Special Snowflake Stories

[BabyMama]

I seem to choose times/locations where many elderly people shop. I'm always extremely cautious, but have dodged a number of accidents (in parking lots!) due to elderly drivers not knowing/realizing they need to check their mirrors and over their shoulders, so just back out whenever. I have a tiny car, so it's particularly horrifying, especially after I've double-checked my own mirrors before backing out.

I agree, KB. Everyone should get tested after a certain number of years. It really irks me when I see people not signaling or using turn lanes--I failed my driver's test the first time because I didn't use a turn lane (it was a center lane and I couldn't see the lines because it had snowed) so that especially has really stuck with me!

[Outdoor Girl]

It would make sense if we ALL had our driving regularly reassessed. Say, for instance, the first few years you get your license, you have to sit a practical exam every twelve months. Then at five years. Then ten. Keep it at ten years until a defined age (say 60) then reduce it to five years again, then to every year. People get into bad habits that a system like this would help to reduce, and it would be a lot harder to accuse the system of targeting one group or another if both ends of the age spectrum were scrutinised in the same way. .

I wholeheartedly agree.  The number of people in my city who do not know what a yield sign means is appalling.

[LadyClaire]

There was a recent case here where a person I know well from a fourm was hit by an elderly person who got his feet muddled when driving. She was 36 weeks pregnant and both she and the baby died. Her 2 year old daugher and 3 year old niece were almost hit but her husband managed to grab them and get the out of the road just in time. The driver was fine but I hate to think about the mental scars he'd having after doing that

A co-worker of mine's elderly father confused the gas and the brake while backing up and ended up running over a small child. It was one of those multiple people at fault situations. The parents were letting their small child run loose in the parking lot, the kid ran behind the car,  the elderly driver saw the kid, went to slam on the brakes, and hit the gas instead. The child did not survive.

[Hillia]

Years ago, a friend of mine was hit in a parking lot by an elderly man who just didn't look.  Her car was totaled and she had neck/back problems for years.  Turns out the elderly driver was out on a pass from his retirement home, and the staff there were quite angry at my friend for calling the police and going through the insurance - she ruined his 95th birthday!

[CrochetFanatic]

Years ago, a friend of mine was hit in a parking lot by an elderly man who just didn't look.  Her car was totaled and she had neck/back problems for years.  Turns out the elderly driver was out on a pass from his retirement home, and the staff there were quite angry at my friend for calling the police and going through the insurance - she ruined his 95th birthday!

Oh well!  Birthdays are irrelevant when the birthday boy/girl hits someone with their car! 

[RingTailedLemur]

I was a pedestrian on a fairly narrow pavement a few years ago (so nowhere else to go) and someone opened a car door into me!  Don't people look?!

[Elfmama]

Drivers do all sorts of idiot things.  I was taking DD back to her apartment one time, and saw an open parking slot. Because I knew that there was a handicapped spot in the complex I paused for a moment to make sure that the spot I was about to turn into was not that one.

And as I started to turn into it, a car zipped up on my right, between me and the parked cars, and crashed into my right front fender.  His defense?  "I thought you had stopped."  Because if I had stopped to just let her out rather than park, he would have taken off the passenger door at the very least, and possibly killed/injured DD.

[Wulfie]

I can’t remember if I posted this one or not. I was at lunch with a bunch of co-workers one day and this car kept hitting the front bumper of the car behind him and the rear bumper of the car in front of him as he was trying to parallel park into a space in front of the restaurant. One of the car owners  came running out to his car and yelled that the driver was hitting the two cars repeatedly. The SS driver’s response “I know, there is not enough room for me to park without hitting them”.  “I know, there was not enough room” became a common thread of jokes in the office after that.

Same job, almost the exact same location just in front of our office instead of the resturant next door, different SS driver. One of my co-workers was riding his motorcycle into work. He was suddenly catapulted off his bike and along the pavement under the cars stopped at the stoplight. The reason? A SS driver suddenly opened his door into oncoming traffic and knocked CW off. Thank all that is holy that the driver of the car that he ended up under realized that something had happened and stayed stopped, if he had driven off when the light turned green, CW would have been killed. SS driver was really mad when he got arrested for the accident and made to pay for all the damage to CW bike and his medical bills.

SS driver tried to sue CW for the damage to his car but it was laughed out of court. CW hung his helmet and ripped up bike leathers up in his office as a reminder on how precious life is and how easy it could have all changed at no fault of his.

[2littlemonkeys]

These car stories remind me of one my former roommate shared with me.

Where we lived, it was all apartment buildings and parallel parking on the street.  And like most streets, it was first come, first serve.  There was nothing even slightly resembling reserved parking.

One day, she parked her car, got out and was getting things out of her trunk.  Suddenly, a man pulled up next to her and got out of his car.  Then, while he was screaming obscenities at her, he slammed the trunk closed.  She very narrowly missed having her hand caught in the lid.

Her crime?  She took HIS parking spot.  He had been driving around, spotted it but had to turn around to come back in the right direction, due to the one way street configuration.  And my roommate was supposed to magically know this.

I don't remember the outcome but I do know she wasn't afraid to speak her mind and I'm pretty sure she gave him a pretty good chunk of it.

