N/A Rain+19 year old boy+ tree

markb5900

markb5900

Line Up and Wait
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Mark B
The 19yo son lost his argument with a tree last night.
It was raining and had been all day. He started to hydroplane it sounds like, started to fish tail, over corrected and went cross country down a ditch until as he puts it "that tree jumped out in front of me".

Had two other people in the car. LUCKILY the only injury other than bruises were a couple of lost teeth by one of his passengers.
All three spent a few hours at the hospital getting x rays etc. and were all released after a few hours in the ER.
 

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Probably didn't do the tree any good either. Glad to hear no one is (badly) hurt.
 
Actually he went and took a picture of the tree today.
Can't even tell it was hit.
 

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I have seen cars unrecognizable wrapped around trees and when the are peel off there is nary a scratch on the tree. Thank g-d everyone will be ok.
 
Ooooh. Well, now your son "gets it". Another car gave its life defending your family.
 
Ouch. that will probably not buff right out.

He's lucky he learned a lesson without any permanent damage.
Not to suggest, of course, that a 19-yr-old lad would not be taking it easy in the rain as he should... oh no, not at all... :rolleyes: :D
 
Really glad to hear that in the end, the tree didn't win...'cause nobody was badly injured. Bockwoman
 
Mark, I'm glad to hear he is alright. A local family lost their 24-year-old son yesterday when he lost control of his car in the rain, hydroplaned, and hit a semi.
 
We are just glad that everyone basically "walked away" from it.
His mom is finally starting to calm down about it. I think she was more upset than he was about the entire thing.

He seems to be waiting for me to give him "the lecture" but accidents do happen and hopefully he DID learn to slow it down some.

The same curve cost two kids from his high school their lives a few years ago. I think he understands just how lucky he was.
His one friend is staying with us for a few days till she feels better and keeps reminding him how lucky they were. (which we are glad she is on his case about it)

Mark
 
bbchien said:
Ooooh. Well, now your son "gets it".
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Well, let's just say he has a learning opportunity. Whether he gets the right message is still unknown. He might decide that the force is with him, and that his invincibility suit is working just fine.... 19 is scary!

It is GREAT that his friend is giving him the speech. Much more likely to be effective than from a parent.

I am very glad that the injuries are minor. Best wishes for speedy recoveries for all!

-Skip
 
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I'm guessing at least the kid who lost the teeth wasn't wearing a seatbelt? Oh, did you ever teach you kid the formula to figure out hydroplaning speed?
 
What Henning said (about the seatbelt).

Were any of trhm not belted?
 
None of them were belted.
Which was really kind of strange. I know I am his parent and all, but don't think I had ever seen him drive any car without putting his belt on. Even his older brother commented he was surprised he didn't have a belt on.

But, as we all know, things seem to "change" when mom and dad aren't around.
The airbag kept him from to much damage. What saved her (other one in the front seat) I am not really sure, no airbag on that side.
The one that lost the teeth was in the back seat.

Mark
 
Glad he's ok. Looking back on a lot of my driving at 19, I'm surprised I never had any problems.
 
Holy **** Mark! Glad all are okay for the most part!
 
Diana said:
Mark, I'm glad to hear he is alright. A local family lost their 24-year-old son yesterday when he lost control of his car in the rain, hydroplaned, and hit a semi.
Click to expand...

It was several years ago but I still remember a friend of my Dad's (who's last name was coincidentally "Fisher") telling the sad story of his teenage daughter sliding off the road and running head on into a large tree killing her. I remember it because it happened around the same time I managed to lose control of a rental car, ending up about 2 feet from a huge oak tree on the far side of the road after spinning 180 degrees and passing between two cars about 100 ft apart going the opposite direction. After that episode I started reading about advanced driving skills and getting instruction on that from some experts. This summer I enrolled my 16 yo daughter in an advanced driving course where she experienced control at the limits on wet and dry pavement along with the execution of several emergency maneuvers. Now when she accidentally gets a little loose on the road it won't be the first time she's had to control a car that's not going exactly where it's pointed. I'll bet that if every teenager went through this kind of training their accident rates would drop significantly.
 
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AdamZ said:
Please share it.
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For aircraft it's 9 * PSI^1/2 where PSI is the tire pressure. This only works for smooth pavement and standing water deeper than the grooves in the tires. Car tires are different in that the tread can actually force water out the sides plus the road surfaces tend to vary a lot more so there's no simple formula there although the same basic concept is involved (i.e. when the hydrostatic pressure equals the tire pressure the tire will ride over the water).

From the Wikipedia regarding hydroplaning in cars:"There is no precise equation to determine the speed at which a vehicle will hydroplane. Existing efforts have derived rules of thumb from empirical testing in the 1960s and 1970s.[4] In general, cars hydroplane at speeds above 45 MPH (72 km/h), where water ponds to a depth of at least 1/10 of an inch (2,5 mm) over a distance of 30 feet (9 meters) or more."

Edit: that ^2 was supposed to be ^.5 aka square root.
 
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No belts: they are very lucky, indeed.

I hope they'll regard this as a learning experience- the "one free bite" that many never get.
 
markb5900 said:
None of them were belted.
Which was really kind of strange. I know I am his parent and all, but don't think I had ever seen him drive any car without putting his belt on. Even his older brother commented he was surprised he didn't have a belt on.

