TLwiz

Hello Fellow TLers,

I am sorry to say that I am no longer a TLer. Last night I was hit head-on by a drunk driver. I was stopped at a stop sign, and hit by a Chevy Tahoe Z71 with full brush bar. The only damage to his truck was a small scratch, and a hole in his license plate. My car is borderline totalled (see pics). The airbag never went off, which worries me. I am going to have to have it looked into, and may be able to sue for that too. Should I sue the driver too? I have no injuries at all, but I need my car for business, and I obviously do not have one. Let me know what you all think.

thom
TLwiz

TLwiz

another pic

songoku

:wow: :wow: :wow:

HOLY GOD!!!!

I'm glad that you're OK bro!!!

ArN 2000 TL

It is possible the airbags are fully functional because the sensors are usually off-center located in the bumper and it seems that you main point of impact was dead center....i would still have it looked into because with that type of impact I would definately want the airbags to go off.

J.T.'s 3.2CL

Are YOU alright? The car can be replaced. Sorry to hear about this.

CarFreak

Damn...I would definitelty sue that driver. You may not have any aches now, but it will start appearing later on. Glad to hear you're ok. Good luck w/everything.

Seotaji

wow, i would sue for as much as possible.

the driver decided to endanger everyone's lives by driving drunk.

they must be punished.

NighthawkBlack

Glad to hear you are alright. I forget where they were when I took my bumper off but they general are positioned so that they explode when you hit something not when something hits you. The side airbag will go off if someone hits you on the doors. You should sue because he was drunk. Im being sued by someone that ran a red light on a scooter and hit my car on the side and I still say sue cause he was drunk. Lawsuits suck when they are brought up without merit but this guy could have killed someone. Did the police document he was intoxicated?

sssick

Your airbag should have DEFINATELY gone off looking at those pics. That is a head on collision, the exact kind that airbags were originally designed for. I would also see a doctor because of after effects of your body being smashed around.

TUFF GONG

I don't think so. Everybody thinks so but airbags only go off in serious collisions. This particualar accident simply did not have enough force to trigger the sensors. Like TLWiz said, he's fine.

TLWiz, glad your Ok but are you sure thats borderline total? It doesn't look like it suffered serious structural damage....at least by looking at those pics. The reason your car suffered more damage was simply because of the what hit what due to the height of the truck. The Tahoe bumper agains't your grill and hood...easy to determine the winner here.

hmmmm, maybe the drunk driver was entertaining himself by wrapping aluminum foil on his cat...all kidding aside, I hope that drunk is in serious trouble with the law..you have a bigger case with the drunk then with Acura.

sssick

I've seen almost all airbags go off in the insurance institute's 5mph bumper crash test you can look at them online if needed.
That was definately over 5mph.

Edit: Read this Article
They say 12-14 mph airbags definately deploy, so was the truck going over 12-14 mph, from the looks of it he was.

AK_MOBBER

sue his b|tch azz because he is a drunk driving mofo. You sue-ing him will def haunt him for the next 5 years.

Oh, your car isn't totaled BTW. don't expect them to say it's totaled just because you think so. That car is quite fixable it's just up to you to decide if you want to take a chance driving a car that has been previously hit and the airbags didn't go off.

get a new 3.2 and sue that punk

Moo

Dayyum...sorry to hear. Hope you're ok.

I'm not the kinda person to sue ppl, but in the case I think you should. Definately sue that dumbass driver. Fvckin drunks. And as for the airbag issue i'd definately get that checked out. Looks like a very strong impact. I can't believe the bags didn't deploy.

Good luck with everything.

TLwiz

QUICK UPDATE:

The garage says that it is borderline totalled because of the radiator & AC stuff is gone, and the engine itself could be damaged (all sorts of fluids were pouring out, and still are). Insurance claim rep said because airbag did not deploy they need to investigate it. It could be the type of 'off-set' impact (the bar made the "v" impact, rather than a flat impact area), but if not they will total it. I am waiting 'till this week to hear.

SlyTLS

Glad to hear that you're ok. I'm also glad to see that our cars can take a solid hit to the nose...unfortunately it was at your expense. As for the airbag...definitely get it checked out and sue if you find out it should have gone off (keep us posted too!) Sue the pants off the other driver...he got lucky this time that he didn't kill someone...he has to be taught a lesson!!! By the way if the police ask you if you want to press charges I say do it. I hate to sound like a hipocrit b/c I have driven drunk &/or buzzed before but never to the point where I wasn't coherent. I know better than to even attempt that one! Again, that doesn't mean that my actions were any better than his. I just hate hearing how other people's lives are impacted by the stupidity of others.

