Maybe not - if Tom had been leaving his 2 seconds, he may have been able to come to a safe stop under his brakes alone - not a much faster stop under brakes + insignia. If that had been the case, Mr Mini, who didn't hit him very hard judging by the photos, may not have hit him at all.
Multi car pile up on the motorway
- Thread starter rG-tom
- Start date
Maybe not - if Tom had been leaving his 2 seconds, he may have been able to come to a safe stop under his brakes alone - not a much faster stop under brakes + insignia. If that had been the case, Mr Mini, who didn't hit him very hard judging by the photos, may not have hit him at all.
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
When somebody fills my gap I drop back. Sure it's annoying, but it isnt as annoying as a fault claim on my car insurance and bits of 530i all over the carriageway. One thing you notice when you don't join the outside lane bunfight is how completely moronic everyone is. I sat in the inside and occasionally middle lane on the way to Scotland with the cruise set to 70 and watched as people just constantly stood on the brakes for no apparent reason other than the fact the car in front braked. I was able to maintain speed even when the cars in front began to brake simply by throttling off.
But nobody else was able to do this, they all drive 2 feet from the car in front and they all just stood on the brakes literally every 30-40 seconds.
But nobody else was able to do this, they all drive 2 feet from the car in front and they all just stood on the brakes literally every 30-40 seconds.
Or perhaps people just still think Omegas might be unmarked police cars
More chance of being thought of as some ***** surely? omegas stopped being used years ago!
If you honestly can't wait for me to be involved in a serous road accident simply because I was critical of somebody elses driving then you've got serious mental problems.
It always amazes how people like you just don't ever seem able to read and comprehend a post. You gloss over it, form a misguided and ridiculous view of what the post says, then make a stupid comment based on your own perception problems.
At no point on this forum do I ever profess to be anything other than an average driver. I have no special skills. I am not perfect. I don't even have a flawless driving record. I'm just honest about my ability, and that of other peoples. I'll call things as I see them. I think thats the crucial difference - a lot of people on here genuinelly beleive they are the next Lewis Hamilton and often post to that effect. They drive outside their comfort zone on a regular basis, they beleive themselves to be untouchable and highly skilled. The 'Rate your driving' threads we have a few times a year make for amusing reading.
I've noticed a trend with you spending 3 seconds to read a post of mine, not bothering to comprehend what it says, and making a pathetic comment based on what you think I meant, not what i actually meant. It's now tiresome. Please can you either:
a) Engage brain before using keyboard
b) Simply add me to your ignore list.
Thanks!
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Fox drives like a grandad, you'll be waiting a long time for that
Except when he gets on a roundabout near the motorway entrance with them fences that block your view, he then races full throttle on to the motorway wasn't it
? Or when he plants his boot in a hedge .With a car like his it's realistic to assume he will have some fun at least once per week
.Having fun once in a while doesn't mean a person will write off his car/have a serious accident.
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To be honest Motorways bore me to death, I can't be bothered with the faff of driving at Mach 10 in the outside lane getting 25mpg speeding up and slowing down constantly in the convoy of S-Line TDI's. So the main reason you probably wont find me tailgating is simply because I'd rather just set the cruise to the speed limit and let the reps fight it out in the outside lane in a desperate attempt to consume 30% more fuel to get where they are going 5% sooner.
The way I see it I can either be bored, stressed and poorer mixing it up at 90mph, I can simply be bored, chilled and richer at 70mph
I like to save my more urgent approach to driving to roads that reward it
The way I see it I can either be bored, stressed and poorer mixing it up at 90mph, I can simply be bored, chilled and richer at 70mph
I like to save my more urgent approach to driving to roads that reward it
You should see some of the accidents on the motorways in Massachusetts. Those people can't drive for toffee, everyone drives like a goon and they are always about 5 Ft from the car in front while doing about 70.
I hate it when i have to goto Boston or somewhere in Mass.
I hate it when i have to goto Boston or somewhere in Mass.
Caporegime
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I have to say here that FOX is correct (on most counts).
Generally the driver who hits the other person is liable for the accident. There are exceptions, the main one being a car takes away your braking distance by swerving into your braking space...in this case, the Insignia by the KA.
As for Tom, he was too close, and he admits it. Sure, the KA caused the chain to start, but Tom also has to take some liability, so contributory negligence will be on his part too.
Generally the driver who hits the other person is liable for the accident. There are exceptions, the main one being a car takes away your braking distance by swerving into your braking space...in this case, the Insignia by the KA.
As for Tom, he was too close, and he admits it. Sure, the KA caused the chain to start, but Tom also has to take some liability, so contributory negligence will be on his part too.
I tend to find surprisingly often, that if I maintain a nice gap in front of me, a person approaching behind, possibly not leaving such a nice gap, may notice my nice gap, realise that's a good and sensible thing to do, and drop back a little from me, leaving me in a nice safe bubble of spreading good road karma.
Or perhaps people just still think Omegas might be unmarked police cars
Ditto, on both counts
Associate
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The insignia was probably cut open more due to the drivers back/neck injuries than damage. When a driver is reporting pain in those area's they must remove the driver with little movement in those area's possible.. They probably cut the roof open and placed a stretcher underneath him and strapped him to it so they could lift him out without any body movement.
Glad you're (mostly) OK Tom - it's a tough situation.
