Wildguzzi.com

General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: rodekyll on March 07, 2015, 07:49:37 PM

Title: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: rodekyll on March 07, 2015, 07:49:37 PM
Had my first me-initiated close encounter with another moving vehicle EVER today.   :o :'(  Made a left from a "T" intersection and heard the impact -- didn't feel it with the van.  Got the LF fender and door of the mini-suv.  I'd waited for traffic to clear, and then waited for someone who looked like they were approaching a bit 'hot' to go by, started into my turn, and BAM!  Honestly never saw the car.  Nobody hurt and not a lot of damage.  I thought it was a completely clear intersection and was easing into the turn because I wanted to make a right within a hundred feet or so.  So the impact was at 10mph or less.

The girl was nice about it.  She didn't have to be, since it was clearly me trying to murderfy her.  The cops were nice too as they wrote me a ticket, added 2 points to my license, and included a $150 fine + surcharges.  They didn't mind that my center console was missing -- along with the bona-fides that I'm supposed to be carrying.  Stuff like the registration and insurance card.  It's on the front porch where I put it last night as I was cleaning the dizzy cap in the van.  Convenient, eh?  Next comes the insurance part.  Debbie, the biker-lady-State-Farm agent is gonna give me the what-for.   :wife:

I'm just sick over it.  I mean physically nauseated and menatally devastated.  I have taken a lot of pride in a perfect driving record and no hits in 45 years of driving.  I haven't even had a parking ticket till now.  I'm so untogether that when I went back to setting up my differential the first thing I did was jamb the seal puller through the pinion shaft oil slinger.  I went to replace it and didn't have my wallet.  Decided to go to the shop and pick up some gasket scrapers, got there and forgot what I was after.  Didn't remember until I started writing this.   :P

I was in that intersection because I got called off my trike work to deal with a computer emergency at a medical center.  I was distracted by thinking about what might be happening there, and also feeling pressure to fix the server problem and get back on schedule with the trike (I'm being evicted from the shop as soon as the owner realizes I'm still there).  But at this point I'm going two steps backwards without going any steps forward.  Maybe I need to give up for the day and try again tomorrow.    :winer

Gimme some feedback.  Right now I'm questioning my ability to take a nap without supervision.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Bob Wegman on March 07, 2015, 07:57:57 PM
Nobody was hurt.  You'll get through this.  Just kind of sucks right now.  Tomorrow is a new day.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: oldbike54 on March 07, 2015, 08:29:36 PM
 Step back , take a deep breath , and realize that after 45 years maybe the odds just caught up with you . Yeah , just one accident myself , minor , bothered me for a month or so , ten years on , accident free , it will be alright David .

  Dusty
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Stormtruck2 on March 07, 2015, 08:33:38 PM
Everything in the big picture, is okay RK.  You had a minor fender bender, and ended your perfect driving record.  Don't worry about perfection, its over rated. There was only one perfect man and it got him crucified. ;)  The career path of perfection ain't that great.  :D  With all the obstacles you have overcome, and are overcoming, this is just a fart in a hurricane. Hang in there, you're doing great. One little slip is not a fall from grace. As for naps. I like mine supervised by Lorraine. ::) :o 
Title: Re:
Post by: Kev m on March 07, 2015, 08:37:04 PM
You're probably a better and safer driver then anyone I know.

Don't sweat it.

No harm, no foul.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: rodekyll on March 07, 2015, 09:31:06 PM
Everything in the big picture, is okay RK.  You had a minor fender bender, and ended your perfect driving record.  Don't worry about perfection, its over rated. There was only one perfect man and it got him crucified. ;)  The career path of perfection ain't that great.  :D  With all the obstacles you have overcome, and are overcoming, this is just a fart in a hurricane. Hang in there, you're doing great. One little slip is not a fall from grace. As for naps. I like mine supervised by Lorraine. ::) :o 

Lorraine got all that cross-stitched on one sampler?   :bow   :D
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Stormtruck2 on March 07, 2015, 09:39:43 PM
Lorraine got all that cross-stitched on one sampler?   :bow   :D

Yup.  :D
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Jim Rich on March 07, 2015, 09:59:50 PM
Like the man said, perfection is overrated, you are still out performing most of us here.  Get some sleep and try again tomorrow.

