Never OT: ALWAYS ALWAYS WEAR YOUR SEATBELT
Sorry if not allowed, but felt the need to share.
On Saturday, I had just picked my son up from a celebration lunch from his Freshman Football Team having gone 7-0, outscored their opponents 295-14, and winning their first ever League Title.
Travelling Southbound on a two-lane road and making a turn into our subdivision. Plenty of clearance from the northbound car so began a "normal" turn.
That "normal" turn turned into an OH SHIT turn as my son and I saw the car BEHIND the first car get impatient, and swing around onto the shoulder and accelerate wildly to pass the front car.
Apparently, he also had quite a bit to drink clouding his judgement and probably his belief that he could make it this time.
He even then apparently floored it, so he could 'beat' me to the turn.
He didn't beat me, and he did NOT make it. He was not wearing a seatbelt, and when his car was flipped 8 times - he was thrown from the vehicle and into an electrical pole. He sadly passed away 4 rooms down from me in the ER.
We are both home now - happy to be alive. If I hadn't seen him, and hadn't floored it myself - 6-8 inches to the front and my 15-year old son would be gone too.
TL;DR - Wear your damn seatbelts
October 6th, 2020 at 2:23 PM ^
Also, don't drive drunk. Take a taxi or an uber or get a ride from a friend.
Don't drive drunk.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:24 PM ^
Absolutely
Didn't intentionally downplay the drinking and driving aspect sorry
October 6th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
Almost no one believes they are drunk when they're drunk. Don't drink and drive. Don't leave it up to your own judgement to determine whether your drunk. Don't leave it up to someone else's judgement. Don't leave it up to a cheap piece of chinese electronics. Don't drink and drive.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
In case that wasn't clear...DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:17 PM ^
My daughter who is a prosecuting attorney heartily agrees with that statement!! Judgement gets progressively worse the more you drink!!!
October 6th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
While I 100% agree with your statement in seatbelts...there’s not a seatbelt in the world that saves you from that wreck. That dude was a goner regardless. What a stupid stupid stupid move.
still...wear the damn seatbelt.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
Sorry not thinking all together clearly in putting it together for this post.
I was highlighting how if WE hadn't had ours on - the outcome might be a lot different but i can see how you would read it that way
October 6th, 2020 at 3:07 PM ^
We have a sharp curve where I live and someone missed it doing 55. He flipped 8 times but had his seatbelt on. We thought for sure he was dead. He walked away with some bumps and bruises. Seatbelts work.
October 6th, 2020 at 5:03 PM ^
One of my employees today relayed a story that last night on the highway outside of Chicago an SUV passed him going fast and being reckless. Right in front of him they swerved into a Semi and flipped on their roof. My employee drove through the debri field but was not caught up in it. He rushed to the upside down car to find five guys who had been clearly drinking and two of whom were stuck while the car was smoking. He smashed the window and helped pull them to safety before emergency crews were on the scene.
Despite being idiots for drinking and driving while also driving stupid.....they were all belted and all walked away despite the vehicle being destoryed.
Step 1 - Don't drive even while tipsy, let alone drunk
Step 2 - Put your damn seatbelt on.
Step 3 - Drive safe, especially when there are others out there who won't be.
October 6th, 2020 at 6:52 PM ^
I'm in the area . . . is there a link to the Trib or Daily Herald or other news coverage? (Did a cursory Google Search, but it could be 55/90/290/94/294/355/53/57/394, so without that and without community, it is hard to search.)
October 7th, 2020 at 10:02 AM ^
Ohio accident: https://www.wtol.com/article/news/local/accident-leaves-car-on-its-side-in-sylvania-twp/512-bee409e2-53ed-4f83-b9fd-45e588931601
The details are limited as the investigation is still ongoing.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:26 PM ^
Great reminder. Very happy to know you and your son are okay.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:29 PM ^
Wow, you were very lucky!! Good for you that you were wearing your seat belt!!
It's heard to believe that anyone would get in a car and not buckle up. I actually had a conversation just last week with a co-worker who was arguing that it's better to not be buckled up. They tried to justify that it was safer and I had to just walk away.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:31 PM ^
I've never been happier that a user name checks out as right now. Best wishes brother.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:07 PM ^
I second that sentiment! Glad you and your son are safe. Get well.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:32 PM ^
Also also: if you find yourself THAT drunk in the middle of the day (I don't care if it's a Saturday) go get therapy.
Glad to hear you and your son are okay. Even if the other guy was drunk, a life wasted is always tragic.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:34 PM ^
Not sure that dude lives even with the seatbelt, but yes. I will refuse to take the vehicle out of park if just one person isn't wearing a seatbelt.
I actually had an ex - serious relationship which we had even talked about getting engaged - several years after we had broken up died after she flipped her SUV due to missing a curve on the highway in the very early morning. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt (something I had constantly reminded her to do during our relationship), was thrown from the vehicle, and died a few hours later at the hospital.
Takes 2 seconds to buckle it. 2. Seconds. Saving your life is worth 2 seconds in my mind. Glad you guys are ok OP.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:37 PM ^
Thank God you & son are home safe. Thoughts and prayers out to all the families involved - very sad situation.
