Ouch. Guardrail vs Porsche 996

[M A V I C]

I'm curious what caused the accident. From the skid marks, it looks like someone failed to get out of the left lane. The Porsche hit it and then slid into the guard rail.

[Racer X]

TheCaber Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> No problem. We'll just buff out those scratches.
> No one will know.

we can just file those gouges on that wheel right back to new.

I can't think of a single circumstance except on a racetrack, where it isn't the rear driver's legal and moral responsibility to NOT hit the person in front of them. The only way it can be the leading driver's fault is if they are backing up. Even if a car is stalled in the middle of the road, you still can't hit them without it being your fault.

[M A V I C]

Racer X Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I can't think of a single circumstance except on a
> racetrack, where it isn't the rear driver's legal
> and moral responsibility to NOT hit the person in
> front of them. The only way it can be the leading
> driver's fault is if they are backing up. Even if
> a car is stalled in the middle of the road, you
> still can't hit them without it being your fault.

In the US, sure. But it looks like this was in Germany. If you get rear ended and you're in the left lane, it's your fault.

[SteveJobs]

When I worked at a car dealer, the road iced over once. We watched SEVEN cars plow into the guard rail. One had it's metal bumper woven into the guard rail. It stayed there in the guard rail for years and years.

I went out and picked the people up and brought them into the dealership for coffee. Man it was icy. No one got hurt.

[Zoidberg]

We're okay now, we can laugh about it.

[Racer X]

M A V I C Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Racer X Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I can't think of a single circumstance except
> on a
> > racetrack, where it isn't the rear driver's
> legal
> > and moral responsibility to NOT hit the
> person in
> > front of them. The only way it can be the
> leading
> > driver's fault is if they are backing up.
> Even if
> > a car is stalled in the middle of the road,
> you
> > still can't hit them without it being your
> fault.
>
> In the US, sure. But it looks like this was in
> Germany. If you get rear ended and you're in the
> left lane, it's your fault.
>
>

My bad, didn't know that. I know that they are far more strict about drivers there, but they need to be.

[DharmaDog]

Wow. It looks like some giant car-eating mechanical monster tried to feast on that Porsche and then changed its mind and spit it out.

[M A V I C]

Racer X Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My bad, didn't know that. I know that they are
> far more strict about drivers there, but they need
> to be.

I spent many hours in the right lane behind slower cars because our car didn't have enough power to pass quickly (limited rear sight distance.)

I still remember one time being on a long straight away and moving into the left lane to pass. Not a few seconds go by and the driver freaked out and yanked wheel to the right. At the same time I hear a loud roar and was completely confused. A split second later a red blur showed up in the left lane where we just were. We were probably doing 90mph, but a Ferrari going the same direction was going MUCH faster.

I looked back to see how far we could see, and it had to be at least a half mile. The driver of our car guessed the Ferrari was doing about 250kph.

If you really want to scare a German, pass on the right. A friend of mine was over here and I was driving down I-5. I was in the left lane, and moved to the middle to pass. He pushed himself back in his seat and with a panicked voice said "what are you doing??!" He said that one of the worst traffic offenses is to pass on the right. This is because it's the job of the car in front of you to move over to the right, and that if you try to pass on the right you could hit them as they try to move over.

I wish we had their traffic laws.

[macone]

M A V I C wrote:

"In the US, sure. But it looks like this was in Germany. If you get rear ended and you're in the left lane, it's your fault."

As I recall German law says if you are involved in an accident and traveling greater than the recommended speed limit of 130KPH, you may also be held responsible for the accident whether or not you are at fault. Has this law been revised?

[M A V I C]

macone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> As I recall German law says if you are involved in
> an accident and traveling greater than the
> recommended speed limit of 130KPH, you may also be
> held responsible for the accident whether or not
> you are at fault. Has this law been revised?

I would imagine the circumstances have specific details. One can't drive as fast as the want on the entire autobahn, just the areas that are designated as such. I'm not that familiar with German traffic laws. It could be that both parties are held responsible.