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Car Forum / Audi Cars / January 2009Thank god for a strong car
This is what remains of our 2004 A4 after a smash this weekend. http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/dclyall/Car/ We were overtaking two cars when the first car pulled out to overtake while we were alongside. We were doing around 60mph at the time. We hit a roadsign which flipped us away from the trees (thank god) and back onto the road. Thankfully the car rolled back onto its wheels. We were actually heading in direction that the first photograph is looking in. All 4 (two adults, a 4 year old and 18month old) of us in the Audi were OK. The kids and I were helicoptered to hospital as they don't take chances with young children. The other car was a Fiat Punto. He also walked out but his engine ended up about 50 feet from the car! As you can imagine, we're now looking for a new car. Anyway, a good advert for Audi, Britax car seats and checking your blind spots before you pull out! Take care Dave TG that you and the family did well through that accident. The Audis are built tough and yours sacrificed itself for your family! :-) I am glad that no one else was injured either like the driver of the other car too, but I guess the roadsign is destroyed. Just curious but what did it say? > This is what remains of our 2004 A4 after a smash this weekend. > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Take care > Dave > but I guess the roadsign is destroyed. Just curious but what did it say? LOL. It was for traffic going the other way to warn them of a crossroads, Dave knastet i vei: >> but I guess the roadsign is destroyed. Just curious but what did it say? > > LOL. It was for traffic going the other way to warn them of a crossroads, Quite a /crossroad/ :-D >This is what remains of our 2004 A4 after a smash this weekend. > >http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/dclyall/Car/ <snip> Glad no one was hurt seriously. Audis are tough, that's for sure. There was an example of a TT that was run over by a trailer truck and was pinned underneath. The driver walked away without a scratch. As far as blind spots: Most drivers adjust there sideview mirrors so that they can see the sides of their car. When I taught performance driving to cops, we taught (and I practice) adjusting the mirrors so there is NO blind spot. If they are adjusted correctly, the approaching car should appear in your peripheral vision before it disappears in the sideview mirror. The same applies to the passenger side mirror. There are no blind spots if you do it right. You have to move your head to see the sides of the car, and, suprise, it is always there. d;o) Good luck on your new car. Audi, of course? d;o) Dave RS6 > Good luck on your new car. Audi, of course? d;o) Almost definite! Probably going to get a new A4 Avant. Whoa...I'm glad everyone's okay, Dave. What's your next car going to be -- awd-le Drivers side door? Cut away? > http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/dclyall/Car/ > > As you can imagine, we're now looking for a new car. Any question on what you will replace it with? NO! > Drivers side door? > Cut away? That's the passenger side as this is in the UK. That was the only thing that dissappointed me as the door opened during the accident and was folded forward. Luckily it didn't come back into the cabin. All other doors remained closed. The two rears were OK to open but the drivers door was slightly difficuly due to the lower hinge being destroyed. > This is what remains of our 2004 A4 after a smash this weekend. > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Take care > Dave Incredible, Dave. Glad you and yours are okay. Dan D '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 Central NJ USA > This is what remains of our 2004 A4 after a smash this weekend. > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Take care > Dave Wow those curtain airbags look comfy :) I think that's the first pic i have seen of them deployed, did they make a difference? Glad everyone was ok, it looks like a nasty smash, did they side airbags deply too, those leathers will go perfect in my A4 haha :) Was it a quattro? if not will you go quattro next time > Wow those curtain airbags look comfy :) I think that's the first pic i > have seen of them deployed, did they make a difference? > Glad everyone was ok, it looks like a nasty smash, did they side airbags > deply too, those leathers will go perfect in my A4 haha :) > > Was it a quattro? if not will you go quattro next time My wife was driving and I suspect if the head airbags hadn't gone off she'd have had a serious head injury. All the airbags deployed on her side. I was in the left rear and nothing went off on my side (we added rear side airbags in the options). My 4 year old was in the front left so her front airbag was turned off as the advice is that they can cause bad injuries to young children. Both car seats were ISOFIX and stayed firmly fixed to the car. I don't think the kids would have faired so well if te seats have been secured by the car's seat belts. Replacement will almost certainly be another A4. Just have to see what the insurance offers for ours to see what we do. We may lease as it'll save having a big unplanned expense. Not sure whether or not to go Quattro. Ours wasn't and even in NE Scotland there are very few occasions when it's really necessary. Having said that, the Quattros drive better generally so we may take the MPG hit and get one. It's only another £30 or so a month for a 2.0TDI 170 Q Avant over a 2.0TDI 143 FWD Avant for the same spec. >> Wow those curtain airbags look comfy :) I think that's the first pic i >> have seen of them deployed, did they make a difference? [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > her front airbag was turned off as the advice is that they can cause bad > injuries to young children. Hmm that's a bit worrying, you would have thought all the roof airbags go off on a roll over?? I would imagine the pre tensioners exploded with a bit of a bang too :) > Both car seats were ISOFIX and stayed firmly fixed to the car. I don't > think the kids would have faired so well if te seats have been secured by > the car's seat belts. yeah this is a god send, good childseats can mean the difference between life and death. And everyone is still alive due to you not buying a cheap a.s car, and fastening everyone in properly. > Replacement will almost certainly be another A4. Just have to see what the > insurance offers for ours to see what we do. We may lease as it'll save [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > we may take the MPG hit and get one. It's only another £30 or so a month > for a 2.0TDI 170 Q Avant over a 2.0TDI 143 FWD Avant for the same spec. quattro is not just for snow :) it is great in the wet, great offroad on muddy fields and handles alot better then your standard FWD