QOTD 2012: The Smell of Fear

[MissKitty]

QOTD: This one comes courtesy of the 40-50 car pileup on I-75 yesterday - have you ever been in an auto accident? How many and who was at fault?

[Kwyjibo]

Christ, I've lost count.  I was in 3 or 4 in 2009 alone.  Mixed as to the fault, though mostly not mine.

[Homsar]

40-50 cars??  Wow I didn't hear about that.  I have only been in 3 "accidents" in 8 years of driving.  I use quotation marks because the first 2 resulted in no damage to either car.  The third was just a couple months ago.  Some guy backed into me on the street.  Needless to say, he was paying no attention.  Got a nice sum out of that one.  I like to think my lack of accidents is the result of my careful, attentive driving, but I might just be lucky.

[MissKitty]

Here's the story about the pile-up on I-75.

[Dan]

Once, yes. I was going straight past an intersection that had a stop sign for the driver on my right but not for my direction. Immediately past this intersection was a lighted interchange, with a green light. The guy at the stop sign didn't think about the stop sign and instead was looking at the green light, so he drove right into me. Fortunately we were going about 10 miles per hour, so the damage wasn't much, but it did require a cop, a tow truck, and general annoyance.

As far as I can recall, that's my only auto accident.

[c-lando]

Yesterday's QoTD: I still remember my first nip of beer like it was yesterday. My dad gave me a sip of his beer during a big family dinner (when that side of family used to actually do stuff together). I was probably 8 or 9. I hated it and that taste memory really did keep me from drinking during my high school and college years until I lived in Mexico (1995) where I finally realized that not all beer is bad (and it tastes pretty damn good with lime and salt).

Today: I've never been in a pile up like that or any chain reaction accident. THANK GOD. I think I've only been in two accidents where the police were involved. I was cited for one (which was BS) and the officer didn't cite anyone for the other one due to weather conditions.

[The Hegemo]

I got rear-ended by a BMW outside of an Ottawa Senators playoff game in 2000 or 2001. No damage to either car, so we just shook hands and went our separate ways.

Then I had a collision in Whitehall in 2006, while driving for work. $2400 in damage to my car; hers was totaled (it was an old car, so it didn't take much to total it out). I was cited for running a stop sign. Which isn't really what happened. I stopped and looked, got distracted talking to my passenger, and then just went because I thought it was a four-way stop. It wasn't.

[Buzzstein]

Yesterday: probably a small glass of wine at Thanksgiving when I was about 11 or 12. Before that, occasional stolen sips of my dad's beer.

[Poolio]

I've been in 3. One when I was little and Ma and Pa left us in the car while they hit the farm stand and we were rear-ended. No damage, although I had a split lip. Cops and ambulances were called but nobody was hurt too badly.

Sometime in the mid-2000s, I was rear-ended by a TN State Senator (2 lanes were merging into 1 and he tried to race into the space between me and the guy behind me just as the light turned red and we all stopped)... he was completely freaked out but the only damage was his Senator's license plate was bent. The last one was in early '08 when I took a turn into a parking space too wide and banged a pickup truck. It's chromed bumper did some damage to my car but there was none on the truck.

[Atzend]

Probably a half dozen, 5 years or longer ago.  About half of them were my fault and typically involved inanimate objects like parked cars or backing into pole, a few were fender benders, one I ran a red light and got t-boned and the worst was two jackasses drag racing down 71/75 north which involved about 5-6 cars.

[MissKitty]

I've been rear-ended twice; in 1986 while sitting at an exit ramp waiting to turn right, and again in 1992 while at a stoplight. Both drivers nailed my 97X bumper stickers, which made me skittish about putting another on my car. I opted for window stickers instead.
Another time I was hit while sitting at a gas pump. The dude backed his truck up really fast and never even looked to see if there was anyone behind him. But since it happened on "private property" no one was cited. Grrr.....

[va_vacious]

First accident I was a passenger (age 3 or so)- my mother was in the middle of a three car collision. I remember sitting in the police officer's car (front seat), and he gave me a McDonald's apple pie. I thought it was gross.

Next one: high school, I backed into a pole & broke a taillight on my dad's car
Next: jr year of college: wasn't paying attention while backing out of a parking space and swiped another car. I was leaving work (church camp) so I thought I'd better tell someone.

Last one: Wreck on I-95 at the Potomac Mills exit south of DC. Labor Day weekend 2009. I was in the center lane and a car in the far left lane didn't see the car in front of him.  Hit that car at 80 mph, who spun around backwards and caught my car at the driver's side rear taillight. Which was enough to drag me into the mess, since that car then slid up my car pulling me into a spin. I ended up facing the guardrail, and looking into the guy's trunk.  All three of us walked away, and I didn't even have a bruise. My car was totaled, and I was 1/2 hours from home. On a holiday weekend. That really sucked.  I still won't drive that section of I-95, which sucks, because there is an IKEA right there!

[MissKitty]

QOTD:
What are some of your favorite things to do on a cold, snowy day?

[Chespo]

Man, am I behind.

QOTD1: Southern Comfort. Dig, if you will, a picture: no adults at home, and a bunch of middle-school wannabe American Gladiators were wrestling in my back yard. David H--- came down wrong on his ankle and suggested that I should raid the liquor cabinet for something to ease his pain. Being a transplanted and zealous southerner, he insisted on only one poison. I had a sip and haven't touched it since.

QOTD2: Been in quite a few wrecks, but none in my teen years. Been rear-ended three times (which, yes, destroyed my collection of 97X stickers), once by a drunken tow-truck driver; that one left me with back pain. I caused one by turning left against two lanes of traffic; the inside lane paused and waved me through, the outside lane slammed into me.

QOTD3: Watch my dogs play in the snow; listen to wintry music; drink chai, huddle in a blanket on the couch and watch movies.

[Atzend]

On a snow day I like to light some candles, brew some coffee, curl up on the couch in a warm blanket with the cats and catch up on some television shows, movies, books or blogs.  If I'm feeling antsy I'll clean or bake. Typically I will not leave the house unless absolutely necessary.