Just a little something I wanted to say and ask all of you.

Last Friday night/Saturday Early morning, I had gone to a cultural event with my girlfriend which ended around 1:30am. I dropped off my girlfriend at her apartment nearby and headed home which was 30 minutes away. I think it was a long day of work and a tiring drive in traffic from LA to Irvine but I got extremely drowsy. I got off the freeway and was only about a mile away from home when the next thing I remember is hearing a loud bang and a tree stump (small one) passing over the windsheild of the car. The airbags deployed and the car soon came to a stop. I realized that I had dozed off behind the wheel. Surprisingly, I was unhurt and managed to climb out of the window since my door was blocked by a tree stump. As I called my parents and the police, I went to inspect the damage. The whole front end of the car was badly damaged. While the engine seemed to have been spared, both fender areas were caved in and the wheels were practically no longer attached. It also looked as if there was some slight buckling of the frame near the sunroof. Needless to say it will 99% be totaled. Unfortunately I dont have any pictures right now.

My first point: I tip my hat to the engineers at Acura for designing such a safe vehicle which basically left me unhurt except for a tailbone bruise. I loved that car dearly and will miss her, but it saved me from serious injury. I have definitely learned my lesson.

Second point: I am debating on whether or not to buy another TSX. The old one was a 2004 with only about 10,500 miles on it. For those of you who have ever totaled your car when it was new, have you thought of getting the same exact car again? I'm for it because I love the TSX and it has also proved its safety to me as well.

Any opinions would be very respected.

Thanks!!

 

You got the TSX for a reason - if that reason is still valid I see no reason not to get another one.
Driving tired can be just as bad as driving drunk.

 

Glad to hear you're okay. Safety first is smart. I knew a couple guys that fell asleep on the wheel, Lucky for them one slid into ditch and managed minimal damage to his car. The other let off the gas and hit a sidewall at 5 MPH so his car suffered minor damage.

If I were you I'd look into another car. I love my TSX too, and it's a great car. But two TSX's in a row? If you can afford two TSX's within 10k miles of each other I'd say go for an A4.

 

You might have a point but since the car had low mileage when getting totaled, the check for it might be pretty high..close to $20,000. I am not a huge fan of the A4 and I figured that I can get more for my money with a TSX.

 

I'm sorry to hear what happened, but I'm glad you're okay.
I'm in Irvine too...

 

Glad you're OK. It definitely could have gone much worse for you. ....You should replace the TSX with the best car you can afford. Your ability to afford a car of equal or higher value may be effected by the amount of your insurance settlement vs what you owe on the car if ,in fact, it is "totalled". Your insurance rates might go up as well. You may also be looking at a hefty fine if the police cite you for reckless driving. ....I hope it all works out for you. Sorry about the car.

 

Well happy that your OK, thats what really matters. AS for getting the car, if you really loved it, get it, if you want something different, get something else.

 

Just make sure you don't feel bad everytime you drive your new TSX. Cause everytime you sit in the new TSX, you will remember your old one and your accident. You don't want it to drive you crazy.

Just a thought...

 

If not worse...

 

I recently totalled my Mazda 6 when I hydroplaned into a tree. The car did what it was supposed to and I walked away with only a burn on my hand from the airbag. I thought about getting another M6 but opted for the TSX. In my case, the lack of control when hydroplaning made me choose to go another direction. I don't think I would have felt comfortable in a car I had no control over, probably not the cars fault. The one good thing that came out of the whole ordeal is that I got a chance to upgrade to the TSX and I am loving it.

 

Driver fatigue has recently been identified to be a major problem. I work for an insurance company and we've identified that at least 60% of our claims (loss dollars) to be a direct/indirect result of driver fatigue. So if you're feeling drowsy, just pull over!

 

 

i have a story to highlight how dangerous it is to drive while sleepy. my friend, who will remain anonymous, was driving back from a grateful dead concert (a while ago) with his gf, another couple and a buddy. he fell asleep at the wheel, and the next thing he remembers is waking up from a coma in the hospital.

everyone in the car died but my friend. he's alive today, but with numerous pieces of metal bits holding him up; half his face is metal. long story short, all his friends and gf's parents sued him for the deaths. i dunno if he served any time, but everyday is a struggle for him.

the lesson is - if youre tired, pull aside and take a nap. esp if youre driving a beautiful tsx.

 

I'd rather die in the accident myself than have to live with that shame. Fatigued drivers are a major and mostly overlooked problem. Can any of us say we haven't done it? Maybe the focus of continually lowering BALs to miniscule levels should be shifted to awareness of driver fatigue instead.

If I had a bad accident that my car saved me from, I'd probably get the same car

 

Glad to hear you are ok. If you still loved the car why not get another one, I know I would.

 

Glad your OK. I'm in sales and drive a lot. I found that if you start to get tired while driving, pull over and take a 10-15 min nap. It works wonders...

