so I got in a car accident today... :Pictures: (photobucket)

[jamerslong]

So i got in a car accident today, and not a fender bender either. i was traveling south on the freeway (2 lanes) today and i was approaching a Freeway entrance there was a person getting on and i was kindof driving along and didnt notice he was getting on until it was too late, the person right next to me (i was in the left lane) tried to get over to let him on. Now keeping in mind it is a 2 lane freeway and he didnt see me while he was getting over, Pulled completely into my lane and pushed me off the freeway. the gound was really soft from all of the crazy weather we had and i could'nt keep control. The next thing i know we are ROLLING down the center Median and we rolled about 4 times. man i wish i had seen this from 3rd point of view. me and my 7 month old is completely fine, but my wifes hand went through the window and scrapped across the pavement, she got pretty bad road rash, she managed to get her phone snapped in half and she had an LG Env which we JUST got.. but then again we JUST got the car too..... ive made 2 payments on it.

so heres the question, Who's at fault?

Me who didnt back off so he could get over. The person who was getting on the freeway? OR The person who pushed me off the road?

Well the person who pushed me off the road. IMO he probably just looked in his sideview mirror and got over because i was in his blind spot.

the next question is to the fact that i have not made contact with the person who pushed us off the freeway. does anyone know how to persue this? the police said the had pulled over and he was ticketted and i would have to wait 5 Days to get a police report so i could find out who i need to persue.

I am so thankful of everyone who helpped us out of the car, if they haddent we would have been trapped as the roof was caved in, they Lifted the back of the car up so we could crawl out of the Back window.

I will post a link to photos of the car when i go look at it tomorrow, but i think the camera was in the car and they sprayed it down because there was a fuel leak. i just filled the tank like 3 hours ago so i am out 40$ gas too..

At least i still have my thinkpad


PHOTOS (big)
http://s242.photobucket.com/albums/ff83/jamerslong/
PHOTOS (big)

[gator]

God, are you guys all right? An accident with your baby, that is VERY scary ... hope things get well soon.

[rkawakami]

Glad to hear everyone made it through that in one piece.

As far as who's at fault I would have to say the person who ran you off the road. The person entering the highway should have to yield to the traffic. The car in the slow (right) lane does have the right-of-way, but at the same time, needs to judge what the entering vehicle is doing. That he pulled into your lane and caused you to take defensive action leads me to believe he's mostly at fault. An attorney would probably try to say that some of the fault is yours since you were in his blind spot but the action which caused you to run off the road was his. Defensive driving habits say to look into the adjacent vehicle's side mirrors and if you can't see their face, they can't see you.

I'm assuming that you have already contacted your insurance company about this accident. If the police have the driver's information, your insurance company can obtain it and take up the matter with his insurance company.

[ryengineer]

Thanks God you and your family are alright and sound chief.

[tfflivemb2]

Wow, I'm very sorry to hear about the accident...just be thankful that everyone is ok...

[Kyocera]

very lucky you are all safe, the man upstairs was looking out for you all this sunday.

[jamerslong]

Thanks for the Positive inputs. I am indeed on gods side today as none of us were taken from this world, i have horrible luck.

but i havent contacted my insurance company yet, should i do it now? i was going to wait untill i got the police report because they will probably want it anyway.

BTW, Does anyone know if i can use a t23 heatsink in a t20

[rkawakami]

Might as well wait until the morning to contact the insurance company.

As to the T23 fan inside a T20, no it won't. The T23 fan attaches to the motherboard with three thin screws and the fan plugs into a socket. The T22 and earlier (I believe) have four screws and a frame which fits over the heatsink/fan assembly. And it sits atop contact strips on the motherboard to get the power for the fan.

[jamerslong]

Thanks, i am talking to a person on craigslist who says otherwise

[rkawakami]

Have him download a copy of the Hardware Maintenance Manual for the T2x systems:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4UYM3F

and read section "1120 Fan Assembly" and then explain how the T23 fan is supposed to mount on the T20 motherboard. The T23 fan is on the opposite end of the assembly from the T20.

[mattbiernat]

any head injuries. if so i hope you visited the local hospital. by the way more than a couple of serius injuries in a life time can significantly increase your chances of getting neurological disorders later in life.
remember you can always get a new car. can't get a new body just yet.