A4, my 2002 A4 quattro is just about to hit 200k miles so it's time for a change, I am tempted to lease this time, have you been quoted any prices? I was thinking £400 a month max? > quattro is not just for snow :) it is great in the wet, great offroad on > muddy fields and handles alot better then your standard FWD A4, my 2002 A4 > quattro is just about to hit 200k miles so it's time for a change, I am > tempted to lease this time, have you been quoted any prices? I was > thinking £400 a month max? A 2.0 TDI 170 Q with the spec I was looking for was around £480 a month. I think about £40-50 of that was due to the extras I'd added. Unfortunately I didn't bookmark the company and now my google searches don't seem to be able to find it. I'll just have to keep hunting. Thank god you were ok, but perhaps it shows that when you have childre in the car you need to drive like a slow old person and never tr passing other cars (assuming it was a one lane each way type of highway -- qwks > Thank god you were ok, but perhaps it shows that when you have children > in the car you need to drive like a slow old person and never try > passing other cars (assuming it was a one lane each way type of highway) Sorry, but you never get anywhere doing that. Also, you'd infuriate drivers behind you. The overtake was perfectly safe. We had a half mile straight and nothing come. No side junctions either. The other driver simply failed to look and signal. > Sorry, but you never get anywhere doing that. Also, you'd infuriate > drivers behind you. > > The overtake was perfectly safe. We had a half mile straight and nothing > come. No side junctions either. The other driver simply failed to look and > signal. I'd also add that driving too slowly can cause you to loose concentration which can be just as dangerous as driving too fast. Dave;99176 Wrote: > I'd also add that driving too slowly can cause you to loos > concentration which can be just as dangerous as driving too fast. Dave, I don't think driving at a normal pace causes you to "lose concentration. I know some people feel they have to drive quickly t keep themselves alert, but that probably means they are too tired to b driving. Don't get me wrong - I cruise the 400 series highways at 130-140km/hr. But when I have a child and they're in the car, you can bet I wil adjust my driving habits. While what you (or your wife) were doing was perhaps not unsafe in it' own right, the position you put yourself in opened you up to a grea chance of error by other drivers. You're right, just because the othe driver made a stupid move doesn't mean it was your fault, but tr arguing "fault" next time when a little kid is dead. I'm sure you (and your wife) are safe drivers and I'm not puttin either of you down at all. But my feeling is that when there are othe people in the car, it is the drivers responsability to practic defensive driving. My $0.0 -- qwks > I don't think driving at a normal pace causes you to "lose" > concentration. I know some people feel they have to drive quickly to [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > people in the car, it is the drivers responsability to practice > defensive driving. I appreciate your point but first of all the cars we were following were doing 45 on a safe 60 road. That is not "normal pace". I can also guarantee you that people get bored if they are forced to meander along at a speed that is too slow regardless if they're tired or not. There is also the issue of not overtaking. On a two lane road like this one a queue will very soon build up if you don't pass. This results in drivers behind becoming infuriated and perhaps taking more chances. That in itself could cause an accident that you get caught up in. Also, at this time of year the roads are very often wet even on a sunny day. you get in the situation where you're following a car that is throwing up spray and reducing your forward view. I'd much rather be past that car and have a clear view in front. You always have to watch out for other drivers and my IAM training (and motorbike riding) has taught me to be far more observant but at the end of the day you can't hold back all the time because the driver in front might not look. You could argue that we shouldn't ever leave the house again as that's the ultimate in defensive driving. But then of course I live near an airport so who knows when a 737 might land on my house :-) Dave I agree with Dave! JMHO but doing a constant pace gets boring and unexciting especially if there are no curves or something to perk your interest. I can deal with the boredom by listening to audio books to stimulate my mind while driving long distances. Actually I think that there are some laws here in the USA that if one vehicle is going too slow and has a line of vehicles behind him, he should try to allow them to pass easier. But you do have to watch out for the idiots that only focus on their goal without watching out for the other vehicles. I see sooo many of them here that now I have my wife and daughter playing the game of "What is the idiot going to do now" as we predict how they weave in and out of traffic as they try to jump in front of the next vehicle. We have seen an idiot turn left from three lanes on the right (we were in the middle lane) cut in front of us (in the '83 Audi 4000s), another vehicle then lose control travelling across a short 25' intersection between opposing traffic, then 3 lanes of oncoming traffic, over the sidewalk, over a small wall, into a large glass pane window and winding up completely inside of a gift store. AMAZING that no other vehicles were involved. That was the most bizzare accident that I have seen! Also amazing, since I talked to the owner of the store offering what I saw as a witness, that idiot stopped within 3 inches of pressurized Helium tanks. He did not even jump out of the car and run away but waited for the emergency services to arrive! lol All he was doing was turning left without thinking of the consequences. STUPID and TG I did not have the same thing happen to me as what happened to you! NOW (by always playing my game) I will admit I had a feeling, no indication though, that he was going to try to cut in front of me and I did not slow down to allow it. I really did not think he was going to turn left from that right lane. He was very lucky to be alive and not take out a few vehicles with his actions! Glad you and your family are safe Dave, and BTW I like your name too! lol Oh and the bathroom is a dangerous place too, but sometimes you gotta go there! <g>  Signaturelater, (One out of many daves) 1997 Red A4 1.8tq auto 1983 Audi 4000s 5 speed "Dave" <a@b.c> wrote in message snip > There is also the issue of not overtaking. On a two lane road like this > one a queue will very soon build up if you don't pass. This results in [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Dave |
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