TL ben

Damn..thursday night was all bad. Had my high school graduation that day and went out with my friends that night. Chilled all night (hella fun) and drove home at around 4:30 a.m. That's when everything went downhill. Was driving in the fast lane at about 70-75 mph (wasn't even fast at all ) when all the sudden i ran some %!@#^*!$ over on the freeway I didn't see. Swerved towards the median instantly and counter-steered to avoid hitting the median head on. swiped the sh!t outta the left side of my car luckily nobody else was on the freeway at that time so I was able to cross all 4 lanes to the right and check my damages. It's in the shop now and guna take about 8-10 days for it to get fixed be careful when you're driving guys..you never know when something like this can happen..even if you're driving carefully. i'm thankful i'm ok and my parents didn't get too heated. anyways here's some pics of the damages:













gotta replace the front bumper, fender, both doors, and rear bumper guna be bank...

crazymjb

What is this, screw your TL weak? That sucks. What did you avoid hitting? If it wasn't a dog id say let it die. How well did the VSA work?

nfnsquared

Yeah, I can hear my Dad, "Nothing good ever happens after midnight." I don't know how many years it to me to figure out he was pretty much right.

ndx2

wow... damages always look so much worse on a silver car!

for an incident at 70~ mph, you got lucky. but you pretty much effed up the entire left side... you're probably better off going through your insurance.

well, best of luck on getting it fixed... and congrats on your graduation.

Tennisjon2002

Damn that is tough, gotta ask though were u messed up? if so that is the shit that happens when ur like that, but if not then I feel for u man and best of luck with the repairs.

Lore

It'll buff right out!

But if it doesn't, a competent body shop will make that right in no time. Hope you weren't drunk or otherwise behaving irresponsibly... else you might have cost someone their life (or your own).

Did you see sparks when you hit the guard rail? It looks like some areas of the car are scarred from the metal to metal contact.

Msnowdon

That is what I was wondering, it starts just on the door area.

Michael

Riu

that right there is the pain.

I10O0I1

iTrader: (1)

dam sorry to here... that side of my tl was also hit... i know how you fell man... hurts inside... even with my car repaired i look at it sometimes and i hate it..

boltjames

News flash: 70-75 MPH is indeed "fast at all".

News update: "Driving carefully" isn't defined as "speeding at 4:30am after partying with friends all night".

Note to self: If you weren't speeding, you likely would have seen the object and avoided the crash. Don't like that one? Okay, then at the very least you may not have had to over-react and risk hitting the median. Not with me yet? Perhaps you might have not seen the object and perhaps you still would have had to over-react, but at a lower speed your over-reaction likely wouldn't have caused the accident.

Bottom line: You were speeding. That's why you crashed. Own it. If you don't learn that simple lesson from this, it won't be just your TL that's out of commission for a week.

BJ

Formula 350

Hey,

Thanks for putting the straight lines on the car so I can get a better view of the 'angle' of the car ....

Actually, I am surprised you still have your mirror on the car... must have been a metal median divider...

Well, sorry to hear about it, but like someone said, learn from it....

They teach you in drivers ed to run over something instead of swerving and losing control....it is hard to do, but it is a good lesson.

KJSmitty

BSM's would have prevented all of that....


Tis to bad - although, congrats on your surviving grad night...

It will be good as new in no time.


Drive safe.

angler67

I do not know if you have driven on CA highways/freeways much, but the posted speed limits are 65-75 and moderate traffic levels often move 70-80, with faster individuals going 80-90.

So for CA standards he was not going very fast. We also have heavy traffic flows and therefore a lot of debris on the highways: ladders, ice chests, lounge chairs, tires debris, chains, pallets....

But if he was not in an altered state due mind altering substances, fatigue is most likely at 4:30AM. That in combination with lack of driving experience (I remember my accidents at that age) are the major factors. Although he could drive 15mph and probably would never have an over=ompensation incident

TLBen glad you are OK and no others were hurt. Driving on highways, stuff will happen. Get used to it. In most cases it is better to hit debris than to risk avoidance aftermath.

dAveSPEC

Good thing no was one hurt, including yourself, in the mishap. I used to drive to work during those hours and believe me if it was a weekend, you would be lucky to find one person who wasn't swerving or demonstrating uncoordinated driving habits. It's not like the road is empty either. Even the majority of truck drivers don't push it around that time. A good rule of thumb is to drive in the middle lane, because is always leaves you with more space and room for error as long as you watch your mirrors. Most of the road debris and such tends to make its way to the sides of the road, not to the middle.

P.S. You wouldn't believe how fast I was driving at that time on the Blue Ridge Parkway in VA. A lot of fog, deer, and too many Red Bulls. The point is you always have to be aware of your environment, whether the road speed is normally 75 or not.