[wearetheborg]

very lucky you are all safe, the man upstairs was looking out for you all this sunday.

Maybe he was not paying attention either, else the accident would not have happened at all in the frist place

I dont think this was your fault. The left lane person is not expected to see if someone is trying to get onto the right lane - am I correct ?
Not much driving expereince here.

[The Spirit of X21]

I'm glad to hear that everyone is well. If humans had nine lives, I'd say you used seven of them.

[mattbiernat]

The left lane person is not expected to see if someone is trying to get onto the right lane - am I correct ?

the person on the right has the right of way. i think this is the general rule on intersection and when two lanes are merging (freeway entrance). it seems that the guy next to jamers failed to yeild the right of way to the person entering the freeway. and in the last moment instead of breaking hard he decided to save his brakes and hit jamers. last minute decisions are the worst enemy of any driver IMO. but I am also quite young too, only 80,000 miles here.

[jamerslong]

The left lane person is not expected to see if someone is trying to get onto the right lane - am I correct ?

the person on the right has the right of way. i think this is the general rule on intersection and when two lanes are merging (freeway entrance). it seems that the guy next to jamers failed to yeild the right of way to the person entering the freeway. and in the last moment instead of breaking hard he decided to save his brakes and hit jamers. last minute decisions are the worst enemy of any driver IMO. but I am also quite young too, only 80,000 miles here.

Wearetheborg is right, a person entering the freeway Must yeild, and he was in a situation where he should have yeilded, but it is a blind entrance and he had probably gone up to speed by the time he passed the wall, there were alot of cars in the right lane and i dont know if any one was in front or behind me but i do know there was sombody pushing me off the road.

but i do know All of the cars to the right were following to close to eachother.


Yes there was a head injury to my wife, She has 2 staples in her head. she recives Xrays and cat scans. being in the military i will not hesitate to go to the hospital.

[jamerslong]

I cant sleep, I was asleep for about 2 huors and I am having weird dreams, probably the pain killers.

i keep going over the accident in my head and I cant belive me or my family is alive, the seatbelts saved our lives. i have dry mouth like a mo fo. i am afraid to drive now.

i hope they got the information from the guy that pushed us off the road, i cant afford to replace the car. i did the right thing going off the road, it would have been a bad accident if i had stayed on. there were cars all around us.

[RealBlackStuff]

What a horrible experience! Glad you and your family came thru relatively unscathed.
Get into a car asap and drive again, before you develop a mental block.
Wish you all a speedy recovery, and that police/insurance can sort you out soonest.
It being a new car, surely you had fully comprehensive on it?

[carbon_unit]

Doesn't anyone changing lanes have to yield the right of way to whomever is already in the lane he is changing into?
Thank God nobody was seriously injured.

[dsigma6]

I was startled when I saw your 7 month old was in there too, and this would further the importance of child car seats/proper installation.

Someone has your back..

[jamerslong]

i have liability only it was a 94 honda accord, i feel that a car i paid under 3000 for isnt worth the full coverage

i wanna blow up my thinkpad right now, grrr... anyone wanna send me a T22 heatsink for a good price?....i just watched the CPU ramp up to 98C

[carbon_unit]

Your insurance should not matter. The other guy hit you while you were legally in your lane. His insurance should pay for all damages and medical costs, not yours. You need to get that police report and contact his and your insurance companies today. He is obviously at fault since he is the one who was ticketed.

[skitty4gzus]

1st off thank God you guys are all ok. Definitely take care of medical things before you go after vehicle problems. i agree with you on not full coverage on a '94 honda. Im sure the car is totalled and your right, if someone else was ticketed as AT FAULT than they should have to pay for your damages, barring they have insurance.... Otherwise the guy merging onto the highway HAS to yield to moving traffic, not the other way around even though most people fail to follow that law. Im glad to hear you and your family is alright, sorry cant help you with your t23!!

[syedj]

I am sorry to hear about the accident but I am glad despite the monetary loss everyone else is OK.

[ArtShapiro]

Wow...what a story. Glad you will come through in one piece.

