Wulos sends his Easter Message

wulos · 25-03-2005, 03:50 PM

As some of the members on here may be aware - just over 2 weeks ago I was involved in a fairly major car accident.
This post is meant as a wake up call to EVERYONE that uses the roads to be careful - no matter HOW careful, no matter HOW cautious, no matter how good a driver you think you are - rest assured - one day the FOLLOWING COULD well happen to you!!! (I still have trouble getting my head around that - still think it won't happen to me - pain reminds me that it can & DID!)
After the fpv - mms week trip I did down south (3500 - 4000 uneventful kms) I thought returning to work would be extremely uneventful. less then 4hrs afterwards things would change dramatically. Less then 2km from work on my ways from depot out to a job - I was waiting to turn right - head up north at a set of traffic lights in the middle of Chatswood. Lights turn green, I proceed carefully forward - look UP hill to my right, on Pac hwy (multilaned road) nuthin comin, look down to left still nuthin coming (was crawling forward - prob 5-10kph as intersection is fairly tight due to narrow lanes)
Next thing I know I wake up & can see that where my drivers window once was lays the remains of the outer doorskin, thats been turned inside out & pushed UP thru the door opening. speaker from drivers door is pushing uncomfortably into my right knee which is directly beneath the steering wheel. Looking to my right my shoulder is sitting on the lock button, not exactly my NORMAL driving position, & wots even worse - no more then 2-3 inches away from my shoulder lays the front lhs A pillar of a mercedes sprinter van. The inside of the cabin is completely foriegn to me - I know the inside of my truck is often a mess - but NEVER like this, & NO WAY i'd leave it covered in glass - its EVERYWHERE!!! Through the spider web of cracks in the windscreen I can see the motor is now laying at a different angle to how it usually sits with the intake tubing twisted about. Stuggling to lift myself up to a normal sitting position I can see the front left headlight now has an entire EA station wagon growing out of it, growing backwards & off to my left. After struggling up & out through the passenger door on the way to the footpath I hear the police officer telling me - man you're lucky(what did he just say???) another 5-10 k quicker, or 6-12" different I wouldn't need to interview you - I'd be speaking to your family instead!!!
The next 8 hrs spent in Royal North Shore hospital are somewhat of a blur. Numerous Xrays & scans, & goodness knows what OTHER tests were to reveal no broken bones, some bruising to my right knee & a few knicks & scratches. The graze on my head from where I managed to smash the drivers window would heal pretty quickly. The damage to my right shoulder / chest area, would be another story though. Limited to quite major muscle / soft tissue damage this will eventually heal completely leaving me with no permenant scars from this accident.
So what happened.
2 weeks later I was to speak with the police & FINALLY give them a statement, & start piecing things back together. Basically the driver of the Mercedes Van was changing lanes, & his entire attention was fixated upon his left hand side mirror, & failed to notice that there was not just 1 set, but 2 sets of red lights he had not seen (the intersection has another 20-25m away from the one I was turning right at - hell I didn't think to look quite THAT up the road across 1 turning lane & 2 lanes of traffic to see him before driving forward into the intersection niether. Due to the speed he was traveling (tis a 60km signposted area) he had enuff force to push me, in fully loaded workute (loaded to just below GWM) sideways into station wagon in adjacent lane & cause the damage you see in the pictures. By means of satisfaction for the pain & suffering I have gone through, things are starting to take on some normality again compared to the less then 1 hr of sleep I struggled to get the night it 1st happened (even drugged up with painkillers the only way I could sleep was sitting up), I hear he was charged with failure to obey a traffic signal - no neg driving causing injury, no changing lanes whilst in intersection, nuthing else.
Before anyone arcs up & starts talking about sueing or the like - let me assure you of this little fact. It means absolutely ZERO to me atm what I may or may not be entitled to(or possibly see 5-10 yrs down the track)
For the safety & wellbeing of other roadusers, & your own loved ones. PAY ATTENTION while you are out on the roads. Regardless of how SKILLED, no matter how EXPERIENCED, no matter how CAUTIOUS, or CAREFUL. you may very well be as a driver. There are others out there, on those less then perfect roads, & one day your number may well come up.
No matter HOW many times people tell me, I STILL do not believe it WILL happen to me (yet it already has!!!!)

no apologies made for the long winded post - to me it's IMPORTANT!!

Black XR6 · 25-03-2005, 03:57 PM

Well no wonder ya crashed carrying your drink bottles in the steering wheel like that

_2: Hadn't seen any pics of it till now, only heard your description. I told you before I thought you were lucky to be alive and after seeing the pics I'm damn sure of it.

wulos · 25-03-2005, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black XR6

Well no wonder ya crashed carrying your drink bottles in the steering wheel like that

lol - that's my workmates version of the new improved drivers side airbag. They were a little suprised the airbag didn't go off - though in a side on hit(even one from BOTH sides) the airbag would be of little help anyways.

