Gollum Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 It didn't go over any edge. It when about the distance of a house into a tree. If the tree hadn't of been there it would have ended up in a house. I can assure you it was in gear though. It stayed there for 30 minutes with a faulty ebrake that wasn't enguaging before it popped out of gear. You could say it was my fault because I didn't check if the ebrake was working before I started driving the car (only had the car about a month before this incident). I've got the newspaper clipping too. Gotta love benicia. It states something like "unmaned car rolls down hill into a tree. The tree was ok." When I saw it I was like "how can they care more about the tree than my car?!" But that's bay area for ya. All in all it wasn't that bad of damage. I hammered the wheel well out and drove it for another 6 months almost. I'd bought my black ZX for $500 about a month after the tree incident, but didn't have time or cushion money to start getting it in running condition. In the end I blame my ignorrance, but I can't say much would have changed the situation. Even if I had known the ebrake wasn't working I wouldn't of had the money to fix it. Only thing that might have been different is I might have parked a block down the hill on flat ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Im 16' date=' I've had my license around 9 months. So far i have only totalled one car, my moms 98 mustang GT convertable. It wasnt my fault, some lady turned left in front of me. I was doing the speed limit (for once) and didnt get blamed for it. I love insurance.[/quote'] Eh ya it isnt your fault if you have the right away, but i will bet my two cents that it could of been avoided rather easily. Not to knock you down or anything. But everyone has been in an accident and it is never their fault (myself included). But to TOTAL a car, thats a pretty big deal. And nobody likes to admit it even if the insurance says they are 100% in the good, but with a little more attention to the drivers actions or a little more skill in general it seems 80-90% of these accidents would simply be near misses at most. Im just happy i have been safe so far. Im pissed about that first accident two months ago, after 2.5 years of driving i get hit. It wasn't a biggie and it was in no way my fault. But i knew i could of avoided it if i was paying a little more attention and if i was "ON". It was a tricky one to get at though b/c she was cutting accross spaces inbetween suvs and what not so i couldn't see her, and of course she simply didn't look. But that is just rationalizing, i know it could of simply been a honk and easy drive away. Oh well learning experience. If you just look at the numbers though, no matter whose fault it is: -3 cars totaled first year -1 car totaled within 9 months -1 car with destroyed door, $2000 to replace left door that i could of PnP'd for $200, in 2.5 years Those definately aren't numbers in favour of teenagers. And lets be realistic, it isn't all luck. PS my girlfriend will have an accident soon i can feel it, she gets a -5 in my book Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 5, 2005 Author Share Posted November 5, 2005 Absolutely... 100% of the accidents I was involved in before I was sent to the Federal Law Enforcement Academy in Brunswick, Ga. (at the age of 20) were all my fault. It simply boils down to seat time and experience. I want to comment for a second on something Dr. Hunt posted... There are a number of new members posting a LOT of stuff... Some of these new members are also very young. I'd like to see more reading and less posting unless it is something related to a specific task that has been performed, technical info needed, or something that has been done to a Zcar. We've had discussions about this topic in the admin forum. We are a bit concerned about the increased random postings with little real useful content. We've also started locking and deleting some threads where it is obvious the poster is A:new and/or B:didn't seem to try to search on the topic. Before some of you take personal offense to this, just keep in mind we're trying to keep this site reasonably technical and not like 99.9% of the rest of the garbage on the web. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 I'm 23, will be 24 in March and I've been in two accidents. I wasnt driving either time. One was a friend of mine not paying attention, I tried to warn him but by the time I realized he wasnt gonna slow down it was simply too late. One was getting rear-ended while sitting at a stop sign. I've been driving since I was 15 when a friend gave me a peice of raging crap CRX Si with no back-end, exhuast or hope for the future. I spent something like an hour to two hours a day drivng it cautiously around my neighborhood at night. Not crazy, careful stuff. I read the little drivers ed handbook thing about 150 times and spent a hell of alot of time teaching myself to drive the little thing (was a stick with a borked clutch.. talk about a learning curve). I slowly worked my way onto main streets, and eventually downtown. (its only downtown lexington, but it was the best I could do) I'm hyper-attentive on the road and very careful. I drive at exactly 8mph above the speed limit on highways/large roads and drive dead on the limit in town. In areas I know to be problem spots I sometimes go a little slower is traffic permits. 