VA locals: I didn't have a Navi then.

rstark

You're a brave man to be able to post these pictures. Thankfully no on got hurt. Remember, it's just a car and can be repaired...

mg7726

DAYUM! looks like bodyshop will be replacing the whole left side.

i suggest you get an alignment too after fixing the car...

TBone2004

I remember one by one all the 17, 18 year olds at my highschool had their fancy new cars parents bought them (or they saved and got themselves) smashed them up into trees, deer or other cars. I remember being so jealous that I did not have a nice new car, instead I had the double hand-me-down, but man it made it a lot less painful and expensive when I got my maturing dings and dents.Like I plan to teach my son (in his handed down TL - if I am willing to give it up in 15 years ) Learn from every situation - whether driver fault or not - if you do not learn at least one thing from situations like this then you have lost a lot more than 10G on car repairs.

Glad you did not become another graduation night statistic.

Dkrudop

Sorry, but CA or not, 70-80 IS indeed very fast......try telling the next tree/telephone pole/median you run into that it's not. How fast the speed is in relation to other cars has nothing to do with whether it's fast or not. Not saying that I don't go there, 'cuz I do.....but all you need is one "near miss" or "pants-crapping" episode (such as this one)...and if you have any sense at ALL, you'll realize that 70-80 IS fast.

The downside: TL is damaged, insurance rates will probably soar (I hope HE'S paying insurance, not mom & dad....it might make more of an impact). However, the upside.......he's alive, he's uninjured....AND (hopefully) he can learn from this instance.

Glad you survived graduation night......we don't need MORE statistics.

JetJock

TL Ben....don't let this get you down. You'll get the car fixed, and learn a lesson about swerving to avoid objects in the road. It's only a car, you are alive and safe and that's all that counts. You'll be OK...enjoy the summer. I hope the car gets fixed soon and looks OK. Good luck!! It's a lot of damage, but mostly cosmetic so it shouldn't effect the way the car drives after it's repaired. I'm glad you're OK.

Legend2TL

Good thing is you're OK, the car can always be fixed/sold/traded/....
Learn from it as a leason in life and don't repeat.

melly

glad no one was injured.

couple of remarks / observations:

i agree with your dad - you are so much more at risk for having badness happen on the road after midnight. i know it is boring but true. this is due to the fact that more drunks/impaired on the road - including the impaired from fatigue. it is almost as bad as being drunk (certainly worse than two beers with dinner).

if you ever want to see the messed up things that happen after midnight - volunteer in a Level I Emergency Room. It doesnt take much to screw up the rest of your life....

You will probably have most of your "accidents" in the next few years. i know you think you are a good driver. you probably are a much better driver than the elderly - but they drive within their limits (this may be 5 mph below the speed limit) - thus they don't get in as many accident and have lower insurance rates. younger drivers tend to drive faster and there is less time to react - result is a higher incidence of accidents and higher insurance rate.

it is a fact that excess speed is a huge contributer to accidents.

do i go over the speed limit? sure but only when i have great visibility and excellent road conditions. this is definately hypocritical. we all speed!

i am just saying be very careful out there - especially at night. too many young people die because a little EFF UP.



take care.

Mark

chill_dog

Glad you're OK. Damage isn't too...can be fixed...hopefully you're paying out of pocket and not filing a claim...price to fix < increased rates for 3 years. But if you don't have the cash, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Not too sure about some of the lessons others think you should be learning...seems more like a $hit happens incident vs. a I did something wrong incident (unless you were 2 sheets to the wind). Given the circumstances, I can understand why your parents weren't too pissed...whether it's your car or theirs, you're ok, it's repairable, and barring you being inebriated beyond belief, it was just one of those things. Congrats on graduating and good luck with the car!

Steel

Rant on grandpa, and I'll you're at it go check out the posted limits in california.

bklynpanman

enough of this nice shit.. assholes like you get people killed..

J RIDE 81

Hope you weren't drinking that night. If you were I hope you learned your lesson. That's going to be one pricey repair!

Dvus555

This was my thought... why were you in the left lane on a 4 lane highway at 4:30 am? Just because it's called the "Fast Lane", doesn't mean that is the only place you can go fast. Keep Right, Pass Left. It gives you more room for maneuvers.

ericajackhannahjamie?

Sorry about the accident, at least you're not injured. Try not to drive that fast at 4:30am next time. Let us know how much it would cost to repair your car.

crazymjb

70 is not speeding. You wouldnt be stopped even in MA for doing that. Speeding would be taking advantage of the fact that there was no one on the highway that night and going 153, or even 100. When there is no traffic up into the mid 80s is ok, and that is in MA. In florida you can go about 100 and be with the flow of traffic, at least when we visited.

