Time to first damage (The Golf Accident Thread)

[Kronik]

Ouch that sucks. Doesnt look too bad though considering what you hit. I had a dream two nights ago that I crashed my GTI, it was truely aweful
Hope you get it sorted and back on the road soon

[MiiLos]

sorry to hear that mate, good to hear that you're ok though. there are so many idiots on the roads these days its hard to see how people even get a license.. as for the driver that made you swerve, them not stopping and continuing driving - that is such a low act its unspeakable..

i see the same thing happen on my way to and from work every day.. people changing lanes with minimal space between cars all just to make up a few meters.. many times i get to where i need to go faster sticking to one lane then the guys who keep changing them.

[Alternator]

The car that switched lanes into mine, was literally next to my car. Doing what he did, I'm sure he did not even check or head check before switching. Another theory is that he was that ignorant that he never realised a car behind him was crashing about from his actions.

If I did not swerve to avoid him, I would've have just suffered dents and scrapings to the side of the car. Much less damage than what had happened. Stupid instincts of mine to avoid...I guess that's what separates us from F1 drivers who can react and make the right decision in a second.

[langers_sydney]

Realy sorry to see that fella. Split second decisions are not easy and we don't train for them so don't beat yourself up. At least you are alive and well....

Unbelievable by the other driver. Headcheck, headcheck, HEADCHECK. Why are these people allowed on the roads!!

LS

[easeup]

Since picking up my car I've been trying to park as much as possible next to Audis, VW's, Mercs etc. when in public car parks.

I work for a University in WA- after three years of parking in the same area every morning you really get to know who matches up with which car. So i pick my parking spot based on owner. This morning i'm between the XR5 Focus belonging to one of my staff, and the tiny Ford Festiva belonging to one of the highest paid ladies in the Uni. Smart choices i think!

When i'm at the shops or etc. i usually just try to pick pricey looking cars to park next to... they may be careless, but it's less likely they'll run off or not have insurance!

[markwid]

If I did not swerve to avoid him, I would've have just suffered dents and scrapings to the side of the car. Much less damage than what had happened. Stupid instincts of mine to avoid...I guess that's what separates us from F1 drivers who can react and make the right decision in a second.

Yeah, natural instinct is to swerve. Unfortunately that may not be the best thing to do sometimes.

[Alternator]

I'm going crazy, it's now one week and I don't think repairs have even begun. Last update on Monday was that they are still in negotiation with my insurance company. I don't know how long I will be without a car

[MkVIGTI]

Sorry to hear about your experience Alternator. Hope everything works out for you soon. In the meantime, I might see you around on Metro!

[Db78]

Feel your pain. Had my mk6 three weeks and was rear-ended on freeway. It held up well and all fixed now, but was gutting.

[Molotov]

If I did not swerve to avoid him, I would've have just suffered dents and scrapings to the side of the car. Much less damage than what had happened. Stupid instincts of mine to avoid...I guess that's what separates us from F1 drivers who can react and make the right decision in a second.

Mate, very sorry to see what happened.

I've lost count of the number of times I've had to swerve/brake due to people completely failing to check their blind spot or moving as they indicate and *then* checking.

I had a situation years ago where a guy changed lanes as we crossed a set of lights. I was doing about 70 km/h and I hit the brakes, locked up and kept on going in a straight line into the curb of the road. I missed a telegraph pole by inches and mounted the curb so hard that it smashed my axles etc. and ended up costing about $4,000 in damage. Do you think the guy stopped to see if I was ok? Of course he didn't. I managed to memorise his plate and a witness returned to the scene as did the police. Despite all of that and the police verifying my account based on tyre marks etc, all of the costs came out of my pocket because there was no 'contact'.

I swore that the next time someone cut me off I'd just carry on into the back of them but it's a natural reaction to slam on the anchors and the next time it did happen it was with a young mother with a baby in the back. Fortunately this time she stopped and was extremely grateful and offered to pay for any damage (mounted the curb again but this time at low speed).

I hope it's an easy and relatively painless repair job!