If you get an another fender bender tomorrow, maybe you should stay on the porch for a while.   ;D
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: flip on March 07, 2015, 10:10:35 PM
At least you were in your van and not traveling on 2 or 3 wheels. Just be glad like the rest of us here that no one was hurt.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Triple Jim on March 07, 2015, 10:31:59 PM
It mainly takes time to get over traumatic events.  We play them over and over in our heads, but that really doesn't help much.  Ten years from now the event won't seem very important.  Today what helps most is to stay busy with other things and not dwell on it.  Easy to say, hard to do.  A little melatonin helps us old farts sleep when our minds are racing.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Sasquatch Jim on March 08, 2015, 12:14:44 AM
 No good deed goes unpunished.  Same for perfect records.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Gliderjohn on March 08, 2015, 07:09:44 AM
It happens to most of us at some point in our loves no matter how careful. You got off light. This last year I changed lanes at 30mph in town and side swiped a PU. Only my pride was injured. The one time I really went weak kneed was in 2001 when my wife was in the hospital literally on her death bed and I was an emotional mess. I changed lanes on the way to the hospital and nearly took out a couple on a motorcycle. Lucky for me they were much more focussed than me an maneuvered out of the way while hitting the horn. I shook awhile after that one.
GliderJohn
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: John A on March 08, 2015, 09:39:10 AM
Use it as a learning experience . Something like that maybe will save you from a far worse one. Still sucks though.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: dilligaf on March 08, 2015, 09:53:58 AM
WOW!  Didn't think there that that many cars in Sitka.  ;D   Glad you weren't hurt.  :BEER:
Matt
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Aaron D. on March 08, 2015, 11:41:29 AM
You'll be fine. I've been in that position and took a while to figure out what it all meant.

Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: ken farr on March 08, 2015, 03:20:04 PM
Quote from: rodekyll link=topic=75078.msg1179067#msg1179067 date=142577937

[b
I'm just sick over it.  I mean physically nauseated and menatally devastated.  I have taken a lot of pride in a perfect driving record and no hits in 45 years of driving.[/b]

Welcome to the human race.
With everyone walking and talking, it's just an inconvenience.
You will now triple check intersections...... ;D


kjf
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Matteo on March 08, 2015, 06:42:35 PM
Rodekylla! ~;
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Yukonica on March 08, 2015, 06:56:53 PM
Like you, I had my first time ever event... just yesterday. Maybe its a northern thing...
These kind and empathetic folk offered their support without judgement... just as they (and I) are doing for you.
45 years prior to one minor event? Seems pretty impressive to me.
Get the trike finished so you can get on over to Yukon this summer. Okay?
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: Nick on March 08, 2015, 07:06:13 PM
As long as you and the other driver are OK, no worries. Now you can go another 45 years without having an accident  ;)
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: rboe on March 08, 2015, 10:30:24 PM
Sucks to mess up and it's your fault. Takes a bit to forgive yourself. But you have a good record so one gimme is due. I guess the only to take from this is that you now know you have a blind side that you need to be aware of going forward. You can be thankful the price to learn this was not greater. So if you learn from this, then no foul. When you can, move forward. Don't beat yourself up too much.
Title: Re: Battle Damage (Jimmy Van content)
Post by: johnr on March 08, 2015, 11:23:05 PM
You are obviously upset by this event RK. Take a day or two for downtime until you recover from that and get things in proportion. Don't try to do anything you can put off for that period, especially if its important.

The event itself and any minor consequences are unimportant, the fact that you are upset about it is important.

It's just a bump in the path.