To correct some other responses: at least here in California, a car entering a freeway has equal right-of-way to the person on the freeway. You must move over or slow down to let the entering car merge into the lane.

I can remember driving in another state (Lousiana) and nearly getting into an accident when a driver didn't let me onto the interstate and I had assumed the contrary.

Art

[rkawakami]

To correct some other responses: at least here in California, a car entering a freeway has equal right-of-way to the person on the freeway. You must move over or slow down to let the entering car merge into the lane.

A search of the California Vehicle Code index does not reveal any references about right-of-way concerning freeway onramps. I seem to remember (many years back) reading something about this in the driver's handbook which said that the freeway traffic had the right-of-way. If I'm wrong I apologize. You are correct in saying that the freeway traffic should allow the merging vehicle to smoothly enter the flow, but I don't know at the moment if there is a specific law citing that. The closest thing I could find is this:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21800.htm

V.C. Section 21800. (a) The driver of a vehicle approaching an intersection shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle which has entered the intersection from a different highway.

(b) (1) When two vehicles enter an intersection from different highways at the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on his or her immediate right, except that the driver of any vehicle on a terminating highway shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle on the intersecting continuing highway.

(2) For the purposes of this section, “terminating highway” means a highway which intersects, but does not continue beyond the intersection, with another highway which does continue beyond the intersection.

[BillMorrow]

as i recall from my life in the SF Bay Area and doing at least 50k miles a year for many years, a driver entering a freeway must yeild to drivers ON the freeway..
freeway = controlled access roadway..

rays CVC section refers to right angle intersections like the avenues in san francisco..

many grid like intersections with no controls..
speed limit is 15MPH in the intersection and you yeild to a driver on your right..

the OP is not to blame in any way that i can see..
the driver that hit him is at fault and the driver that forced him out of his lane has some liability..

just kiss your wife and kid and be happy all you will take away from this is a little road rash..
that and be a little more observant when driving..

check billmorrow.com for my wifes little experience with reality on aug 5, 2004..

she is a little more careful, now..
and has used up all of her supply of "the luck of the irish"..
an undiagnosed broken neck (C2 odontoid was displaced 3mm) and she has pretty much full functional recovery..
no, she will never be the same but she lives and is NOT a quad..

[mattbiernat]

i think you should get yourself a lawyer.
1. your wife obviously had some kind of head trauma.
2. you might have post tramautic stress symptoms
3. the insurance company of the guy who hit you is only going to compensate you for 75% of the cost of the car and that's after at least 6 months.
I would sue the insurance company to cover 100% of the costs and that incldues:
a) all medical bills
b) emotional distress
c) 100% of your car
d) rental car
we all pay for car insurance and in times like these they have to pay us back
there should be no question whatsoever that the guy who hit you is completely liable. you did nothing wrong.

regarding the freeway entrance. I believe that the law is the same as for two lanes merging. the guy on the right has the right of way because his lane is ending. don't quote me on that thou.

EDIT: i just saw what bill wrote. I might be wrong. I wish somebody could find actual law that explains this.

one more thing. here in california if you don't report to DMV within 5 days that you have been in car accident (anyting over $500 damages) they have a right to revoke your driver's license for up to 2 years.

[pphilipko]

Be happy you're alive. Hope you and your family are better now.

[GomJabbar]

I cant sleep, I was asleep for about 2 huors and I am having weird dreams, probably the pain killers.

i keep going over the accident in my head and I cant belive me or my family is alive, the seatbelts saved our lives. i have dry mouth like a mo fo. i am afraid to drive now.

Sorry to read about your bad experience. Likely you couldn't sleep because of all the adrenaline that was pumped through your system at the time of the accident. I had an accident at 70 mph when I was in my teens. Fortunately no one involved sustained any injuries. Nevertheless, I wasn't myself for about 2 days. I believe temporary depression is common after such an occurrance, and this is what I experienced after my accident (see link above).

[wackydan]

Get a lawyer..... It's the only way to protect your interests.

Do not talk to insurance company other than to report the accident and the very basics of what happened.- esp if the other driver's company calls to get a statement.

Believe me.... getting a lawyer will be the best thing you can do to minimize any implied liability you MAY have... It's also the only way to quickly resolve the pain in the butt his will become if you don't.