For those not being very forgiving, I spend a significant amount of time driving, in rush hour, on one of the busiest motorways anywhere, and I know how the situation can change very suddenly and unexpectedly. Individual lanes can go from 80 to 30 in moments - often at an increasing rate of deceleration - so you are braking gently and then all of a sudden you are gaining on the car in front very quickly indeed.
Additionally, before now I've been hit in the rear by a loaded panel van while driving a Fiesta on the motorway. I was just pulling off (so accelerating at a moderate rate in 1st gear) when he hit while braking, and I was rammed forward quite harshly - faster than the car could have managed itself with my foot to the floor, but very briefly. I imagined a totally demolished rear after the impact, but after stopping and checking, there was nothing more than some marks on the bumper - the energy had transferred mostly in to my forward motion!
Similarly, the Ka has a hard rear as there is little space between it and the rear passengers. To prevent them being crushed in a rear-end situation there is very little that will crumple. For the Ka to be rendered undriveable after being hit from the rear while it is accelerating rather than braking, will take a very powerful impact. Essentially what I am saying is, we probably shouldn't underestimate how hard the Ka could have been hit, and therefore how fast the Insignia could have been slowed.
Situations like this are why I try to use tyres that are in the upper echelons of performance, and drive cars that have better than typical braking abilities and stability systems. As then if I make a mistake, there's some help to compensate.
For those not being very forgiving, I spend a significant amount of time driving, in rush hour, on one of the busiest motorways anywhere, and I know how the situation can change very suddenly and unexpectedly. Individual lanes can go from 80 to 30 in moments - often at an increasing rate of deceleration - so you are braking gently and then all of a sudden you are gaining on the car in front very quickly indeed.
Additionally, before now I've been hit in the rear by a loaded panel van while driving a Fiesta on the motorway. I was just pulling off (so accelerating at a moderate rate in 1st gear) when he hit while braking, and I was rammed forward quite harshly - faster than the car could have managed itself with my foot to the floor, but very briefly. I imagined a totally demolished rear after the impact, but after stopping and checking, there was nothing more than some marks on the bumper - the energy had transferred mostly in to my forward motion!
Similarly, the Ka has a hard rear as there is little space between it and the rear passengers. To prevent them being crushed in a rear-end situation there is very little that will crumple. For the Ka to be rendered undriveable after being hit from the rear while it is accelerating rather than braking, will take a very powerful impact. Essentially what I am saying is, we probably shouldn't underestimate how hard the Ka could have been hit, and therefore how fast the Insignia could have been slowed.
Situations like this are why I try to use tyres that are in the upper echelons of performance, and drive cars that have better than typical braking abilities and stability systems. As then if I make a mistake, there's some help to compensate.
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The damage to the insignias rear end was actually lighter than to the rear end of the e36, it really crumpled! The mini driver hit me damn hard, she said it felt like she was going to go over me and my car ended up back in the back of the insignia again (i had 3 impacts, front, rear and front again)
Realistically, it must have been more than 10mph (i thought I'd said I had scrubbed 20-25 off) that I scrubbed off as I had been on the brakes what felt like an eternity. Ill admit I probably wasn't 2 seconds behind, but certainly wasn't tailgating typical bmw style (which I'll certainly admit I have done on occasion in the past); I was already off the throttle anyway. I do think I didn't realise immediately that he was coming to a complete stop so wasted perhaps half a second of full on braking potential, then locked into a skid.
TBH though it happened that quickly it's hard to try and analise in my mind :/ I'm sure I'll be treated to some flash backs though!
Realistically, it must have been more than 10mph (i thought I'd said I had scrubbed 20-25 off) that I scrubbed off as I had been on the brakes what felt like an eternity. Ill admit I probably wasn't 2 seconds behind, but certainly wasn't tailgating typical bmw style (which I'll certainly admit I have done on occasion in the past); I was already off the throttle anyway. I do think I didn't realise immediately that he was coming to a complete stop so wasted perhaps half a second of full on braking potential, then locked into a skid.
TBH though it happened that quickly it's hard to try and analise in my mind :/ I'm sure I'll be treated to some flash backs though!
That's not unsurprising. The times I've come close are where I've anticipated a minor slow and gently applied the brakes, that slow's become faster and so I've tried to up braking effort, and before I know it we are going from high motorway speed to zero in very little time at all. Sometimes in the attempt to be smooth you don't panic brake in a situation where, in reality, you have almost no room for delay.
sounds like the insignia driver was seriously injured to be honest and maybe even tom. insignias neck will certainly never feel the same
Soldato
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Right been reading through this thread and whilst there are some strong opinions lets keep this tidy and not fill it full of pointless bickering.
And to the OP, unlucky man. At least it wasn't your car!
And to the OP, unlucky man. At least it wasn't your car!
Associate
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I was rear ended by a fast moving Golf while in my Corsa, suddenly had awesome acceleration! Anyway I pulled onto the hard shoulder expecting a mass of damage but the only thing wrong was the number plate light had been squeezed out of place.
The Golf however was not so lucky, bits of engine shoved all over, wheels at different angles, doors too bent to open - that'll teach her to watch the road instead of looking for a CD in the footwell.
Caporegime
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Analise, lol.
So a Golf writes itself off on the bumper of your Corsa, and the only thing wrong with the Corsa was a dislodged numberplate light? Impressive.
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