On to more light-hearted aspects:
1) Anyone else see the thread topic and think this was recruiting-related?
2) Thread is tagged "football"
October 6th, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
Sorry i did that and thought it would put it to the main forum or something
my bad
October 6th, 2020 at 3:57 PM ^
No need to apologize - it's sometimes good to remind everyone here that there are more important things than football. Sometimes.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
So glad to know that you and your son survived that scare and hopefully didn't suffer major injuries.
Drinking + driving + no seat belts are bad life decisions. It just sucks to get this reminder from people who's lives changed in a split second because of someone else's poor decisions.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:38 PM ^
Yes, always wear your seat belt! I was notoriously bad as a kid and my mom would ground me all the time for it.
On a similar topic/story. My cousin was in a car wreck where he wasn't wearing a seat belt and because of that, saved his life. My cousin was the driver and he got t-boned really bad right on the driver side door that threw him across to the other side in the passenger seat. The paramedic told him he likely would have died if he had his seat belt because he would have been crushed (instead he was throw away from the major car damage).
October 6th, 2020 at 5:02 PM ^
Lucky for your cousin, but I wouldn't draw conclusions from fluke anecdotes like this. Even if 5-10% of cases are like this (a HIGH estimate), the data suggests it is WAY safer to wear a seatbelt.
October 6th, 2020 at 10:20 PM ^
I agree completely about always wearing seat belts. I don't believe I have ever ridden in a car without using one. I say that so that no one misunderstands what I say next. I know 2 people who are probably alive because they did not wear seatbelts. My point is that all our decisions are merely playing the odds. And even if you have the odds strongly in your favor it's never a sure thing.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:44 PM ^
The destruction to the car in that picture looks unsurvivable. Assuming that was the vehicle of the drunk driver, I'm surprised he didn't die instantly. You and your son are very fortunate to be OK, so much to be thankful for!
Without a doubt, always BUCKLE UP! Things can happen so quickly on the road that evasive action is often impossible and sometimes almost as dangerous.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:52 PM ^
Actually - that was the car my son and I were in. As I said above - 6 to 8 inches more to the front and my son would be gone too, as I was driving and he was in the front passenger side.
I didn't want to post photos of his car so as not to cause any undue further pain to his family.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:03 PM ^
Wow, that's insane. I can see that he basically tore off the back end of your car. Glad you had the wherewithal to hit the gas and thankful that you and your son were able to come out the other side of this in relatively good condition. I hope this doesn't leave lasting trauma for either of you, though, as I've known someone who took a LONG time to get comfortable just being a passenger - never mind getting back behind the wheel - after a similar incident.
October 6th, 2020 at 5:08 PM ^
Yes — and just to underline what I think is an under-emphasized piece of this story... You clearly saved you and your son's life with your poise in a terrifying, fast-unfolding moment. Hitting the gas got you out of the worst of harm's way. Critical lesson here beyond wearing seat-belts and not driving drunk: ALWAYS keep awareness up while on the road. Yes, texting and other distractions make you more likely to cause an accident, but even if you're "good at multitasking," if your awareness is diminished, critically, you're less likely to be able to respond in the moment when someone else does something crazy. I'm no perfect driver, but as someone who has spent a lot of my life on the road, I can count 5 - 7 times when I was able to respond instantly to someone else's dumb move and prevent a serious accident. Good driving, MurderWolfLives. Best wishes for a smooth and full recovery to you and your son.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
Wow. Just wow. I think most of us assumed that the picture was the other car that flipped and rolled.
The margin of error in this case was very slim. Your survival instincts kicked in appropriately and made you push that gas pedal down hard to avoid a direct hit to the passenger seat.
Wishing you and your son nothing but good health going forward. Also don't forget about the mental aspect of recovery - this was a traumatic experience both physically and mentally.
October 6th, 2020 at 5:31 PM ^
You mentioned the emotional part and I know personally I am dealing with some survivor's guilt.
However, when they pulled us away from the wreckage they sat my son down in the grass - unfortunately FACING where they were working on the other driver.
My son saw WAY too much for a 15 year old before I could help him switch positions.
He had eaten literally ONE donut in about 48 hours - and only that one after his mom pushed quite a bit.
This is clearly affecting him and will stay with him for a long time.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
You and your son survived that?????
You know, say what you will about the automakers, the advancements in passenger safety over the past 50 years or so have been nothing sort of amazing. If you look at photos of fatal accidents from the 60's the one thing I always noticed was how remarkably in tact the car was meaning the humans absorbed all the energy on impact. Nowdays EVERYTHING flies apart and the energy generated on impact is transferred to every piece of the car instead of it's occupants.
Look at this picture of a double fatality accident from the mid 60s versus whatever the heck is left of your car. God bless my man.
October 6th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
It also matters where the impact occurred. The photo in OP clearly shows the impact was near the rear of their vehicle - less likely to harm those in front seats regardless of vehicle design. Had it been head-on...