Note: this is assuming you are alert, not under the influence, etc. People going 75 may get people killed by going to slow. With the agression of modern drivers.... Dude, maybe you should have gotten a volvo The person who posted the remark about ppl going 75 getting people killed. If you are not alert you have no business driving at all.

ericajackhannahjamie?

When I was in visiting Los Angeles, we decided to take a trip to Las Vegas. When we were on Rt 15, my friend was traveling about 80mph but cars just flying pass us. I believe they were doing approximately 90~95mph. So she decided to do 100~110mph. From Orange County is about a good 270 mile drive. She got us there in about alittle bit over 3 hours.

But that was 7pm at night, I don't think she would do that fast at 4:30am in the morning. Again, this was nothing but desert I think I would slow down if I am the only one on the road. I would do 65mph on 65mph zone, hehe.. that's just me.

MR1

We have slightly higher speed limits out here 65 & 70 MPH max depending on density. I-15 at one time was unenforced for speed long ago, traffic flys to Vegas. The stretch he was on in the Bay Area is good road @ 70 is around the speed limit. Freak accident for a lesser experienced and probably tired younger driver. Slower would have been better but he really was not speeding.

crazymjb

Thats why I am pissed we dont have acura link(all cars should have something like that). I would want the autorities to be contacted if I wiped out, not that I would, I am too good. But its comforting knowing that if your airbags are deployed in a crash and no1 is around someone is contacted. Even the C class offer that.

MR1

Gee, hope you never make a mistake. I would agree that the TL is too much car for an inexperienced driver and hope he learned something but come on, lighten up.

crazymjb

He was foing 75. Cops wouldnt pull you over for THAT. Jeez. If he was tired thats 1 thing, but if he OD'd on espressor he should be fine. there was no1 on the road, he could have gone 150 and not posed a threat, but he stayed under 80. Even my father, the worlds most cautious driver, if awake, would have been at about 85, in his old ford, but he is a seasoned driver. If 75 is too much for you to handle, shoulda gone with a volvo(s40) or a kia rio. I mean, if you arent gonna take your car above 65, yet you buy something with 270 HP, and you arent constantly at the track you got a problem.

boltjames

75 mph at 4:30am after being awake for 20+ straight hours on an emotional graduation night has nothing to do with the posted speed limits in California. Common sense, right? If there's 5 feet of unplowed snow covering the LIE I'm not going to go 55 mph now am I?

Posts like this one creep up all the time, and we're only hearing from the survivors. TL drivers *have* died in the past two years because of a reckless misunderstanding of what this car is and what it can/can't do. The TL is a luxury sedan with sporty tendencies. It's not a sports car. It's not equipped for certain styles of driving. The car is too smooth and you can routinely get up to 95 mph if you're not paying attention. Kiddies are buying this car with grandpa's money because, to them, it's a pre-modded Accord. It's not. Straight line, it's terrific. In the twisties on the stock tires, it's semi-risky. At high speed making quick swerves you're 70/30 going to lose control. Try to help; don't be the problem.

BJ

crazymjb

He swerved to avoid hitting something. Also, have there been any forum members, especially TL owners, who have lost there lives in an accident? If you manage to get your TL to move in 4 feet of snow I will be very proud. Kids dont get it cause its a premodded acord, they get it cause its a fairly priced vehicle. If kids were trying to get quick cars and had that much money at there disposal they would jump on the Lancer Evos and WRX STIs, I know cause I am a kid. I dont like those pure sport cars with no luxery, TL is a nice car, and its got a fair amount of power. Generally one is not prepared to turn like that on a highway, you arent expecting something to be in the middle of the road. The kid wasnt try to do "hairpin turns," He was succesfully trying to avoid an obsticle. As far as being tired out, how do you know he didnt drink redbull(too many kids at my school do), you dont need sleep on that stuff. I dont think its fair to chew someone up for going a posted speed limit. As you say this car can creep up on 95, he kept it at 75, so apparently he was paying attention. If he was going 110+ then you could call him a fucker and an asshole, although I still wouldnt, unless he was doing it on city streets.

Steel

All you should have done was discredit my post because I used "I'll" instead of "while."

J & M

Man, all that damage and it doesn't look like there is one scratch on your rims

Mike_McCready

Wow alot of you are rippin on this kid who just had his car trashed saying that it's his fault. He was going his speed limit, he was tired, and &*@# happens man. Go easy, maybe it's just easier for my to sympathize being 17 and having a TL that I love to death...

crazymjb

MR1

Don't get to carried away, it was his fault. I'm not ripping him but facts are facts.