8 almost 9 years behind the wheel and Ive managed to avoid any accident of any kind. I've never received a ticket or even been pulled over. I have driven stupidly, but I got over that crap real quick and now do all my idiot driving in very controlled circumstances. Sometimes theres nothing you can do, and no matter how good you are, your gonna get hit by someone else due to stupidity but if your careful and PAY ATTENTION TO OTHER DRIVERS you can see a hell of alot of problems coming and head them off. I dont know how many times Ive avoided dings, minor hits and two very serious potential collisions. Paying attention to yourself and fellow drivers = good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 Sometimes theres nothing you can do, and no matter how good you are, your gonna get hit by someone else due to stupidity but if your careful and PAY ATTENTION TO OTHER DRIVERS you can see a hell of alot of problems coming and head them off. Thats exactly what i wanted to say in 1 sentence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gollum Posted November 5, 2005 Share Posted November 5, 2005 I want to comment for a second on something Dr. Hunt posted... There are a number of new members posting a LOT of stuff... Some of these new members are also very young. I'd like to see more reading and less posting unless it is something related to a specific task that has been performed, technical info needed, or something that has been done to a Zcar. Ouch, I think that had my name all over it... I'll admit, I have a hard time holding back knowledge on sunjects and asking questions. I'll also admit, that I'm young. But I won't say i'm ingorant or an idiot. I'm always trying to lear something new. I've been working on cars for 10 years now, and the first car I ever worked on was a 10 second del sol, so I don't consider myself a mechanical idiot. I helped rebuild that motor every weekend before going to the track. So, can I make a deal admins? I'll try to post less, and if I make a post in a technical section that seems pointless PM me ok? I won't be offended. But I'd like to be told when I'm approching that line not to be crossed. I've been registred over a year and still consider myself a noob here. That's not to say I don't feel welcome, but rather everyone else here seems to know so much more and have been here so much longer. Sorry for the off topic post. Back on topic. I agree that many accidents could be avoided if people were paying attention. Me and my brother always talk about "idiot #1" and how idiot #1 always gets away. It's idiot #2 and inocent #3 that are always in the ones exchanging inssurance information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_hunt Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I think what they are getting at is this isn't supposed to be a chat forum, but a technical forum. Some of the questions are really simpleton in nature and general in subject, not specific to z's. There seems to be a flood of newbies and the list of subjects is mundane, uninformative, and in some cases pegging the BS meter so bad that it isn't even funny anymore. At least that is my prospective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted November 6, 2005 Author Share Posted November 6, 2005 There's defenitely some BS being posted, and I'm not pointing fingers in specific. I'll leave it at this: Technical information being posted should be accurate. I've posted tech info that WAS accurate at the time, only to have it get outdated 6 months later... So I would go back and post new topics stating "Info no longer accurate" and post a link to the more current "fix" or technical solution. Bottom line is we want people to be able to come to this site and USE the resident expert info with the knowledge that the info is accurate and the solution works. This isn't an age thing. We've had guys of all ages come here and think they were the king of the wrench and the master of the wheel. But trust me on this one, the admins collectively have their eyes open and their meters are being pegged by "some" claims of experience, and of project buildups... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusPuppis Posted November 6, 2005 Share Posted November 6, 2005 I hope my little project site isnt one of the problem build-ups.. If I'm doing something drastically wrong, and posting on my site/here that its a proper method.. I'd really like someone to slap me in the mouth and say "Hey idiot, your stupid, do it (insert proper way here)" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
savageskaterkid Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I agree that most accidents are your own fault, such as when i wrecked the ZX, i was being really stupid, and i had to turn around, so i pulled into my schools parking lot to turn around, and GUNNED it, not smart, it was rainy, and the ZX isn't the best handleing car out there, well, i went sideways at about 70mph only to hit a curb, got out and there wasn't a scratch on the car, drove away, then 500 ft later, the wheel fell off-I will tell you sumthin, THAT WAS STUPID, end of story. But i was told by Mike and Jim when i was at the shindig, DO NOT STREET RACE. If you want to race, take it to the track, its safe, and legal. I have yet to goto the track, but as soon as a get a chance, u can bet you'll see me there all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudypoochris Posted November 7, 2005 Share Posted November 7, 2005 I agree that most accidents are your own fault' date=' such as when i wrecked the ZX, i was being really stupid, and i had to turn around, so i pulled into my schools parking lot to turn around, and GUNNED it, not smart, it was rainy, and the ZX isn't the best handleing car out there, well, i went sideways at about 70mph only to hit a curb, got out and there wasn't a scratch on the car, drove away, then 500 ft later, the wheel fell off-I will tell you sumthin, THAT WAS STUPID, end of story. But i was told by Mike and Jim when i was at the shindig, DO NOT STREET RACE. If you want to race, take it to the track, its safe, and legal. I have yet to goto the track, but as soon as a get a chance, u can bet you'll see me there all the time.[/quote'] Holy **** 70mph.... Must be a big parking lot....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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