After 22 years with nary a mishap, it's safe to say that I just flat out got
too comfortable ... and wasn't paying attention like I should have been.

A painful lesson this has been indeed. . .

The adjuster comes in the morning.

Hopefully not riding a pale horse!!!

:o(

-Drew

On Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 12:02 PM, Scott Daniel - Turbovans <
scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:

> very sorry to hear about your misfortune.
>
> Seems this should be obvious................but ..............
> 'Fry to drive as FAR AWAY from all vehicles as possible,  in all
> directions, front, rear, alongside "  - like don't drive next to trucks etc.
>
> So your brakes where strong, but your tire traction was weak ?
> what was the condition of the pavement .........wet ?
>
> friend of mine hit the rear of a car like this ( this is what caused the
> mishap )
> She looked at what was going on out in front of her car..........the
> traffic situation, while moving.
> Then she looked around inside her car for her cell phone.
> A few seconds later, the next time she looked at what was in
> front.........it was too late to avoid hitting the car in front of her.
>
> sorry to go on............many, many people just watch the car in front of
> them.
> You have to watch the Entire Scene............the car in front of the car
> in front of you, and the car ahead of that..........as far as you can see,
> and watch the 'whole picture.'
>
> We need to be vigilant for the not vigilant drivers in front of
> us..........and always........stay way back, just to give yourself an escape
> route if nothing else.
> I hope your very loved Blackbeard is quite fixable !
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Matt Drew" <t3vanagon@GMAIL.COM>
> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 10:57 PM
> Subject: CR@P!!! Now a NV Statistic
>
>
>  It finally happened.
>> My spotless, accident-free record demolished - along with Blackbeard's
>> front
>> end.
>>
>> I was heading home from work tonight when I learned the hard way that I
>> shouldn't have hesitated to have my tires replaced when I knew they were
>> due.
>>
>> I knew that I was "a bit" overdue and that the tread was juuuust a bit on
>> the worn side.
>>
>> 2 Teenage girls (16 an 17) in the Toyota minivan in front of me (you know,
>> they aren't very "mini" anymore!).
>> Driver (this was her 3rd accident already) slammed on her brakes.
>> So did I.
>> And I slid . . . and slid . . . a n d   s l l l i i i i  d d d d d d . . .
>> .
>>
>> Right into the back of 'em.
>>
>> Put 2 dents in their rear hatch. That's it.
>> No broken lights, no cracked bumper . . . nothing.
>>
>> Blackbeard?
>> Front fiberglass is demolished.
>> Front grille, same.
>> Lights are intact and still working.
>> Biggest problems are the unavoidable new pool of coolant in the front and
>> the steering control.
>> Steering wheel turns, but is very choppy, almost locking in position.
>>
>> That's all I know for now.
>> Having him towed in tomorrow for a full assessment of the damages.
>>
>> Based on the brief description, what kind of repairs I'm potentially
>> looking
>> at (other than the obvious superficial ones)?
>> Radiator? Coolant line? Front axle?
>>
>> Oh well, I can be thankful at least that there were no injuries!
>>
>> It definitely could have been worse.
>>
>>
>> Drew
>> '90 GL "Blackbeard"
>>
>
>