Guest zfan Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Saturday night/early sunday morning we got the dreaded call from the Plano Police department saying our son had been involved in a serious traffic accident. My son had been returning to a friends house after watching a movie at the local movie theater. He had an 18 year old girl friend(friend) with him, he must have fallen asleep only for a moment but that was all it took. He ran across thru oncoming traffic and said he opened his eyes just in time to see a tree and then the airbags went off. He hit a pair of oak trees at between 35 and 45 miles per hour. Both kids were wearing there safety belts( thank God we always made them wear them in our cars and it has rubbed off on them). The Officer said jumping the curb was what probably starttled him awake. He climbed out the drivers side window and flagged someone down and they called 911. His girl friend complained of pain in the lower extremities, she had been sleeping at the time with the seat somewhat reclined. They took both of them to Plano Hospital. He has some soreness all over, especially in the knees and shoulders. She was taken to ICU and rushed into surgery sometime after. She came out better than expected. She only had to have her spleen repaired slightly and they only found bruising to her kidneys and lungs thank God. The Police and EMS said it could have and should have been much worse. They said they have plenty of fatalities from lesser collisions than that. The cop and my mechanic friend said the Honda Accords are some much safer than most would think. The car was a 1994 Honda Accord with dual airbags. The car is completly destroyed and we only had it for 2 months. Thats ok cars are replacable and kids are not. I never would have thought that car was anything more that an econo box. Live and learn. Of course wether you believe or not I thank God for watching over them too!! Thanks for listening to my story. Signed: one VERY LUCKY and BLESSED Dad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 yes, according to this article some vehicles are much better than others. http://www.bridger.us/2002/12/16/CrashTestingMINICooperVsFordF150 Glad your kids are alright. I have a few years before I need to worry about my kids driving but that hasn't prevented me from starting early. Nice, safe Toyota minivan ought to be a good first beater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patzky1 Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Hmmm...my parents must have had a lot of confidence in my driving to let me get a 280 for my first car. They're not exactly tanks or known to be up to snuff with modern cars as far as crash testing goes, either (no airbags, safety features in its infancy, etc.). Maybe it was just the fact that I would NOT drive an old taurus or whatever and just had to have the Z. As a matter of fact, the kid I bought it from had to sell it because his dad told him it was too "fast" for a first car. Yeah, right, a stock 280 too fast LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaparral2f Posted February 7, 2005 Share Posted February 7, 2005 Glad to hear that the kids are alright. Gee it sure is fun to bwe a parent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quicker240 Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Glad your kids fared well.Anybody have crash data on Z's? I love my car but have always felt like if I'm in a moderate wreck,I'm dead meat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Glad to hear the kids are OK. This scenario is one of my nightmares. My son is 18 and thinks he's decended from a long line of race car drivers and has inherited all their experience and talent. He's a pretty good driver but way over confident. He hasn't had any accidents yet but I think it's just a matter of time. He drives a big boat so hopefully he won't hurt himself or anybody else when it happens. I've often thought about helping him get a newer car with better safety features but he doesn't want one. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dead Roman Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Glad your kids fared well.Anybody have crash data on Z's? I love my car but have always felt like if I'm in a moderate wreck,I'm dead meat! exactly why im building a roll cage and have racing buckets and 5 points Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Mike, great to hear the kids came out O.K.!!! I thank God I make it home to my kids on occassion, but I shudder to think about when they are able to drive...brrrrr. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VRJoe Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Glad the kids are OK. That's why my daughters first car was a '84 Volvo wagon, closest thing to a tank I could find (but that's another story). - Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted February 8, 2005 Share Posted February 8, 2005 Glad to hear they're both OK. That story sure does make me feel a lot better about driving an '04 Accord, and I got the side-impact curtain airbags just to be extra safe. As for the Z, I always felt like if I hit anything it would just crumble as 20+ years of rust took its toll on strength of the car. Fortunately, I've never had to find out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
80LS1T Posted February 9, 2005 Share Posted February 9, 2005 Glad to hear everything came out ok! My parents said the same thing about driving a tank for a first car. My first car was a 1986 Ford Crown Victoria LTD with a 302 EFI. Man I hated that car with a passion! SUCKED the gas down like no tomorrow and was just enourmous(atleast I thought so) Now I've never been in a serious accident but there were a few close calls back in the day. I think cars today are much safe that older ones no matter how big and heavy the old one were. Now instead of massive amouts of steel, car manufactures are using smarter ways of protecting the passengers. I too feel like that if I were to get say t-boned by someone in my 280ZX that I would be in trouble. I do have a four point roll bare and may some day upgrade to cage so that should help in a roll over. I just hope I never have to use that rollbar! Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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