It only takes two seconds to have a collision
My driving story this week is a real winner. It is all about whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
I discovered a 1995 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign that has been maintained in showroom condition as it is a diplomatic car on diplomatic plates. It has been used to ferry top brass for American NATO in Europe, but after fourteen years its time to move on.
Fortunately, my Volvo has been demanding a lot of attention as it needs a number of parts to be replaced. This I understand, but it does mean that the car is constantly not available to me as it goes through this refurbishment stage, so I decided I would need a second car to get me around.
This brought me into contact with one of the greatest guys I could ever hope to meet. He has been absolutely wonderful, to the extent that acquiring the car is probably the least of it. With people such as Chris going about the world as ambassadors the United States will soon regain its position in the world as a country that everyone looks up to, especially for its people.
So, we concluded our business in the sale and purchase of the car, and I drove away. The plan was to meet with friends for a coffee, then to go home. I never made it to the meeting place.
I was driving along when I encountered a pedestrian crossing with two pedestrian about to cross, so I bought the automatic JAG to a nice and gentle halt. Then, I heard the screeching of tyres as a 4x4 came bearing down on me. With the pedestrians now right in front of me I could do nothing but wait for the impact. However, the 4x4 came to a halt with only about a hair’s width between us, but before I could exhale there came a crash from behind the 4x4, that in turn caused it to bump into me. At this point, I had possession of the car for twenty minutes.
I simply could not believe it!
My first reaction was to go ballistic, but I soon cooled down and went to take a look. Where was the damage? The third car had plenty to contend with. The second car had it back and front. I had nothing. This was too good to be true. I checked over the car several times, and I noticed that the license plate of the 4x4 was bent, meaning that it had collided with my bumper. The effect of that was to give me a little push, and also lessening the pressure I had on the brake, thereby moving the JAG forward. By this time the pedestrians had jumped out of the way.
It seems that the 4x4 was being driven by a mother who appears to have been distracted by her daughter (who may not have been wearing a seatbelt). When realising that I had stopped she braked hard, and that may have thrown the little girl around. We pulled off the road and there was much commotion around that car. The husband got out to exchange details and the wife sped off with pandemonium taking place in the car.
Of course, in a case like this, it’s always the driver who comes from behind that is at fault. The Seat was at fault for the damage caused to the 4x4, and the 4x4 was responsible to me. Had I been closer to the pedestrian crossing to cause injury to the pedestrians that would have been my fault. So, apart from not boding well for my ownership of this fabulous car, there are some lessons to be learned. When you are driving you cannot allow yourself to be distracted or panicked. You are completely in charge of a motor vehicle, so therefore it is your absolute responsibility. Secondly, driving at an appropriate speed is always appropriate, taking all circumstances into consideration.
All passengers must be strapped in. I cannot say for certain that the little girl was allowed to move around without a seatbelt, but it did appear that way. Fortunately she didn’t seem to be too badly hurt, although that is difficult to say. Lastly, something that I have learned over the more than fifty years of driving experience is that you always need to leave adequate room between yourself and the person or thing in front of you, just in case of situations such as this.
This is the thing that people find difficult to understand: that if you are pushed into someone or something in front of you, it becomes your fault for not having left enough room to consider the faults of others.
Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael
My driving story this week is a real winner. It is all about whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.
I discovered a 1995 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign that has been maintained in showroom condition as it is a diplomatic car on diplomatic plates. It has been used to ferry top brass for American NATO in Europe, but after fourteen years its time to move on.
Fortunately, my Volvo has been demanding a lot of attention as it needs a number of parts to be replaced. This I understand, but it does mean that the car is constantly not available to me as it goes through this refurbishment stage, so I decided I would need a second car to get me around.
This brought me into contact with one of the greatest guys I could ever hope to meet. He has been absolutely wonderful, to the extent that acquiring the car is probably the least of it. With people such as Chris going about the world as ambassadors the United States will soon regain its position in the world as a country that everyone looks up to, especially for its people.
So, we concluded our business in the sale and purchase of the car, and I drove away. The plan was to meet with friends for a coffee, then to go home. I never made it to the meeting place.
I was driving along when I encountered a pedestrian crossing with two pedestrian about to cross, so I bought the automatic JAG to a nice and gentle halt. Then, I heard the screeching of tyres as a 4x4 came bearing down on me. With the pedestrians now right in front of me I could do nothing but wait for the impact. However, the 4x4 came to a halt with only about a hair’s width between us, but before I could exhale there came a crash from behind the 4x4, that in turn caused it to bump into me. At this point, I had possession of the car for twenty minutes.
I simply could not believe it!
My first reaction was to go ballistic, but I soon cooled down and went to take a look. Where was the damage? The third car had plenty to contend with. The second car had it back and front. I had nothing. This was too good to be true. I checked over the car several times, and I noticed that the license plate of the 4x4 was bent, meaning that it had collided with my bumper. The effect of that was to give me a little push, and also lessening the pressure I had on the brake, thereby moving the JAG forward. By this time the pedestrians had jumped out of the way.
It seems that the 4x4 was being driven by a mother who appears to have been distracted by her daughter (who may not have been wearing a seatbelt). When realising that I had stopped she braked hard, and that may have thrown the little girl around. We pulled off the road and there was much commotion around that car. The husband got out to exchange details and the wife sped off with pandemonium taking place in the car.
Of course, in a case like this, it’s always the driver who comes from behind that is at fault. The Seat was at fault for the damage caused to the 4x4, and the 4x4 was responsible to me. Had I been closer to the pedestrian crossing to cause injury to the pedestrians that would have been my fault. So, apart from not boding well for my ownership of this fabulous car, there are some lessons to be learned. When you are driving you cannot allow yourself to be distracted or panicked. You are completely in charge of a motor vehicle, so therefore it is your absolute responsibility. Secondly, driving at an appropriate speed is always appropriate, taking all circumstances into consideration.
All passengers must be strapped in. I cannot say for certain that the little girl was allowed to move around without a seatbelt, but it did appear that way. Fortunately she didn’t seem to be too badly hurt, although that is difficult to say. Lastly, something that I have learned over the more than fifty years of driving experience is that you always need to leave adequate room between yourself and the person or thing in front of you, just in case of situations such as this.
This is the thing that people find difficult to understand: that if you are pushed into someone or something in front of you, it becomes your fault for not having left enough room to consider the faults of others.
Copyright © 2009 Eugene Carmichael
