TheDriver is sixteen years old. Because she hasn’t had much experience behind the wheel, her mother and I are hesitant to let her just drive anywhere. I don’t think we are overprotective – she drove to Siesta Key with her friends. But then again, that was during the week over the summer – yes on I-75, but there was no rush hour traffic and it was during daylight hours.
She had gotten tickets to the Spleen Bowl (spleenapalooza?). Because the traffic would be heavy and filled with drinkers, we decided to drop TheDriver off to tailgate with her friends, then pick her up after the game. WE didn’t have tickets to the game, but just felt it would be safer for her that way. And it was. For her.
A couple blocks away from the pickup point, a nice Mercedes came into my sight on a side street to my right. He was driving north in the southbound lane, passing a bunch of cars stopped at the stop sign. Of course, he didn’t stop, blowing right through the stop sign. I slammed on the brakes & horn, but neither would alter the course of fate. At that point I just slid right into his driver side. I took my SUV and broadsided him, T-boned him, crushed the Mercedes like a tin can.
After asking the FirstGrader if she was all right (she said yes), then checking on wifey, I got outta the SUV, and ran over to the stopped vehicle that was now essentially a three-wheeler. The young guy was getting out of the Mercedes. He slightly stumbled and asked if I was OK. I told him I was, and asked him the same. He said he was, so I asked him why did he run the f*cking stop sign. I didn’t stick around for the answer. I went back to my family.
It was an ordeal for wifey to get the FirstGrader out of the middle of the road. It seems that Mercedes was not the only impatient driver on the streets. She had to dodge traffic to get across the street to a parking lot. Once safely there, I went back to move the SUV out of the road, having to deal with more impatient drivers.
We called the police, then called TheDriver and told her she may wanna walk the 3 blocks, since we would be a while.
There was one guy there who was not impatient. A man who was stopped at the stop sign saw the guy coming alongside, and waited to see what would happen. He witnessed the entire crash, and in a completely unselfish move, he waited with us for the police to show up. I offer a big bunch of THANKS! to Bill Newton, Executive Director of the Florida Consumer Action Network. He gave the policeman another story to help put it all together. Thanks a million, Bill!
To make a long story a little bit shorter, the police did show up (after about 45 minutes), got a statement from Bill, gave Mercedes a ticket for failure to right-of-way as well as a finger-to-nose test (which he apparently passed), and we were free to leave (the SUV was drivable).
The SUV (which may come out of the shop tomorrow) got about $1,600 damage. Meanwhile, I got a pimpmobile as a rental car, and I have come to really not trust anyone driving out from the right side of the road.
Next time the teen can drive herself.
tamparebel
3 years ago
it is a shame that someone who is tounting mass transit is driving a SUV.
Dawn
3 years ago
Just glad you’re all alright. hugs to the fam!
Jim Johnson
3 years ago
Glad to hear your family was alright.
tommy
3 years ago
Thanks, Dawn. Thanks Jim.
tamparebel, Please explain how I’m not allowed to drive an SUV and support mass transit at the same time.
I’d love to hear more.
Rachel*
3 years ago
I bet that Charger is pretty bad-ass – although, a 6.1L V8 engine is totally asking for another ironic situation, don’t you think? Hell, who could blame you? Have fun!
C.W.
3 years ago
That’s incredible Tommy. Driving after a Bucs game is even scarier than getting on/off I-285 in the ATL. As for the first commenter, I’ll give up my SUV when we get some decent mass transit around here. Howzdat!
tim
3 years ago
As for the first commenter, I’ll give up my SUV when we get some decent mass transit around here. Howzdat!
I don’t see how the two are related at all. Your only options are mass transit or an SUV? That’s a false dichotomy; if you were actually dedicated to the benefits of mass transit you could take a step toward eliminating dependence on foreign oil by driving a more fuel-conscious vehicle.
tommy
3 years ago
tamparebel has no real argument, otherwise he/she would have left contact information.
dcdave
3 years ago
For starters, the cops probably showed up late cuz they were getting lapdances. Next up, there’s the running a stoplight/red light phenomenon again. Doesn’t an accident get some enforcement around here? Probably not. Lastly, to provide the real argument for t-rebs: Tim makes a valid point. SUV’s are antithetical to mass transit. The mere driving of them destroys roads due to their excessive tonnage vs. other passenger vehicles. The less than stellar gas mileage means more emissions and more dependence on foreign oil. Mass transit eliminates these problems by reducing traffic, wear and tear on roads, increasing overall fuel efficiency by carrying greater passenger loads and is generally safer than driving, which is one of the most dangerous forms of transportation. Nevertheless, I think tommy can still “tount” mass transit and drive an SUV, as long as he’s carpooling…
dcdave
3 years ago
p.s. I’m glad y’all are alright tommy.