 

TSX's safety =

It's really amazing that you weren't seriously injured, next time just spend the night at some place if you're too tired to drive.

Safety > Anything else

 

 

Glad to hear that you are ok. If you can afford it, and have no gripes about the TSX, go for it. Definitely sounds like you own 1 life to your TSX.

 

I am very guilty of driving under the fatigue influence. My wife and I vacation in Estes Park often and always drive straight though (just a +/- 15 hour drive from Dallas.) I cannot tell you how much sugar, Red Bull, and AC I have used fighting the sleepies.

Glad that you are OK and the TSX provided the protection required to keep you safe.

 

I dont think I could ever fall asleep at the wheel, no matter how tired I was.


As for getting another TSX, wont your insurance company do that for you?

 

I've driven home after being up for practically 3 days straight. Believe me, you don't want to ever do it again. Nowadays if I'm tired, I'll pull over into a parking lot and take a nap. Safety should always be the most important thing.

 

Uhhh, why did you call the police?? How did you explain the accident to them?

Your car saved you, but you could have killed someone else. Think about that next time.

And if you liked the tsx and didnt have it for that long, why not get another one?

 

That sucks! Good to know you walked away with only a minor bruise.

I'd look into a Subaru Legacy before buying the same car. No doubt, the TSX is a safe car, and I would not rule out buying another one.

 

It's good to have a police report for insurance purposes. Also, they'll fill out the required report to the DMV regarding the accident.

Who knows, maybe the owner of the tree will sue for damages...

 

Oh yea, because the insurance company will cover you if you were SLEEPING AT THE WHEEL.

 

Was the tree ok?







Seriously though, glad you walked away... I think if you picked the TSX just recently, and you loved it, why not get a new one?

 

Thanks everyone for the input and the good wishes. I'll try to get some pictures this weekend. About the way the accident happened, I feel extremely fortunate that it was only the car, and the tree, which was messed up. I feel very bad about it and am still having a difficult time getting over my stupidity. But life must continue. Lets just say that I have really learned my lesson and I will NEVER drive that late or that tired again. I'll waste the money for a Motel 6 if I have to.

I had to call the police since the car wasn't drivable and was on the sidewalk (perfectly straight and facing the right direction too). The other poster was right that the insurance would have had to have a police report. I have State Farm on my car and if totaled (most probably), my dad will get a check for it which is around the Blue Book value minus something which I don't know.

 

Just another suggestion, you might consider getting a car with a lower price tag to save some money on the insurance. Expect a huge jump up in your premium, so you might be able to offset it by going with a less expensive car.

 

especially if you're younger than 25.. I'd expect your premium to jump significantly.

 

Well, I can speak from experience. I totalled my Integra almost 2 years ago and my insurance cost nearly doubled. Similar situation with a single vehicle hitting inanimate object (in my case it was a mountainside), except mine was induced by a patch of ice in a corner. Now that I cover my own insurance (was on the parents while still in school) I pay dearly for the incident, but soon, hopefully, my insurance cost will start to come down as I get older.

 

also, i think you can take a drivers safety course to lower your premium, or reduce any points you have on your license.

 

I have several driver safety courses already so my premium can't go any lower from that. And there are no points since the accident happened in a different state than where I live now.

It really was just an unfortunate combination of turn, ice, and no shoulder. I was lucky I didn't go off the side of the mountain because that would have sucked.

 

makes me wonder if youre a safe driver!

 

My brother totalled his '03 RSX and a '03 Civic at 10mph. The insurance would have gone up $1000 on the new GTI ('03) he got, but my parents put him as primary driver of the family '96 4Runner instead; hence it only went up a few hundred dollars. The GTI is designated as a "recreational" vehicle in the policy (AAA).

If his parents put him under their policy, and designate him as driving an older family vehicle, he'll save a lot of money.

 

I know how that feels. I almost went over a 15 ft embankment on the 4Runner once, due to fog and wet road. The car fishtailed twice, but I was able to recover by quick steering and slamming on the ABS brakes at the last second.

 

Maybe I should rephrase...I've taken a number of advanced driver training, and defensive driver training courses. I've also done some serious track time (upwards of 100 hours). Believe me, I'm about as well trained a driver as you'll likely see this side of a serious racer.

 

When I was younger I had a 1995 Civic CX. On my way to work I drifted off to sleep for about 10 seconds while coming to a stop light. Next thing I knew, boom!!! My Civic hatchback appears to have warped a Porshe 911. The side of it was sort of pushed in, kinda like if you took a peice of metal and bent it in. My Civic was fine, bumper has minor damage. Insurance covered it. That was the first and only time I dozed off...

 

I would have been happy with a fish tail, but the corner was banked and the patch of ice I hit was black ice. The tail came around before I could react and with only about 3 inches between the line on the side of the road and the side of the mountain, there was nothing I could do.

 

are u talking about skyline drive, or near there?