Nice write up man, really informative. Now that I've read this hopefully I don't get into a wreck because thats normally how it works for me. As soon as I know what to do in certain situations, those situations normally show up soon in life for me. *Fingers Crossed*

Good writeup. Most if not all of it is usable information that should be followed. Of course most of it is null if you go directly into the ambulance after the accident.

On 11/6/11 me and my 07 TL/w Nav ASM(29,000 miles) were in a offset head-on collision with a stolen Ford F150 that was evading. I was heading east on a two way street, one lane in each direction, curb/sidewalk on both sides, in a 25mph residental street.(very little wiggle/avoidance room). My airbag did not deploy and the seatbelt knocked the wind out of me. After impact he not only dead stopped my TL but I was sling shot backwards 30ft before coming to a stop. Prior to impact, he side swiped a Jeep Grand Cherokee, hit a Honda Odyssey, after which he lost his driver front wheel, and with his foot still on the gas lost control veering head on into me. There was maybe 1.5-2 seconds of reaction time after he hit the Honda in which I had no idea what he was going to do so I was hard on the brakes as soon as I saw his headlights. I may have jerked the steering wheel into the oncoming traffic lane a fraction of a second to avoid him after he crossed over but hell if I remember. Honestly, I dont know whether or not I made it to a dead stop before he hit. I had whiplash and my chest was bruised from the seatbelt. I was able to walk out of the car after the accident, but only to get into the ambulance which had parked next to me.

The driver of the stolen truck climbed out of the driver window, ran on foot up a side street, and the cops never found him.

It's very easy to be disoriented after being in moderate to severe accidents so a lot of common sense or things on this list can be easily overlooked.
It's probably best to keep a summarized version print out in a checklist to leave in the glove compartment.

Last night I just picked up my replacement. A 2008 CBP TL/w Nav, 32,000 miles, Certified preowned. I figured if I was able to walk away with a headon into a F150 it's pretty safe to drive lol

Sweet write-up, and great info. Didn't think about the ziplock in the glovebox. Although the last accident I was in, the car was upside down.

so true!
i wish i saw this before my accident last week!

Great info, but I would have to assume this is for someone who has never been in an accident; or extremely hope so.

Common sense, most of the info we need could use more sticky. If you died in the accident, this is useless.

Concerning the incident where the Acura driver was cut off, and then the other driver stopped short, causing a rear-end.

In LA this was called a SWOOP-AND-SQUAT, usually by an really old junker car, to collect on the insurance. Often the driver causing the accident would have others in his car, who would also claim medical problems, and the claim could run over 100K dollars. Often a shady doctor was included in the arrangement.

And that was 40 years ago - glad to see that insurance fraud is still being practiced in large cities. I think that you are lucky. Perhaps the other driver was just being an ass, which has also been pretty common since there have been cars.

In heavy traffic there is often simply no defence against this type of incident.

Call my mom, the police, and take pics like I'm a photographer (:

Recently got into an accident in the snow.
Came around a corner little to fast (30mph) fuck.
TL went into a drift/ slide and I tried to correct but nothing doin.
Slid directly into a plow (pickup truck)
Plow competely ate up the rear quarter panel and drivers side rear door.
Wheel was shoved under the car by the bottom of the plow, suspension, a-frame and such all bent to shit.
Three airbags went off so car was totaled out.
No pictures, image is burned into my brain forever.
RIP to a beautiful gray 08 tl w/ 60k miles

Getting a 2G tsx with the 6 speed from insurance.
Gonna miss the sexy stlying of the tl though and that roar of the vtec V6

Thanks man this helps especially since im a young hot head driver at times.:thumbsup:

Great thread, good information!

Nicely written. Hopefully never have to use this. knock on wood

im investing in a dash cam asap. i avoid an accident every other day....smh

Yup. I just picked up a 06 TL and aside from driving it to my place and driving it to get safety inspected, I am ordering a G1W-C dash cam and getting that installed before I drive any significant amounts.

Dash cam should help immensely in those insurance scams where people cut you off and slam on the brakes.

Although from what I've been reading/hearing, most of the time if you rear-end someone it's gonna be the person behind's fault.

Not sure if the dash cam can change that at least it will help. Good OP write up, I might even print that out and put it in the glovebox so I will make sure to not miss a step in case I get into an accident

I'm sure it would be awesome to own a dash cam but if you rear-end it will not help you at all even if the other asshole stops short.

Well you see if the car was already ahead of you and you were following too close or were not paying attention, then yes you most likely will be in trouble.

But I see alot of cam footage of people cutting in front of you suddenly then stopping short. And so if you can get a good lawyer maybe you'll have a chance?

I mean I guess each jurisdiction's law may be different but it would suck big time if you can show that there were no emergencies in front and the guy suddenly braked for no good reason and you had no reasonable time to react (not because you were following too close or distracted) but because they cut suddenly into your lane.