wifey
3 years ago
Wow did this little article take another twist. I cannot defend why we did not take the bus from Brandon to the stadium, then to Gunn Hwy, then to Himes and then back to Gunn and back to the stadium and back to Brandon. Google that trip! SUV’s are good for people in bands and with 2 kids oh and a boat. Sorry I felt I should defend our lives here a little.
tommy
3 years ago
As Tim mentioned – “I don’t see how the two are related at all. Your only options are mass transit or an SUV?”
The rest of his comment, though, is bunk. There are other benefits to mass transit besides fuel economy. I just don’t see how you can make the assumption that someone who drives an SUV can’t be for mass transit.
Pam
3 years ago
If they had not been in an SUV, we may have been reading a completely different post on Sticks of Fire saying ….”Due to the recent auto accident involving Tommy’s family while driving their fuel efficient Toyota Prius, we will not be hearing from Tommy for a while. We hope Tommy, Wifey and the precious little one will all recover consciousness soon(doctors feel all signs of brain damage are temporary), all bones/internal organs will heal properly and the doctors think they can safely remove the Mercedes hood ornament embedded in Tommy’s forehead with very little scarring.”
Smitty
3 years ago
Not to nitpick, but Pam’s attitude that the only safe vehicle is an SUV is disturbing to me. SUVs in accidents with smaller vehicles tend to cause proportionately more damage to the smaller vehicles and proportionately greater injury to those vehicles’ occupants. The SUV lobby that argues their vehicles are safer tend to forget the coda “as long as you’re the one driving it.”
On another topic, I sympathize with tommy’s lack of trust. I was blindsided by a motorcyclist running a red light about two years ago, and ever since I’ve been spooked anytime I see motorcyclists approaching traffic lights at high speed assuming they’ll be able to slow down in time. The fella who hit me locked his brakes up and is lucky he isn’t dead (his head hit my B pillar about one centimeter from my bike/kayak rack, which would have gone straight through his helmet and killed him. Then I’d have his blood on my hands and all I did was drive through an intersection in downtown on a green light. Point is, it’s pretty normal to be a bit nervous after an accident, especially when you’re not at fault. And everybody needs to be a bit more cautious at intersections; seems to me like drivers in Tampa are worse than drivers in Djibouti, and that’s not a nice comparison.
tim
3 years ago
Someone hit my car the other night in a parking lot, and didn’t leave a note. Busted up mirror, dented door, huge gash in the rocker. Crazy kids.
Joel
3 years ago
Good to hear the Duncan family is alive and sound.
The myth of the SUV as safe has more to do than just the life of the other driver (otherwise you’ll have everyone continue to buy bigger cars to survive). When Ford starting selling the things like hotcakes, the designers were perplexed at the idea of them being safer. They’re basically trucks with a box on top, and trucks are held to different, basically weaker standards of safety than cars.
Also consider that it’s easy to manuever yourself out of an accident in a car than in a clunky SUV. And wouldn’t you rather just avoid the accident all together. Yes, some of them are the fault of the idiot that hits you, but more often than not you can see it coming.
But no, that has nothing to do with mass transit.
Laura
3 years ago
I’m glad you all are alright. Can’t help wondering, was the Mercedes driver on a cell phone?
Last month, my 17 yr old was driving down the street from our house when a 16 yr old, who had been driving for one week, backed her toyota pickup out of her driveway at warp speed and into the back passenger door of my daughter’s car.
*sigh*
Be safe out there!
wifey
3 years ago
He was not on the cell phone, just in a hurry and to me, not the cop, had a few beverages.
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Meredith
3 years ago
I’m glad you all are okay. That’s the most important thing.
Port Tampa
3 years ago
Glad everyone’s ok Tommy! I hate to see this descend into an SUV vs. transit spat. The husband owns an SUV but either runs or rides his bike to work nearly every day and we chose our neighborhood to avoid car use as much as possible. I’d much rather see this descend into a Tampa drivers suck debate. For the first time in his career I am happy to see the husband jump out of airplanes, or take trips to third world backwaters-the survival odds are better than being on a bike or walking in Tampa.
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