I crashed my car.

Rogan Josh · February 19, 2003, 06:43

Coming to work the other day, I managed to write off my car.

I am not sure what happened, since I can't remember the accident. I can remember driving along the road, only half a mile or so from my house, and then the next thing I remember is the car being smashed against a tree, with the airbag in my face. Apparently it is quite normal for your brain to wipe the memory of a car crash, but I find it rather disconcerting.

There was no other car involved. For some reason, I just drove off the road and into a tree. I think I was doing about 50mph.

I must say, I am impressed with BMW's safety standards. I drove my car head on into a tree and walked away without even a bruise.

The police came and breathalised me but I was fine. No-one saw the accident, and the police initially suggested I might have been avoiding a dog or something.

However, on returning home that night, my neighbour told me the tyres of her car had been slashed the night before. Our cars sit right next to each other in the driveway (the houses are joined), so I am wondering if someone tried to slash my tyres too. I have my winter tyres on, which are very thick, so maybe the vandal only managed to damage them - not breaking right through. Then I could have driven half a mile on the damaged tyre before it burst, making me lose control.

I phoned the garage where the car is right now and they say that one of the tyres is completely shredded, which is consistent with a burst tyre, but they can't tell if it was deliberate. The police are going to look into it.

What do you think? I can't imagine a vandal bothering to slash my neighbour's tyres (a small car) and ignoring the BMW sitting next to it.

Urban Ranger · February 19, 2003, 06:52

If I were the vandal I would have taken a sledgehammer to your BMW

CerberusIV · February 19, 2003, 06:58

Sounds plausible. When I had a company car and was doing high mileages there were three or four occasions when the garage refused to repair a punctured tyre because it had a damaged sidewall. If the sidewall does let go the tyre generally fails catastrophically rather than the controlled deflation a puncture in the tread area leads to.

Hurricane · February 19, 2003, 07:21

Scary! But it sure sounds possible that an exploded tyre on an icy road might have some hazardous results. You have to look at the bright side, and be happy that you didn't get hurt!

Solly · February 19, 2003, 08:07

Be glad you went off at 50mph and not 100mph.

Good job you are OK, but would we even find out if you weren't...

TheStinger · February 19, 2003, 08:09

My Gran kept doing soemthing similar, it turned out she was having petty mal seizures for about 5-10 seconds.

You shoul dgo and get checked out

Solly · February 19, 2003, 08:11

Yep, could be that. Me bro used have em.

Zylka · February 19, 2003, 08:35

Quote:

Originally posted by Boddington's
Me bro used have em.

I was always told the English created English?

Zkribbler · February 19, 2003, 11:08

I'm buying into the slashed-tire theory.

If so, the vandal was a moron--he almost turned a night of malicious fun into a case of manslaughter. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

boann · February 19, 2003, 11:15

yes it does feel weird not to remember what happened.
i was in a wreck a year ago and totaled my car also.
was waiting in a left turn lane and a truck hit me from behind and knocked me into oncoming traffic and i was hit by two other vehicles.

glad your ok and walked away from it.

Rogan Josh · February 19, 2003, 11:41

Quote:

Originally posted by TheStinger
My Gran kept doing soemthing similar, it turned out she was having petty mal seizures for about 5-10 seconds.

You shoul dgo and get checked out

Funnily enough, I sometimes have grand mal siezures from scarring in my brain (MS), but I didn't have one that morning. I went to my neurologist to check and he said no (actually I am sure I would know because it gives you a very peculiar feeling afterwards, and it is murder on my back). He says I was completely normal, and it is fairly usual to lose the memory of the crash afterwards.

I am on drugs to supress the siezures.

Stuie · February 19, 2003, 12:23

Quote:

Originally posted by TheStinger
My Gran kept doing soemthing similar...

At first I thought you meant she was slashing tires.

Zopperoni · February 19, 2003, 13:07

Luckily you're not hurt

If this was the work of vandals, I hope the police find them.

Caligastia · February 19, 2003, 14:56

Glad you're ok.

Provost Harrison · February 19, 2003, 15:49

Glad you escaped. If that would have happened in my car I wouldn't have stood a chance. But I shall be shut soon enough

Az · February 19, 2003, 17:24

BMWs should keep you in the clear for these ones.

Skanky Burns · February 19, 2003, 18:44

You did better than someone near where I live who crashed their (stolen) car into a tree. The tow-truck had to tow away both pieces of the car...

Az · February 19, 2003, 18:55

50MPH into a tree, without braking.

Saras · February 20, 2003, 03:58

How about this - I drove on a country road to a party on a birght summer day that my friend, whose parets' country place we were headed to (he said I know the roads here by heart) , was telling me to step on it before a small hill, so that we could all get this fun empty stomach feeling whensort of hopping at the top of that hill, so I was doing over 140 km/h, there was a 90 degree left turn almost immediately after the top of the hill... I thought we were gonna die when we virtually flew off the road into a minor ditch, but, by some miracle, I managed to stop the car, we did not roll, and the damage was limited to one tyre just removing itself from the wheel WITHOUT damage to the tyre.

Oh, and it wasn't a BWM, it was my lovely $1000 1984 Audi Coupe that I then managed to sell

.

I never push my luck since then.

Ramo · February 20, 2003, 04:10

Glad you're not hurt.

Dis · February 20, 2003, 16:06

Was there any unusual vibration coming from the tires? That is a huge warning sign you are about to have a blowout or a flat tire.

Provost Harrison · February 20, 2003, 16:46

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
You did better than someone near where I live who crashed their (stolen) car into a tree. The tow-truck had to tow away both pieces of the car...

I have a friend who was in a big accident. He was travelling at 70mph on a single carriageway and an oncoming car overtook the car in front at about 70mph not seeing my friend and crashed into each other at an angle, but head on. My mates car (205) was in three pieces. And he survived with a compound fracture of the leg (he's only just finished with the hospital 2 years after the accident). Christ knows what this other bloke was doing, but he lost his licence for a long, long time...

Provost Harrison · February 20, 2003, 16:48

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Was there any unusual vibration coming from the tires? That is a huge warning sign you are about to have a blowout or a flat tire.

I had that strange vibration at about 70mph in my car but the tyre was replaced and it stopped. Apparently the tyre was very, very worn...

Straybow · February 20, 2003, 17:10

Saras' friend says, "Well, there's another hill that looks just like that one…"

ProvHar: what's a "205"

Provost Harrison · February 20, 2003, 17:11

A Peugeot 205...French obselete minicar...

Rogan Josh · February 21, 2003, 03:48

Quote:

Originally posted by Provost Harrison
I have a friend who was in a big accident. He was travelling at 70mph on a single carriageway and an oncoming car overtook the car in front at about 70mph not seeing my friend and crashed into each other at an angle, but head on. My mates car (205) was in three pieces. And he survived with a compound fracture of the leg (he's only just finished with the hospital 2 years after the accident). Christ knows what this other bloke was doing, but he lost his licence for a long, long time...

That happened to my parents a while back. My mum broke her back and my Dad was pretty bad too. The passenger in the other car died.

The driver was done for manslaughter I think.

My brother has had a few crashes too. My favourite was the one where he had a grand mal epileptic siezure (he is epileptic) while driving. He went right across the carriageway and almost hit a policecar coming the other way - he managed to take the wing mirror off the other side of the policecar before driving up a tree. He was completely unhurt. The policeman was treated for shock.

Saras · February 21, 2003, 04:43

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Was there any unusual vibration coming from the tires? That is a huge warning sign you are about to have a blowout or a flat tire.

I a beamer you don't always know what's happening outside, it's got good sound isolation. No wonder it costs what it does.