Dez · 25-03-2005, 03:58 PM

damn wulos...good to hear that you got out pretty well under the circumstances....thats a nasty nasty piece of work

Cheahman · 25-03-2005, 04:01 PM

Far out! Thats is nasty! Its good to see your ok mate and still here with us. Certainly does take awhile to get over.

Black XR6 · 25-03-2005, 04:05 PM

And no matter how cautious you are, or how good a driver you are. You can still be killed or severely injured by someone who is not so cautious or good. Sometimes there just isnt something you could have done to avoid it. This is one of those instances.

XR6Gal · 25-03-2005, 04:16 PM

The main thing Wulos is that you're still here with us! Its scary how quickly these things happen. My best wishes to a speedy recovery for you!

FordFan86 · 25-03-2005, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6Gal

The main thing Wulos is that you're still here with us! Its scary how quickly these things happen. My best wishes to a speedy recovery for you!

I'm with her on this one

good to see your still with us mate

AUIII XR8 MAN · 26-03-2005, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6Gal

The main thing Wulos is that you're still here with us! Its scary how quickly these things happen. My best wishes to a speedy recovery for you!

The same as XR6Gal said.

Bearman · 25-03-2005, 04:40 PM

That looks nasty!! Glad you didn't get too badly hurt or cop any permanent injury. That could have been so much worse. Hope your recovery goes well.

You are absolutely right. Some days your number does come up. I copped something similar about 7 years ago, trouble with mine was that I could see it all unfold in front of me and I couldn't do anything about it.

All the best, cheers.........

b2tf · 25-03-2005, 05:03 PM

Yeah, the same thing happened to me, i got hit in almost the same spot your ute appears to have been - about 30cm back and i would have had a bullbar coming through the drivers side door at 80km/hr.

The reason the airbag didnt go off is cos the car needs to be travelling more than 15km/hr for it to arm (just to avoid it going off if you accidently bump into something in a parking lot etc), and if you were barely moving, it probably wasnt armed.

Nevertheless, i agree with your post 100% after being in a similar type of thing last year.

Dez · 25-03-2005, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by back2thefutura

Yeah, the same thing happened to me, i got hit in almost the same spot your ute appears to have been - about 30cm back and i would have had a bullbar coming through the drivers side door at 80km/hr.

The reason the airbag didnt go off is cos the car needs to be travelling more than 15km/hr for it to arm (just to avoid it going off if you accidently bump into something in a parking lot etc), and if you were barely moving, it probably wasnt armed.

Nevertheless, i agree with your post 100% after being in a similar type of thing last year.

thats good and bad....if u get rear ended while stationary...you're pretty much in a world of trouble....

Olympus · 25-03-2005, 05:49 PM

Mate, that's some scary sh!t. Good to hear your alright mate, the car can be replaced.

I would've used a wider apperture, or slightly different angle on those pics though.

:

wulos · 25-03-2005, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Olympus

Mate, that's some scary sh!t. Good to hear your alright mate, the car can be replaced.

I would've used a wider apperture, or slightly different angle on those pics though.

:

hehehe - I woulda taken those shots a LOT different to the way they were taken.....I haven't seen the truck since - a workmate took those crappy snaps..

fordel · 25-03-2005, 06:06 PM

Good to see you are still with us there wulos, i remember you telling this story just after it happened, makes the little accident i had that same day mean nothing at all!

Nasty looking pics, and good to see that it wasnt worse

Chris

FalKeen · 25-03-2005, 06:52 PM

hadnt heard anything about this until now, glad to hear your alright mate, easy to tell by looking at that your very lucky to not have been in a much worse situation

wish you a speedy recovery

cheers
Adam

Smoked · 25-03-2005, 07:07 PM

Crickey, atleast your alive and are by the looks of it not have any permanent injuries. It is a big message to people out there, especially given the time of year.

Dark Horse · 25-03-2005, 07:43 PM

It certainly was quite a shock when I received the call off Wulos that evening after it happened, after spending a good 3,500-4,000 k's driving with him on that trip down south.

Definitely more of a shock seeing the pictures themselves, after describing a fair amount over the phone. A shot from Wulos's eye level would have definitely been an eye opener of all.

There's a time and place for everything and just so serves to demonstrate that you can be at the right place at the wrong time that is beyond one's control.

You're damn lucky you're still with us Wulos and all the best with the recovery.

MrSparkle · 25-03-2005, 08:03 PM

Bloody hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.... all I can say is "ditto" to what everyone else has said!!!!

Bloody hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LuvinmyEB · 25-03-2005, 08:50 PM

Wulos, I'm glad you're here to tell the tale mate. I'm sorry you had to go through it to tell it though. Hopefully you're on the mend now.