But, as we all know, things seem to "change" when mom and dad aren't around.
The airbag kept him from to much damage. What saved her (other one in the front seat) I am not really sure, no airbag on that side.
The one that lost the teeth was in the back seat.

Mark
Click to expand...

"Things" seem especially prone to "change" when multiple kids are in the car. Could be the driver was simply distracted into leaving the belt off or he might have been trying to be "cool" or just going along with the rest who weren't wearing belts for some reason. I've tried to convince my kid that when she's the driver she's the "boss" WRT the seat belt usage and general behavior of anyone else in the same car. I've mentioned how badly she's likely to feel if one of her friends gets injured in a crash becaus they weren't belted, even if she wasn't at fault in the accident itself. AFaIK she's never, ever gone anywhere in a car without being belted in and like me feels somewhat naked without one.

And I'm guessing that the rear seat pax who lost teeth ran his face into the head of the person in front of him or they were sitting in the middle (to better inject themself into the conversation between the front seaters) and went between the airbags into the dashboard or gearshift.
 
gismo said:
It was several years ago but I still remember a friend of my Dad's (who's last name was coincidentally "Fisher") telling the sad story of his teenage daughter sliding off the road and running head on into a large tree killing her. I remember it because it happened around the same time I managed to lose control of a rental car, ending up about 2 feet from a huge oak tree on the far side of the road after spinning 180 degrees and passing between two cars about 100 ft apart going the opposite direction. After that episode I started reading about advanced driving skills and getting instruction on that from some experts. This summer I enrolled my 16 yo daughter in an advanced driving course where she experienced control at the limits on wet and dry pavement along with the execution of several emergency maneuvers. Now when she accidentally gets a little loose on the road it won't be the first time she's had to control a car that's not going exactly where it's pointed. I'll bet that if every teenager went through this kind of training their accident rates would drop significantly.
Click to expand...

I did the same when I was first learning to drive, and every winter I go out to a big, empty, snow and ice-covered parking lot and go play around with my truck to remind myself of what it will (and won't) do. I've gotten a number of comments from people who think it's nuts. Of course, those same people tend to end up in ditches and wrecks in the winter, whereas I do not. Not so crazy, then.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I did the same when I was first learning to drive, and every winter I go out to a big, empty, snow and ice-covered parking lot and go play around with my truck to remind myself of what it will (and won't) do. I've gotten a number of comments from people who think it's nuts. Of course, those same people tend to end up in ditches and wrecks in the winter, whereas I do not. Not so crazy, then.
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https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/

A more organized approach.

https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I did the same when I was first learning to drive, and every winter I go out to a big, empty, snow and ice-covered parking lot and go play around with my truck to remind myself of what it will (and won't) do. I've gotten a number of comments from people who think it's nuts. Of course, those same people tend to end up in ditches and wrecks in the winter, whereas I do not. Not so crazy, then.
Click to expand...

We got a half inch of snow last night and some of the freeway ramps iced over. My wife had to drive to one of her parks early this morning for an event (amazingly at least 2/3rds of the normal bunch attended despite the wintry weather) and saw dozens of cars in the ditch and several major accidents. Seems like a lot of folks manage to completely forget what winter driving is like over the summer.
 
gismo said:
Seems like a lot of folks manage to completely forget what winter driving is like over the summer.
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That's for sure. I've found that everywhere I've lived or visited so far.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I did the same when I was first learning to drive, and every winter I go out to a big, empty, snow and ice-covered parking lot and go play around with my truck to remind myself of what it will (and won't) do. I've gotten a number of comments from people who think it's nuts. Of course, those same people tend to end up in ditches and wrecks in the winter, whereas I do not. Not so crazy, then.
Click to expand...
I do the same thing. Harder these days since most of the big parking lots now have stores open on Sunday.
Amazing the feeling you have when a Chevy Suburban does a 180 though I remember doing a 180 in a Lincoln (as PAX) and feeling completely helpless.
 
Ted DuPuis said:
I did the same when I was first learning to drive, and every winter I go out to a big, empty, snow and ice-covered parking lot and go play around with my truck to remind myself of what it will (and won't) do. I've gotten a number of comments from people who think it's nuts. Of course, those same people tend to end up in ditches and wrecks in the winter, whereas I do not. Not so crazy, then.
Click to expand...

silver-eagle said:
I do the same thing. Harder these days since most of the big parking lots now have stores open on Sunday.
Amazing the feeling you have when a Chevy Suburban does a 180 though I remember doing a 180 in a Lincoln (as PAX) and feeling completely helpless.
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+1. It's a good reminder that all-wheel drive gets you into situations that all-wheel brakes can't get you out of.
 
Cap'n Jack said:
+1. It's a good reminder that all-wheel drive gets you into situations that all-wheel brakes can't get you out of.
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That's why I leave my 4x4 Excursion in 4x2 unless I believe I'm going to need the 4x4 to get me up a hill or out of some situation that I've gotten myself into. Leaving your 4x4 in 4x2 gives you a better feel for how slippery the road really is.
 
I've driven in a number of pretty terrifying white-outs.

My scariest screw up though was in my 1989 Dodge Dakota. It was raining, I was driving straight, and then I wasn't. I did two 360's before straightening out and driving on. Never even came to a stop. Interesting to say the least.
 
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