Okay, the statistics. I have had 6 accidents in 3 years. I seem to have 1 every 6 months. Two of the 6, I don't think are my fault. Somebody hit me while my car was parked in the parking lot of my apartment complex. I wasn't even there. I also hit a dog. It was 2 A.M. in the morning and I was on a dark road. A pack of dogs appeared like locus on the street. I saw them when I was about 50 feet in front of them. I was running about 60 miles a hour. I slammed on my brakes and swerved but I still caught one of the dogs. They were looking at me like deer in headlights. I have had three accidents in this parking lot where I work. The latest one was today. I have hit a light pole. I backed into a car. I pulled out in a lane as a car was passing and we hit. The only bad accident I had was when I rear ended a woman who slammed on the brakes in front of me the very moment I turned away to look to my right. All of these accidents boil down to one thing, I am just not paying attention every minute I am in the car and some stupid drivers. Like today, what are the chances that a dude is driving two cars at once! He pulls one of the cars out and as I am backing out thinking the other car has pulled into his slot, the dude just sits there watching me hit his car, because it is a piece of $hit car and he wants the insurance check. I am starting to think I need to carry a camera just so that I can document these accidents so that I don't get screwed over. The guy I hit today, his car was not even hurt, but it just so happens that the side I hit was ALREADY hit before, so I am sure he is going to claim I caused all of his damage even though my car wasn't even dented! Does anybody else have this problem or am I just snake bitten, what! I can't remember ever having this many accidents in my life.
Only 4 out of the 6 were reported. After I had my really bad accident, I changed insurance company the very same day. I am thinking about doing the same thing soon. From what I understand, each accident stays on your record for 1 year. The last accident I have, which was a love tap, was about 7 months ago.
Do you talk on your cell phone? Instead of digital camera, use poloroids. I've heard that digital pictures might not be admissible as evidence with all judges.
I drive better than that drunk. You seriously are a bad driver. You must live in your own world, the ADD type. Seriously... Its possible god hates you. But its more likely you just suck. Edit- I take that back. I'm just in a bad mood.
Pay attention. Following distance. Watch where you are going. Expect other drivers to do something stupid at all times, and be prepared. Maybe get a smaller vehicle that you can see out of and manuever easier.
When I first got my license when I was 19, I got into about 5 accidents in a span of 18 months. I even ran over a bicyclist. I was also caught speeding going over 130mph. So the accidents, in addition to the reckless driving (speeding) charge, led to my license being suspended for over a year. After I got my license back, I haven't had an accident in over 4 years. Just way more careful now. So, did you just get your license just three years ago? How old are you? I'm thinking age has something to do with your crappy driving.
The crazy thing is that I am 37 years old and when I was younger I never had one accident till about age 21. I was driving when I was 16. And so far, (I hope I am not jinxing myself) I have had only 1 really bad accident in 21 years of driving, when I slammed into that lady. I was doing about 15-20 miles an hour. When I hit the dog, that was unavoidable, imo. Every other accident I have had has been in a parking lot. I am a very calm driver in situations on the road and I have been able to avoid my fair share of accidents with God's help. I think that I do get in a hurry, though, and I don't pay attention. I probably do live in my own world, in that I am always thinking and talking to myself and having full blown discussions in my mind. Something else that I believe contributed to a few of these accidents is that I am completely blind in my left eye. I thus have a huge blind spot.
Chi has a good point. When I first got my license at 16, I had 4 accidents in the first 5 years. In the last 10 years, I haven't had any accidents of my own. I have had 3 accidents at 5-10 mph, where people on their cellphones hit me at the stop light. The last 10 years, I drive slower. I give myself more breaking distance, in case, the car in front suddenly stops. I have banned the cellphone and eating in the car. Keep distractions away. I don't even change radio stations, unless I am stopped at a light or on the highway with no cars to the front and sides of me. I adjusted the mirrors to cover the blind spots by left and the right passenger side. Most people aim the mirrors to view the door handles and a 1-2 foot area from this. Here is a good link. http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~gdguo/driving/BlindSpot.htm During heavy traffic, if there is an SUV or truck in front of me, I stay slightly to the left. If you do this, you can see if the vehicles in front of the SUV are going to brake. Look at people's head position. Some people change lanes so quickly, that they don't bother with blinker. Even though their blinkers are off, the body language can signal a sudden lane change. I move my foot to the brake pedal, and prepare for a lane change. I tap it, if there is a change. If not, I just move it back to the accelerator. Always turn on lights, if you have daytime running lights. Great! If not, you can turn on your regular lights. It's not for you to see better, it's for the other's to see you better. Especially in rainy weather, when it's hard to see silver or blue cars in the side mirror through tinted windows.
Thats huge! I have a family member with no peripheral vision (weird) and no one will insure him. He gets into accidents on a regular basis. Luckily for him he lives in a small city with no traffic.
A half-blind day dreaming driver. What could go wrong? Seriously, come up with tricks to keep you focused. For example, before changing lanes, take a mental note of the color of the car behind you. Test yourself. After changing lanes, do you remember the color. If not, you obviously aren't paying attention like you should. In your case, before backing up, take a mental note of one object behind your car. If you had done this, you wouldn't have backed into that guy that set you up.