October 6th, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
Yes, I will bitch incessantly about how monstrous cars have gotten and the hits to fuel economy that we have incurred due to the size of our cars. But there is no doubt even a Chevy Spark is many times more survivable than anything built when I grew up in the 70s and 80s.
I think I remember 59,000 deaths a year or so back in those days on the roads. Now it's down to 38,000 or something. With 70+ mph speeds and what feels like twice as many people on the road at all hours of the day.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:13 PM ^
Wow! I assumed that was the drunk drivers car. Incredible
October 6th, 2020 at 2:50 PM ^
Wow, how scary. Glad you guys are ok.
On a related note, put your kid in the appropriate booster / car seat. Convenience and being cool are not a good reason to get your kid killed or seriously injured. Just because they're 8 doesn't mean they don't need a booster if they aren't big enough. Find the guidelines and follow them!
October 6th, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
Great message, congrats to your son's team, and hope his family can recover soon. Glad you two are okay and hopefully your son can have many more years of football ahead
October 6th, 2020 at 2:55 PM ^
So glad you are okay. This is a great PSA and it is beyond me why people don't wear seatbelts, or masks.
13 years ago, while leaving Crystal Mountain and driving south of Cadillac, my buddy and I were hit head on by a truck going 60 MPH while we were driving 15 MPH. The driver lost control of his truck in a blizzard, and we later found out he had tested positive for THC in his system. I walked out of the crash with not a scratch, but my friend and the two occupants of the truck were in coma for months, with needing rebuilt shoulders, elbows, hips, and TBI's. I thank God or whoever every day I was spared because I wouldn't have been able to join the Army, meet my wife, have my job, have my kids if I too was left in that dire state. I'd like to think wearing a seatbelt had something to do with it...
October 6th, 2020 at 2:56 PM ^
I find it astonishing that there are still people who do not wear seatbelts after 55 years of having it drummed into everyone’s head statistically and anecdotally how they save lives. Kind of like I am dumbfounded that anyone still smokes cigarettes after 55 years of hearing all the awful things they do to your health.
October 6th, 2020 at 4:43 PM ^
Do you really find it astonishing though? I fully expected to see a post about freedom and how it’s not the governments role to tell people what to do.
Nothing really surprises me anymore.
October 6th, 2020 at 2:56 PM ^
A grim reminder that life is short, and any day could be your last.
Never, ever, EVER drive drunk. It's just not even remotely worth it. Pay the money to call an Uber. Its worth spending that $20 to get home from the bar and not have to worry if you've had one too many. If you don't have any money, get a friend to pick you up. Walk home. Stay where you are until you sober up. Do anything other than get behind that wheel.
You could ruin your life, your family's life, and the life of another family in the process. Not sure its worth ending up dead or inside a jail cell and spending years contemplating what you should've done differently.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:11 PM ^
Your first sentence is so very true.
I'm not a reckless person by nature, but that doesn't mean others on the road aren't.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^
Wow, I have not thought about Hill Street Blues in a looooong time
October 6th, 2020 at 3:13 PM ^
Glad you're OK murderwolf. My goodness -- that picture.
If you're old enough, you can remember when seat belts and motorcycle helmets were considered infringements on liberties. (Come to think of it, motorcycle helmets still are to many .....) I'd steer this into the COVID-19 channel, but we've had enough of that already today.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:19 PM ^
How drunk does somebody have to be to be that shitty of a driver?
Glad you are safe. And yes always wear your seatbelt.
October 6th, 2020 at 4:17 PM ^
Girl from my HS got on the highway going the wrong way. Of all the people to hit, she hit another drunk driver and both died. I don't remember what her BAC level was but it had to be way up there.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:42 PM ^
Oh my Lord!!! That is scary! Every since this Pandemic started and still to this day I have experienced the worst drivers ever in my lifetime daily. Also I was sharing with one of my daughters and also my fishing partner, that while most lights turn green the first thought should be to go,”I forewarned them both to wait every time now!” And you won’t believe that the very next day my friend told me that a car ran the light in the city @ around 80 miles a hour and he did not go on green! Please listen to the OP, watch, pray, and wear your seatbelts, please everyone.
October 6th, 2020 at 3:43 PM ^
October 6th, 2020 at 3:50 PM ^
Seatbelts and masks save lives!
October 6th, 2020 at 4:00 PM ^
I'll never understand why some people don't wear seatbelts. Is it just a stupid macho thing? "I'm not a wuss, I don't need a seatbelt!" It's just a natural habit/instinct for me to put my seatbelt on right when I get in the car. I don't even give it a single thought. Been that way for my whole life pretty much.
Also, I'll never understand what is wrong with some people and their terrible driving habits. He couldn't just wait his turn? Not only is he putting his life in danger by driving so recklessly, but he's putting others' lives in danger too. So selfish, and such an incredibly stupid way to die. Some people just shouldn't be allowed to drive. Or perhaps there needs to be more strict thresholds that need to be met to get a drivers license.
Anyway, glad you and your son survived!
October 6th, 2020 at 4:15 PM ^
Holy shit man. So glad you and your son are okay.