At least it's way better than not having any dash cam footage, in which case you will be essentially screwed.

good stuff, thanks

Great info, hopefully i won't need it, but learned a lot.

good info

Number 3 is a huge one.. it drive me crazy when I see people have got into a minor fender bender and then just proceed to sit in the middle of traffic as if they MUST stay exactly where they are until the police come.

Amen.. :preach:

For minor bumps with no injuries, it's the fucking law in many places to get the fuck out of the way. People are so dumb.. :doh:

#3 should actually be #1..in any case where your car is still drivable, injured or not, get out of the roadway, especially if you are on the interstate/highway...seen a lot of accidents that started minor but ended up fatal bc people get out of their cars on the interstate to assess their damages or just stay where they are in a lane of travel bc everyone seems to think they need to stay where the accident occurred.. completely false.. also in response for the "cops are complete douchebag asshole motherfuckers who dont give two shits about your car accident and just want to go on with their shift" comment.. cops deal with a lot throughout their day... a lot more than what everyone thinks..a minor accident is on the bottom of a cops list of important calls they are tasked to respond to throughout a shift.. lets give the men and woman in blue a break with these kinds of comments..good post

also forgot to add.. if you are involved in a hit and run accident, just get the license plate of the car that hit you and fled. that's all you really need.

Very helpful article.
Knowing none of this, when my previous car, a Porsche, was backed into in the lane of a parking lot, as soon as the offending driver began with the 'you shouldn't have been in my way' routine, my wife hopped out the driver's side and snapped a dozen pix from all angles before anything was moved. Because it was in a parking lot and there were no injuries, the police declined to even show up. Those photos made the driver at blame suddenly reasonable. Her insurance bought a new door. Case closed.
So, I always keep a camera handy.

Also.. if a car hits you and they point you to pull off the road.. make sure they follow you. Some shady ass bitch rear ended one of our members, she motioned to pull off.. he did and she sped away. Fucking bitch. He didn't get the plate and couldn't give chase because he turned off.

Wow, what a terrible person.

Another reason to install a rear-facing dashcam as well as a front-facing one.

This way can catch these idiots not only in at fault accidents but also legally liable for a hit and run charge as well.

'cept in states where front plates aren't obligatory. :toocool:

There's a thread somewhere.. as terrible as it was.. we all laughed our asses off. That lady has some fucking balls.. what a bitch. :rofl:

Great read! Good info here!!

I got into my first car accident ever in my 1998 honda accord Ex. The car was pretty much in mint condition before I got into the accident.

Let me explain what happened. I was turning left on an intersection a guy driving with his ENTIRE family and two wives in a 2003 ford escape T-boned my passenger side fender. Ruined his entire front end and front clip. My car took it like a Champ. I was also driving alone.

He did not have his headlights on and it was 7:30pm in Central Phoenix AZ.

The cop determined I was at fault because I didn't have proof that he didn't have his lights on, and the fact that I was turning left.

what I learned was never to risk taking a left around dusk time and make sure to look extra hard before taking that left turn.

Now I got and Acura TL and have a fucking dash cam installed. So this bullshit does not happen again.

Good info.

Funny anecdote, and how I came to own my 2006 TL.

About 6 months ago my truck was rear ended on the interstate. It was a hit and run. The driver of a 1990s white jeep cherokee fled the scene. My truck was legally totaled, but I was able to exit the highway into a parking lot.
A witness alerted me that the fleeing vehicle had left behind a clue. So I went and retrieved it as evidence:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AQ...00-h1350-rw-no

Great info. Thanks for providing!

What an awesome post! Concise, yet detailed enough for anyone to get a good idea of what to do.

Reading this thread brought me back to when I was involved in my first and only collision, which occurred in October of 2012. My mother was transporting me back home from a post op visitation at the doctor's office in Scottsdale, AZ. My mother was driving her brand new BMW 528i and we had just picked up a couple of sandwiches from a local café. As we were eating our sandwiches while driving through Old Town Scottsdale, some guy in a lifted Chevrolet Avalanche ran right into us as he was crossing Scottsdale Road from 1st Ave. He drove over the fender and onto the hood almost running right through the windshield. As sandwich schmutz went flying everywhere, my mother became hysterical while I was cursing off my mind.

Both my mother and the individual that crashed into us pulled off next to some condominiums just off of 1st in order to file a report and exchange information. Because of my mother's inability to grasp her composure, she inadvertently burdened a high school freshman with having to deal with the police, disclosing the collision with the insurance, and taking pictures of everything in plain sight. Additionally, it seemed like every person I talked to that day was agitated at the fact that I didn't understand what they were trying to ask me. But hey, I was young and never had to do "adult things" up to that point. Needless to say that after the incident I began to research everything even remotely related to driving. too bad I didn't scour the internet to find this post five years ago.

Wish I add this info when my last car was totaled, this post desearved a thanks. Gonna print it and put it in my glovebox incase something ever happens again.

great right up. this is a good refresher to read if u havent already read this. share this with your friends and family
THanks beautifully written!