SilverUA5

Holy $hit, you need to sue that sob man. Don't matter if your not feeling any pain now, but you might have problems later on, so you should go see a doctor or something. As for your ride, all you need to do have your insurance deal with his; if he has any, but here in CA, we can get uninsured motorist and it would be covered. Get a rental and from the looks of your car, it might be consider as totalled depending on if there's any internal damages. Now you have an excuse to get the Type S, '03 Accord or '04 TL.

BTW, did you call the cops? If dude was drunk, it's a simple open and shut case bro.

TUFF GONG

I hear ya, but it's hard to compare a collision agains't a "vehicle" and a solid "wall" sort of speak. There is a difference between hitting another vehicle or a solid wall.....even if it's a large truck.

Know what I mean?

pianoman41

Most airbag sensors also include a decelerometer, which detects the rate of deceleration (extremely rapid when hitting something *while the vehicle is in motion*). If you are sitting still, your forward speed reads as 0, and the corresponding G force is 0. When your vehicle is struck, if your foot was on the brake and you didn't move backwards much (or at all), the deceleration will actually be negative (your car would have *accelerated* slightly in the opposite direction). This could have played a factor in why your air bags did not deploy. Note that this is designed like this, and not a guaranteed indication of failure of the SRS system.

Glad to hear you're okay though. I doubt the car is totalled, but make sure an adjuster that works for *you* (and not your insurance company) thoroughly goes over the car.

vperkins2

Hey pianoman, that's a darn good point. But where do you find an "outside" adjuster? I haven't had a major accident so I've never gone through this. I just thought I'd try to educate myself on this topic!

Thanks,

V.

pianoman41

Just look in the yellow pages for a vehicle appraisal service that specializes in collision estimates. A good local body shop could point you in the right direction as they also use them. It will cost you out of your own pocket to get it done (not sure how much, but probably less than $100), but that may be money well spent if it keeps you from getting a repaired car back that should have been totalled.

Acura_Fan

Eight of you guys have said to sue this guy. What exactly is he suing for? He isn't hurt. Certainly he can have the drivers insurance pay for his car (assuming he has insurance). Since there are no documented injuries, what else is there to sue for? You can't go into court and say, "He hit me while driving drunk, I am not injured but still think I deserve $100K for my troubles". All this litigation only makes your insurance premiums increase. Yes, it sucks to have it happen but sue for what?? The law will take care of his driving drunk.

bug230

I also was hit by a drunk driver while I was waiting at a stop light. It occured about 2 years ago and I am still invoved in the lawsuit. At first I didn't have any injuries but with in a 2 day period, I had severe back problems. I now have 2 sliped disks and I fight back pain daily. I have issues with drunk drivers so I think you sould sue his/her ass. Also to keep in mind if you do have medical problems down the road which you feel is linked to the accident and the case has been closed, (due to statute of limitations) you are S.O.L. By filing a lawsuit now you are covering your ass down the road.

baggsTLS

Agreed! Make sure you go to the doctor as often as needed. Never brush it off and say, "I'm fine..no worries." I too was hit by an Under the Influence fool on the freeway (98 Eclipse vs. 86 Chevy Blazer) and now am dealing w/back pain for the rest of my life even though I was only slightly sore and dizzy after the accident.
However, my attorney helped me get a reasonable settlement. The biggest problem I had was the driver was uninsured.
I would definitely start all your proceedings now. I waited and that hurt my case some.

Best of luck to you.

TLwiz

I am probably going to sue because his insurance (which he has not yet given the info for) may not pay since he was drunk. I am waiting to hear if this was his third offense, because the SUV is still impounded (the owner went Saturday morning to look at it, but has left it there, adding to the storage charge!!) If his insurance pays off my car, great. I still want a little cash for the inconvenience of not having a car, missing work, him being an idiot, etc.

ALso, the garage today commented this tidbit: "How in the HELL, your airbags did not go off, I just don't know." I am now a little more concerned, but excited too since the Insurance CO. says it will total if airbags malfunctioned. Keeping my fingers crossed for a new car, not a repairable!!!

car_lost

if its totalled... buy an acura mdx (that way u have a bigger car and if it ever happens again it wont be as bad) and start an acura mdx forum... heh... i think it'll be cool to see a couple of those fixed up. plus with the money u get from suing him... if any... u could fix it up pretty well.

WiLz

sux...hope u that crap settled soon! so u can get urself a new car!

on a side note, i have an extra driver side headlight (cleared, but leaks...)! so if someone wants a pair of headlights they can get the driverside from me, and passenger side from TLwiz

TUFF GONG

but it's gonna be '02 & '01 setup Will

WiLz

oh...haha...didnt notice that :p