The Beetle is going to cost $3300 to repair.
Category Beetle Accident
A few people heard that last week on my attempt to get down to the Admin conference in Boston, I was in a bit of a smash. Fortunately no one was hurt and even more fortunately Jessie wasn't in the car. I was in the Beetle diesel (no I'm not gay), I bought it cos it's a diesel, gets about 48mpg and I use it as a commuter car when I go visit customers in the Boston area or NYC. Anyway, it was school letting out time and a kid wanted to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing of all places so I stopped to let him cross. Sadly the driver of the 6,000 lb GMC 2500 truck behind me wasn't really paying attention and didn't hit the brakes or anything and used my car as a brake. To add insult to injury his truck also had a snow plough hookup on the front.
The first thing I noticed was the kid who had started crossing the road eyes bulged out and his mouth dropped, the next thing I knew I found myself in the back seat of the beetle, yes no joke, this guy hit me so hard that the welded joint underneath my seat broke, so basically I didn't move whilst the car moved forward about 3 feet, he also hit me hard enough that the car stereo also stayed still, so it too ended up in the back seat. One of the witnesses asked me "How did you get into the back seat like that?" so I showed him the drivers seat and it became much clearer.
I'm glad to say no one was hurt, but the beetle took a bit of a beating and ended up about 2 inches shorter than before the accident. When I first got out of the car, the back didn't look too bad, but with those plastic bumpers they tend to hide a lot of the damage as they just spring back out. So looking at the pictures of the outside it really doesn't look that bad, until you look inside the boot and under the bumper, and realize the back hatch doesn't close anymore.
There were a couple of lucky things that happened around the accident that have made life much easier, firstly he was insured (which is not always the case for New Hampshire drivers), secondly we both share the same insurance company so there was no avoiding payment on the insurance companies part, thirdly the accident happened outside a police station and all the witnesses were police officers, who were literally on the scene in seconds. But most importantly the kid didn't get hit and the dog wasn't in the car.
So to everyone that has asked, I am totally fine and I have not noticed any strange neck or back pains, probably because I didn't get any whiplash, I just ended up in the back seat after all I didn't actually go anywhere. The beetle is repairable (bugger I was hoping it was totalled and could be used as a down payment on a new car) and parts have been ordered.
A few people heard that last week on my attempt to get down to the Admin conference in Boston, I was in a bit of a smash. Fortunately no one was hurt and even more fortunately Jessie wasn't in the car. I was in the Beetle diesel (no I'm not gay), I bought it cos it's a diesel, gets about 48mpg and I use it as a commuter car when I go visit customers in the Boston area or NYC. Anyway, it was school letting out time and a kid wanted to cross the road at a pedestrian crossing of all places so I stopped to let him cross. Sadly the driver of the 6,000 lb GMC 2500 truck behind me wasn't really paying attention and didn't hit the brakes or anything and used my car as a brake. To add insult to injury his truck also had a snow plough hookup on the front.
The first thing I noticed was the kid who had started crossing the road eyes bulged out and his mouth dropped, the next thing I knew I found myself in the back seat of the beetle, yes no joke, this guy hit me so hard that the welded joint underneath my seat broke, so basically I didn't move whilst the car moved forward about 3 feet, he also hit me hard enough that the car stereo also stayed still, so it too ended up in the back seat. One of the witnesses asked me "How did you get into the back seat like that?" so I showed him the drivers seat and it became much clearer.
I'm glad to say no one was hurt, but the beetle took a bit of a beating and ended up about 2 inches shorter than before the accident. When I first got out of the car, the back didn't look too bad, but with those plastic bumpers they tend to hide a lot of the damage as they just spring back out. So looking at the pictures of the outside it really doesn't look that bad, until you look inside the boot and under the bumper, and realize the back hatch doesn't close anymore.
There were a couple of lucky things that happened around the accident that have made life much easier, firstly he was insured (which is not always the case for New Hampshire drivers), secondly we both share the same insurance company so there was no avoiding payment on the insurance companies part, thirdly the accident happened outside a police station and all the witnesses were police officers, who were literally on the scene in seconds. But most importantly the kid didn't get hit and the dog wasn't in the car.
So to everyone that has asked, I am totally fine and I have not noticed any strange neck or back pains, probably because I didn't get any whiplash, I just ended up in the back seat after all I didn't actually go anywhere. The beetle is repairable (bugger I was hoping it was totalled and could be used as a down payment on a new car) and parts have been ordered.
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Comments
Posted by Glen At 09:59:39 PM On 04/20/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Dad At 10:28:03 AM On 04/21/2009 | - Website - |
It could have been much more serious, you flying about unrestrained in the car.
Glad you are OK.
Posted by Jason Hook At 10:42:25 AM On 04/21/2009 | - Website - |
But good to hear you, Jessie and the kid are alright..
Posted by Cali At 11:57:15 AM On 04/21/2009 | - Website - |
Posted by Turtle At 12:41:51 PM On 04/21/2009 | - Website - |
@3 Yeah I'd been thinking the same thing. What if someone had been in the back seat.
@5 Yes sir. I like the 600+ miles on a tank.
Posted by Carl Tyler At 02:36:53 PM On 04/21/2009 | - Website - |
Glad ur OK, but seriously watch out of neck pain\vision issues for a couple of weeks - they can take a while to present. Maybe time to get adjusted re-aligned by a Chiropractor?
Posted by Mike Rice At 03:59:50 AM On 04/24/2009 | - Website - |