F150 Accident

[yellomalibu]

Re: F150 Accident

Yup, if someone slams on their brakes at pretty much any time and you hit them it's because you were following too close for the attention you were paying to the road/traffic.

The only exception I can think of (and the 18-wheeler drivers know this for sure) is if some one cuts in front of you and immediately slam on their brakes.

Agreed. Defensive driving. Expect people to slam on the brakes when the light turns yellow. Expect people to slam on their brakes because they saw a critter run into the road. In short, expect the unexpected. Use (at least) the two second rule: when the car in front of you passes something stationary, say one thousand one, one thousand two. If you reach the stationary point before you finish counting, you are following too closely.

Unfortunately, accidents are the best way to teach you what you were doing wrong.

Live and learn.

[Eagle Kammback]

Re: F150 Accident

Well, the F150 only has Rear ABS

[TheSilverBuick]

Re: F150 Accident

The initial skid mark will be the longest and probably the darkest before the ABS truely kicks in as well. I've looked at the ABS skid marks our F-250's leave on packed snow roads, looked at the spacing, etc. The first skid is the longest followed by a series of smaller skids. I'm sure the slick surface highlighted the skids more than pavement would (and were longer).

[chevy3100]

Re: F150 Accident

For anti-lock skidmarks, well, you need good weather conditions and for the police to be there in a hurry.... We had a demonstration from a cop one day while I was in school, showed up in a Crown Vic that had the anti-lock system rigged in a way that they could turn on and off the anti-lock system, as well as when the brakes were applied a piece of chalk was shot out at the ground from under the rear bumper. He went through exactly how they measure the marks, figure out the coefficient of friction etc. to determine when brakes were applied.

For anti-lock cars - there will be marks, albiet very light and not consistent. He did a demonstration on the road of the skidmarks left with anti-lock and they definitely exist, however he explained that the road has to be very dry & they will not be visible for a long period of time. Sure enough a few hours later traffic on the road and the wind had basically eliminated any chance of seeing them.

[HEMI]

Re: F150 Accident

Never understood the reasoning of measuring skid marks as a few people
know how to properly brake in a panic situation.How do they measure
skid marks from a vehicle equipped with an anti lock brake system?
Just wondering.

[Woodward_Dreams]

Re: F150 Accident

That sucks man. I got a careless when i was 17 for doing something far stupider. Glad you're not hurt, just be careful.

[Eagle Kammback]

Re: F150 Accident

I never tailgate, ever, my dog distracted me, and I hit them, I never even said it wasn't my fault, I know it is my fault :

[Huskinhano]

Re: F150 Accident

Yup, sorry to say in my early post, almost always you rear end someone, it's your fault, no matter what. The only person who I know who got away with it was my cousin. He was stopped, the woman in front backed up into him. Told the cop my cousin rear ended her. How ever my cousin had just left his insurance agent who saw the woman back into him through the front office window and set the record straight with the cop. Otherwise he would have been tagged for being at fault.

It's still your fault since you should have been totally in control no matter what. How ever I do think the ticket is a bit much. In all of the accidents I've been hit I do not ever recall the other person who hit me get a ticket except for possibly the uninsured guy who totaled my Rabbit out on the FDR by the Triborough bridge who rear ended me, pushing me into another car.

[jcharliem]

Re: F150 Accident

...What??? what if you are behind somebody, and they slam on the brakes at a yellow light and you hit them...

You're at fault, kid. Don't tailgate.

[joebogey]

Re: F150 Accident

Yeah, that totally sucks, but to play the devils advocate, you are at fault. Back in the day my Dad was driving on a major highway, women in front of him spilled coffee in her lap and decided it was a good idea to slam on the brakes. He rear-ended her '72 Caddy with the '70 Imp. Guess what, it was his fault. You're supposed to drive with enough room to stop when the person in front of you slams on the brakes.

With that said, we've all been there and done that, chalk it up to a learning experience. My learning experience involved barrel rolling mid-air. Get a new bumper, stay a little farther back, and hopefully the people won't be total @ssholes.

[70chevyC-10]

Re: F150 Accident

I was once told anytime "backing up" is involved, even if you're now stopped, it's 100% your fault.

[jordanmorningstar]

Re: F150 Accident

We all hate to see this happen to you, you're a good kid and you don't deserve this. Unfortunately, shit happens, and sometimes it happens to good people. The blessings are that 1) you're OK, 2) the dog's OK, and 3) you were driving a somewhat recent-model F150, which will be a lot easier to fix than your vintage AMC iron.

You might want to start asking around about a civil lawyer who's a real asshole. You hopefully won't need it, but if the other driver wasn't talking, he may have been doing so in order to prevent anything from coming up at trial in a lawsuit. You don't need to put them on retainer, but it wouldn't hurt to know who the most despicable, despiseable, and all-out most hated lawyer in your area is and get their business card.

[sedandelivery55]

Re: F150 Accident

It could have been worse. A few weeks ago, a young man 18-20 was distracted by his dog while driving here in OK. He told the police that he 'looked back at the dog just for a minute'. Obviously he survived but the woman and daughter that was in the car he hit head-on were both killed.

[Brian Lohnes]

Re: F150 Accident

If it is any solace, rear-ending someone basically means you are screwed in every state in the Union.

[Eagle Kammback]

Re: F150 Accident

NJ is the worst state in the Union