one that you can walk away from.
A great landing is one where the plane is reusable.

Seriously, this is an opportunity to learn that energy goes up at the square of the velocity. A young (16 YO) friend of mine learned this valuable lesson when his car struck a large tree at a high rate of speed. Unfortunately the lesson proved fatal for him and his best friend. The parents of both young men have suffered every day since.

Regards, Mugu

[porphyrian]

28. Why do you hate fire hydrants? - n/t