I don't know how many times I've told people, you may be the safest driver on the road, it's OTHER people that you have to look out for. I was in a very similar accident when I was younger. Range Rover vs LJ Torana, I was in the Range Rover as a passenger when a woman came plowing through an intersection doing at least 60 km/h straight into the side where I was sitting. We spun I don't know how many times because I blacked out when we were hit. However we ended up at least roughly 100 metres from the point of impact, obviously the LJ came off worse (engine was in the front seat) because I'm here telling the story.

The Maddestman and I have also seen peoples road rage this Easter already, a man so desperate to get home decided that he couldn't wait at a corner where The Maddestman was giving way to oncoming traffic and the guy behind decided to give him a shunt and nearly pushed him into the oncoming traffic.

Much to The Maddestmans credit he didn't get out of the car and clobber him like many of us would have, he did however chase him after it (only because he didn't stop afterwards) and the fool lives around the corner. He pulled into a driveway and instead of getting out The Maddestman kept going, but I think the other guy got a bit of a fright seeing an Escort keeping up with him through backstreets.

So believe me I'll be keeping my eye out for idiots in Magnas. I doubt however if he tried something like that with me he would have got off so easily.

:

MO · 25-03-2005, 09:53 PM

Wulos,glad you were'nt to badly injured and wish you a speedy recovery.
What has been said is so true no matter how careful you are there is always some idiot who is going to hit you.
Anyway people take care out there I like talking you, so take care and be around to bag me etc,etc.

MRJUCY · 25-03-2005, 10:43 PM

I'd heard it happened but this is the first time I've seen the photos & like everyone else I'm glad you're ok & recovering. It was a similar accident that killed my brother, it goes to show the advances in safety because unfortunately he was driving my '86 Bluebird which didn't have the side intrusion bars of a modern car but even so as unfortunate as you were you were still lucky as a modern car still isn't indestructible.

kiwikid · 25-03-2005, 11:01 PM

hope you have a fast steady recovery....

sorry to hijack your thread but,

today being good friday and me being a fire fighter, we were collecting money for the royal childrens hospital appeal on a busy intersection (signed in every direction that there was highway collectors on the road ahead) i counted between 40-50 cars run reds, 25 pairs of cars draging off on the green, 15 cars cross it up when turning, 3 cars doing snakies and countless acts of stupidity......

Decadentia · 25-03-2005, 11:26 PM

Happy to hear you've managed to come out of the incident realtively unscathed. Regardless of how it happened, This is a practical demonstration of the benefitis of a car designed with safety in mind. Whinge about your new-ish model car beeing a bit chubby on the scales and using a little more petrol, but that's the trade off for being able to walk away from a damned severe hit.

Wulos, Hope your recovery is speedy and complete mate.
Enjoy your easter break everyone
Adrian.

darkfang888 · 25-03-2005, 11:45 PM

damn man, you're LUCKY! Yeah, you gotta watch those morons at intersections - half the people coming round the corner don't seem to notice you - even when you're driving a rather large (compared to most family cars) Fairmont!

BlueRaven · 26-03-2005, 01:48 AM

Good to hear your okay... it always manages to give you a surprise when this kind of thing happens. You suddenly learn that it doesn't just happen on the tv, or to a friends friend and you also learn that we are not as invincible as we think.

I had a bike accident when I was 15 due to my own stupidity, resulting in me being thrown into the windscreen of a car, hitting my head really hard. When something like that happens, it never really happens... its as if it was someone else. I remeber earlier that day and bits and peices for the two weeks following the event, but I can only peice together what happened from what I was told.... Its scary when that happens, like a scar without a wound.

Anyway, because of that I lost my sense of smell... and have never been the same person since (most would argue for the better... but it was scary for a while)

When you look at your life, a timeline consists of events and memories. I believe on a big enough timeline everyone has an event that changes your life forever... maybe this is one of those for you...

Good luck

JADED6 · 26-03-2005, 06:27 AM

Great thread Wulos. Thanks!
No matter how safe or alert one is, there could always be a merc about to slam into us..
Glad you answered the drink bottle / cup holder question, some tradeys live out of their work vehicles and come up with all kinds of conveniences, glad that wasn’t one of yours.

(not much wrong with the apperture selected in those pics, or auto selected no doubt)

Black XR6 · 26-03-2005, 11:14 AM

Jaded6. That wasnt a serious question regarding the drink holder in the steering wheel. Im related to him and was taking the p!ss.

ilsautomotive · 26-03-2005, 12:31 PM

Sorry to hear of this disaster mate. A sedan most likely wouldn't have fared so well in an impact like that, though I'll stop short of calling you 'lucky'. :(

LUXO_8 · 26-03-2005, 01:35 PM

just goes to show how safe late model cars are. things like side intrusion beams, crumple zones and all that stuff..... an older ute would have just split in 2, but you can see even how the doorskin has been bent around the side beams.....

you dont drive for yourself out there unfortunatley, you have to drive for everyone else......