A Sobering Video

[Taco-Calamitous]

Are you ever moving along in life, and suddenly a shocking revelation comes to you that makes you think twice about something? Today, my roommate showed me a video that was a series of clips of people getting into car wrecks. Some of them were real, and some of them were enactments. The enactments not only showed the accidents, but the consequences of the accidents for all parties involved. In fact, here it is (be warned that this video is pretty hardcore and possibly depressing.)

It's only been a little over a year since I was in a car wreck that involved another moving vehicle, a stop sign, and a parked car. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, but had anyone been standing on the sidewalk next to the sign I crashed into, or in that parked car... I thank God that nobody was, and am much more careful as a result. So much changed in a few seconds anyway, but it could have been much worse. We tend to take things for granted, and our actions could cause something terrible to happen if we're not careful. So I guess be aware is my general thought, and don't become too complacant. Think about it. This isn't necessarily just about driving, either. Anyhoo...

Wuv, Yer Mom

[Andromeda]

Yeah, when I got rear-ended at a stop sign coming back from work it made me pretty paranoid after the accident. The excuse the guy had for hitting me was that everyone just runs through the 3-way stop (one was a one-way street). I didn't say it, but I'm like no not everyone stops. I use the intersection everyday and most people actually stop at it, but here he was wanting to a California roll. >.>

It totaled my car and I'm not sure about his. Neither of us were injured and it was 10pm so there was no one out there. But it is pretty surprising what a little bit of speed will do to a car at rest. I don't know how fast he was moving, but it was enough to destroy my trunk.

But as I said, ever since the accident I've been very paranoid about stop intersections and anyone that doesn't look like they are stopping in time. For a while I didn't even use the left side of the street of that intersection I had my accident, used the right side, just to stay away from it. I've gotten over most of it, but I'm still very unsettled by anyone coming up too fast from behind.

I think those things stick with you for a while.

The funny thing is that after it happened, I was only think about how my insurance rates were going to go up when I didn't even do anything. I wasn't worried about my health or the car, just having to pay more for obeying traffic laws. Fortunately, as I found out my rates won't go up if the accident isn't your fault, money was really tight for me then. So I didn't want to think about how much a year it was going to cost me.

[Polk]

The moral of the story: don't drive like an asshole.

And remember kids: Blue hair is a privelage, not a right.

[GypsyElder]

Omg I couldn't finnish watching :s

At least it motivates me to be extra careful.... walking too :s not just driving.

[Dodie16]

I have a friend who's life was completely changed because of an accident she was in. She was one of those careless drivers that would mess with her phone and drive at the same time. She got into a terrible accident when she was texting and driving. She smashed her car into a highway guard block, and flipped down a hill (no other cars or people were involved). This was about 3 years ago, and she has recovered very well (not completely though), but it was a long and hard thing to do for her. She now speaks at different schools and other places about the dangers of careless/reckless driving.

I still remember how I felt when I got the news about her accident. It was an awful feeling. Didn't help that we were told that she flat-lined twice on the way to the hospital. Definitely was a wake-up call for everyone that knew her and her story. Not only to be careful in those situations, but also to value the people around you, since you never know when they might be taken from you forever.

[Block]

The moral of the story: don't drive like an asshole.

And remember kids:

Just amazing. And not in the least sobering.

[Furore]

I couldn't stop laughing my ass off at that video.
Bad acting combined with seeing worse in real life I guess...

As far as driving goes, **** driving like a hoon, all the cool people cruise around in something that doesn't look like a done up bomb anyways.

[Unknown Entity]

Thate video brought a few tears to my eyes. It also made me angry because of the complete disregard some drivers have for others on the road. Why people take these ridiculous risks to get from A to B are beyond me. ><

Thankfully, I've not been involved in anything too horrible. When I was younger, my mother was driving me and my brother home from a day out somewhere. We stopped at a set of lights just behind another car, which had an old couple in it. Then some guy rear-ended the back of our car, and sent us flying into the car infront, which then flew at the people crossing the road. No pedestrians were harmed, nor were the old couple infront (mum doesn't stop up people's asses, and our car took most of the blow). Only the convertible took the most damage - our... boot/trunk was a little messed up, but it was mainly cosmetic (we still drive the same car today). However... me and my brother were in quite a bit of shock, and my mum damaged her back, which forced her to have three months off of work.

I've also been hit by a car. I was staying at my aunt's house, and I offered to go to the shop for her. It's a quiet neighbourhood, so you'd think I'd have seen or heard the car car coming, but I didn't. It was a curved road with a small green in the middle of it, and I did look both ways before crossing. I got halfway, and all of a sudden a car comes out from a side road, speeding. I saw it about three seconds before impact. I heard them hit the breaks, but I still ended up on the bonnet. Nothing was broken, but I had a huge bruise on the backs of my legs, arms, back and a bump on my head, and it hurt to walk the next day. The guy who was driving was playing with the GPS from what I gathered from the woman with him, and told me off for not looking where I was going... and pointed out the dent I'd made in the car.

At least he stopped, but he was really rude.

[Storm]

This is why I'm too scared to learn to drive. I don't trust myself and words cannot express how disgusted with myself I would feel if I injured someone, or nearly caused an accident because of a silly mistake. One of my friends was involved in a crash last year. Thankfully nobody was badly hurt, but she did have to be rescued from the car as the front got badly damaged, and she did have to spend some time in hospital as she was in shock and was badly bruised.

A girl I went to school with died in a car accident on Friday. It is really terrifying when you hear about accidents, especially with people you know, and even more so when you've always known them for being very sensible. It really reminds you of how quickly and easily a life can be taken away. Frightening.

[Che]

Why are all these people just chillin in the ****in street? When you enter a street, you look both ways, and you GET THE **** ACROSS. That's what I was taught, and it's worked so far for me. Just because pedestrians have the right away doesn't mean you can just blindly go into the street and walk at a normal pace. It's a STREET. Because there are drivers that just don't have natural awareness and don't give a **** about it either.

I always see kids playing in the street in neighborhoods and not giving a shit about cars, like it's the person driving who is solely responsible. It's not just the driver, it's you being in the street that needs to be aware as well. I was always taught to get the **** out of the road as quickly as possible, or when you're skateboarding or riding your bike or whatever, move off the road or at least look at the driver so they know you know they exist and pick up your skateboard or something.