[mbbored]

Same job, almost the exact same location just in front of our office instead of the resturant next door, different SS driver. One of my co-workers was riding his motorcycle into work. He was suddenly catapulted off his bike and along the pavement under the cars stopped at the stoplight. The reason? A SS driver suddenly opened his door into oncoming traffic and knocked CW off. Thank all that is holy that the driver of the car that he ended up under realized that something had happened and stayed stopped, if he had driven off when the light turned green, CW would have been killed. SS driver was really mad when he got arrested for the accident and made to pay for all the damage to CW bike and his medical bills.

SS driver tried to sue CW for the damage to his car but it was laughed out of court. CW hung his helmet and ripped up bike leathers up in his office as a reminder on how precious life is and how easy it could have all changed at no fault of his.

This is a not uncommon way for cyclists to get injured as well. That's why I make a point of always opening car doors with the opposite hand: it forces me to turn and look over my shoulder as I open the door.

[AliciaLynette]

With referenced to the elderly drivers, when I was a teen, one of the elderly sisters that lived up the road from us managed to mistake the accelerator (gas) for the brake, and ploughed through the garage door.  The entire garage had to be re-built, and she was stopped from driving.  Luckily she wasn't badly hurt, but she was the only person in that house who was still driving at the time, so other neighbours had to rally round to make sure the sisters could run errands/gets to appointments etc.

And here in the UK, there is at least a requirement that at the age of 70 onwards, a driver must retake their test every year to ensure they're still capable.  Sometimes I think retests should be required every 5 or ten years, because the number of bad habits my DH has picked up after 12 years driving is ridiculus!  As a non-driver, I frequently thank the Heavens that I'm a pedestrian and can dodge down alleys/footpaths away from cars!!

[ladyknight1]

I can’t remember if I posted this one or not. I was at lunch with a bunch of co-workers one day and this car kept hitting the front bumper of the car behind him and the rear bumper of the car in front of him as he was trying to parallel park into a space in front of the restaurant. One of the car owners  came running out to his car and yelled that the driver was hitting the two cars repeatedly. The SS driver’s response “I know, there is not enough room for me to park without hitting them”.  “I know, there was not enough room” became a common thread of jokes in the office after that.

Same job, almost the exact same location just in front of our office instead of the resturant next door, different SS driver. One of my co-workers was riding his motorcycle into work. He was suddenly catapulted off his bike and along the pavement under the cars stopped at the stoplight. The reason? A SS driver suddenly opened his door into oncoming traffic and knocked CW off. Thank all that is holy that the driver of the car that he ended up under realized that something had happened and stayed stopped, if he had driven off when the light turned green, CW would have been killed. SS driver was really mad when he got arrested for the accident and made to pay for all the damage to CW bike and his medical bills.

SS driver tried to sue CW for the damage to his car but it was laughed out of court. CW hung his helmet and ripped up bike leathers up in his office as a reminder on how precious life is and how easy it could have all changed at no fault of his.

In my area, we have had three motorcyclists killed in the last week due to the other driver's cutting into their paths.

[Shalamar]

Someone hit my car once because he got the brake and gas confused - he was a young-ish guy, too.  He said that his kids distracted him.

Another time, someone who was parked in front of me outside a school backed right into me, despite my frantic honking.  His reason?  "I didn't see you."  Yeah, you didn't even look, didja buddy?

We've often joked that our little Toyota Echo is an accident magnet.  We've had at least five accidents since we bought it in 2006, and none of them have been our fault.

[2littlemonkeys]

Someone hit my car once because he got the brake and gas confused - he was a young-ish guy, too.  He said that his kids distracted him.

Another time, someone who was parked in front of me outside a school backed right into me, despite my frantic honking.  His reason?  "I didn't see you."  Yeah, you didn't even look, didja buddy?

We've often joked that our little Toyota Echo is an accident magnet.  We've had at least five accidents since we bought it in 2006, and none of them have been our fault.

I was having the "no looking" problem last year.  At least 3 times, I'd be driving down the street behind another car.  They'd stop, so I'd stop.  Then they'd just pop their car into reverse and start backing up without looking.  (for the record, I was not tailgating, there was plenty of room between us.  I just couldn't go anywhere because of the cars behind me.)

And this is how I found out our car horn was dead.      It happened 2 more times but we got the horn fixed and I was able to alert them before there was any impact.  But who does that?

Another sort of SS we seem to have are the ones are going N/S on Perpendicular Street, turn onto My Street (one-way) and then reverse suddenly so they can back out of My Street and go in the other direction on Perpendicular Street.  They don't look either and I've seen a few cars turning in behind them get crunched.

[Tierrainney]

All these parking stories reminded me of one from a few years back.

I was at a convention that never had enough parking at the hotel, so finding a spot was tough. As I drove up, a woman came out of the door of the hotel and was walking towards her car. I rolled down the window to see if she was leaving, but she didn't hear me as she didn't answer my question, just hopped into a car. I hear the car immediately start, so I figured I was in luck and could take her parking spot. But she didn't move. At the moment, no one was behind me, so I decided just to wait and see. She still didn't move, and finally someone did drive up behind me so I couldn't block the lane anymore. I started forward, and another group came out, saw me, and told me they were leaving if I wanted their spot. It was about 3 spots forward from the not leaving woman. As they backed up, so did she!

I was directly behind her spot at this point with no where to move. The leaving car prevented me from moving forward and there was a car behind me. I honked and honked and waved my hand out my open window, but she wasn't stopping. She did stop just before plowing into the side of my car. She pulled back into her space. I took the space of the other group and the car behind me got this woman's space.

I just couldn't believe that she would back up without looking. This covention was always packed with people of all ages and there could well have been people walking through the parking lot. Not to mention cars driving past.