I saw this earlier, and it made me think of your post - NYTimes Article

 

I'm still figuring out why idiots are allowed to breed I gotta take a test to drive, sell real estate, get a contractors license. Yet no test to have kids??? How bout a two room system. One for testing and then one for sterilization (for those that don't do too well in the first room ). Plus this will decrease some of the politicians on the roads for you DC mini folks

 

I saw two sheets of ice fly off of roofs on Saturday.
They start to take off and flip a few times slowly. Both times there was ample time to slow down and avoid a bad situation. If people are paying attention to their surroundings, you should be able to avoid it, unless you are yacking on your handsfree device.

 

i didn't see your thread till after i posted mine. not sure if i want to call the ins company as im scared my rates might raise ;_;

 

No worry's there, it will be a comp claim, and therefore, no premium increase because of this.


On my way home from the breafast yesterday I saw huge hunks of ice fall off the signs that say what exits are coming up. I saw the 1st one about 30 yards ahead of me. Then the next and last one I saw, I saw as it whoosed through my rear-view mirror and heard it SMASH into the ground. Had I been doing 60 instead of 65, I would be on my way to a body shop too.

 

How about walking into LL Bean in the Columbia Mall and a huge hunk of ice fell from the roof crashing about 3 feet from someone.

Imagine if that had hit a person on the head

 

I disagree about it being no different... a person who is in the car with you is far more aware of your surrounding traffic situation. They are much more likely to stop talking if things get hairy... and in some cases may even notice an errant car that the driver doesn't, and bring it to the driver's attention.

A person on the phone has absolutely no clue what is going on in and around the car, other than what the driver themselves conveys (at a much delayed time as well).

I'm not saying that handsfree devices should be banned, not at all. Will - your post brings up many other differences to a handheld that are very relevant (blind spot, motor control, etc.). However I don't think we should also be so quick to call a handsfree setup "the same" as having the person there in the car.

 

Not all pilots in communication with ATC, CTAF, etc are commercial or IFR pilots, many are just GA pilot's shooting landings, etc. The fact is you communicate - yes it is kept short-as phone calls should be, but more to keep the frequency open rather than being totally fixated on flying.

You're right about training from day one, a good idea for driver education That was why I was referring to taking your test with communications.

Banning hand held phones would be fine by me.......

 

My hits with ice came from people passing me in the left lane, me in the right on the GW Parkway. When they are just ahead a car length or so passing on a 4 lane there is not much you can do to escape. I've also seen close calls with opposing traffic. It comes off a vehicle and one coming the other way gets hit.

The bottom line is that it can be very dangerous as we've seen last week. The excuse about it being too hard, too high, too cold, or 'I can't get it off because of the luggage rack' is bull. My van is over 7 feet tall, 18 some long, with a roof rack and I got every bit of ice off there. Was it work? difficult? a chore? Yessss. But put on your grown up undies and do it people!

Ok, pontification switch off

 

My car is going into the shop on Monday. The shop is estimating about a week for the work. They're also going to have to "fight" with the insurance company because my estimate didn't take into account the fact that I have xenon headlights, so their estimate for a headlight was $200. They also completely missed my blinker/parking signal light. The good news is the shop handles things like this all the time so they said they would deal with it so I don't have to.

 

Very sorry to hear about the damages to your MINI...but I'm glad you are ok.

 

Evidently, none of these morons were around for the invention of warm water

 

Yep, they'll turn in a supplemental claim and the estimator will review it. I'm sure he or she will realize the mistake and it won't be a problem. If it is, you know somebody personally who can help you.

 

I'm in PA and that icy roof "thing" was on the news - only problem is: PROVE IT

Without witnesses or an onboard camera, the offending vehicle, well, has a cleared roof (it just cleared through your windshield, but it's now "cleared"). Prove they're the culprit = hard to do.

Long handled garage floor brooms work great on minivans, trucks, SUVs and other non-show-cars, but there's always a chance of scratching if one is not careful. I use one all the time, makes snow clearing a one minute job if it's not icy. All that ice, though, was a pain.

Cellphones and vehicles don't mix. Sorry. I'm guilty too, sometimes, and while I'd like to think I'm really careful about it, but the fact is I'm less attentive when I'm on the phone. I've gotten to the point that I mainly turn the phone OFF when I'm driving - so I can concentrate enough to avoid those who don't.

 

Hope for a speedy recovery.

I read about a incident like this recently where the person hit followed the other person and then had the cops come. So many ways to handle it.

Trying to find the article.

 

I rarely answer my phone unless it's my wife. And even then conversations are no more than 30 seconds. I recall being on the phone on route 340 for a few minutes and missed my exit. That proved to me that I wasn't paying attention. Lesson learned. Thankfully not the hard way.

 

Welp, it's in the shop and I have a horrible horrible horrible Pontiac Grand Prix as a rental. Unless you like vague steering and a total disconnection for the road I wouldn't suggest you get one.

 

Matt, sorry to hear bout ur MINI. hopefully you'll have her back soon. ugghhh pontiacs! i hate em. i've had grand am rentals and their just as bad if not worse.

 

Could be worse. I got a Aztec from Enterprise at Sterling once!

I didn't complain though. I'm not a 'free loaner whiner'. If they give me a newish car for free I'm happy. Just had to wear a disguise for the day lest anyone see me in it.

 

That is true. I can also say so far I think sally has gotten one of the worst loaners. Although the Grand Prix might be pretty bad at least the brakes aren't as mushy as all the Taurii I've driven.

 

And at least the Grand Prix actually moves a bit when you press the gas!!


-Paul!

 

I was just looking it up and it seems like the model I have (the Sedan I assume) claims to be 200hp. Of course mated to a 4-speed automatic it doesn't really feel that peppy. But I did notice it did have at least some semblance of power.

 

[quote=CmdrVimes;1374434]So I was coming back from a rather uneventful day at work. Dealing with the normal traffic idiocy on I95 northbound out of Greenbelt. However, today was slightly different.

Matt, I am feeling your pain. I let my Mini to someone who took out a deer with the front clip. Sorry Man. Work with the adjuster and don't take no for an answer.

DJD

 

I think I'm going to cry now.
It's probably going to be another 2 weeks before I get my car back. Just got off the phone with the shop. Insurance person was just out yesterday and approved all the other stuff that their estimate missed (like a xenon instead of a halogen). So now I wait for them to actually begin work.

The bill currently sits at ~$2500. Far greater than the insurance estimate at their facility for ~$800.

I don't think I can stand driving this rental for another 2 weeks. I think it's time to curl up into a ball and maybe start drinking heavily...

 

Yeah, initial estimates are typically off due to some of the damage not being detectable until the shop begins their tear-down.

But what DOES surprise me is the time frame to repair. Is the shop backlogged ? Is there considerable lead time for parts to arrive ? Did they even tell you why it would take so long ?

Is this a "Service First" or "Select Service" shop, Matt ?