Many of you around the country don't realize how close knit the SoCal 914club has become. In addition to sharing parts, help and expertise, many of us have become close friends. So I want to share this with you.

Mrs K has a lovely 17 year old daughter, Christina. She got involved in a fender bender the other night, and Lisa read her the riot act. I told her to calm down, that this was just a right of passage, and that things could be far worse.

A few hours later, the call came in. One of Christina's best friends was killed in a car accident. She missed a turn, ran thru a fence, and ended up in a flood control channel. Heavy rains here had turned this into a torrent.

Please read this. If you have kids or grandkids, sit them down and convince them they are not invulnerable, and have them read this. Teach your children well. No cel phones, no cd's in the car. Teach them to drive, really. Set up the pylons early on a Sunday morning and show them what they can and can't do.

After being an insurance broker for 40 years, it still makes me sick.

Water Escape:

In some instances, the vehicle will sink quickly and you won’t have time to roll down the windows. Again, stay calm, unbuckle your seat belt and check on passengers. If you are sinking rapidly, you need to wait for the water pressure inside the vehicle to become equal to the pressure outside.

“This may sound crazy,” says Richards, “but you need to let the vehicle sink further, wait until things settle. Let the vehicle fill up with more water before attempting to open a window or door.”

That’s because water rushing against a vehicle weighs thousands of pounds. Trying to open a door or window with that kind of pressure wastes valuable time and energy. And if you were successful, the onrush of water most likely would push you away, even pin you under the dash.

Richards and other safety-and-rescue experts state that the time to start rolling down the window is when the water is about halfway up the glass — about shoulder level. You may get a rush of water, but not enough to knock you away. Now is when you take a lungfull of air and swim up to safety, exhaling as you go.

Power of the punch
But what if your vehicle has power windows, and the electric system shuts down when you hit the water and the windows are disabled? One solution that circulates is to store one of those heavy emergency tools in the vehicle. Not very useful if it’s in the trunk, or worse, whacking you in the head along with the umbrella that was lying on the rear floorboard.
Richards keeps a small tool called a “spring punch” in the door pocket of his pickup; his wife stows one in the center console of her sedan. Available at most auto parts stores, usually in an emergency kit, this device has a pointed end like a punch, and it’s forceful spring action will shatter automotive glass.

And what if he’s a passenger in someone else’s vehicle? “Hard to believe, but I carry a small piece of a ceramic insulator from a spark plug in my pocket.”

Richards is adamant that the piece of ceramic, held between finger and thumb and without a lot of force, will also shatter auto glass. “You’ll find this, or an entire insulator, in the personal kits carried on the job by many fire, rescue and police personnel. It works.”

More details of the story are here.

Speaking from personal experience. I brought my oldest son to the BMW Teen Driving Clinic. This was by far the best decision I ever made. He drove my M3 to school everyday and and cruised around all summer without incident.

I made the mistake of allowing myself to be talked into selling this car to my sons shcool friend. He was an aggressive driver. I had thought about making him take the Teen Driving Clinic as part of the sale. but he wasn't my kid and I put the thought aside.

Most of you have seen the photos of the car 30 days after he bought it. Some of you haven't. His story turned out ok, but it could have very easily turned out the opposite. Don't hessitate to talk to your kids AND the KIDS they ride with!

My son could have easily been with him that day.

Our thoughts are with you and your daughter Lisa...

The stuff I see young drivers doing scares me to death.

There is too much crap these days; cell phones, I-pods, DVD's, babies! etc.

My first son did the ice dance and went into a fence,,,off road etc in his first year of driving...

I got the cal from my second son, his passenger..."Dad, everyone is ok" THAT is all that matters...

The car is just a piece of steel...easy to replace...the kid is not.

I was very thankful that he was ok, and in hindsight, I am very happy that he had this accident and came out ok, It made him a more cautious driver...

Now, my second is heading for the autocross in his new 914 this spring...I want him to experience his car, with his suspension and street tires....This way he will know what will happen if he pushes his car to far..he wont get that experience in my car with the updated suspension and sticky tires...

As far as driver education, There is a new trend , thankfully, that the new drivers take a more aggresive driver training course.

There are several courses in my area, backed by both car manufacturers, and the insurance industry. My son will get a break on insurance by taking this course.

Picture the autocross school, a skid pad, a wet braking area, cones, proffesional instructors, lots of class time and lots of seat time.

Rich

Amen.

My son became a much better driver after I started him autocrossing. A teenager doesn't realize the power of the forces that they should have under their control. After he spun the car the first time at an AX, he became a much better and safer driver on the street.

A couple of years back, I was instructing at the Skip Barber school at Lime Rock for special classes that they put on for high school students. Each morning the kids were full of themselves and very convinced that they could handle anything. However, at the end of the day, they were always much more realistic about their capabilities. A good scare on the skid pad tends to do that.

Get the kids in a controlled environment and show them that they are not invincible.

I always take them out in a fresh snow, or fresh ice storm to the local school parking lot and show them what will happen when you are to aggressive in the snow...

Its the best I can do, show them, teach them, and hope they survive

Rich

Some of the things I did in my misbegotten youth make me more than a bit surprised I survived to adulthood. I have always said that a car control course should be part of licensing process. I remember my Dad taking me out in an empty parking lot up at Lake Tahoe that was a sheet of ice. Nothing like the feeling of absolute helplessness at the wheel to instill a little humility.

I do that still with any new car I buy..

I like to know before it happens...

Rich

I lived on Ft. Meade, MD for a couple years. I think it was april or May of '79 when a bunch of my class mates piled into a Ford Currier Pickup to go to a party with a recent drop out. He was a couple yrs older than the other kids all messed up on beer or PCP or something.
He was driving way too fast trying to keep up with another vehicle.
He missed a curve and slammed into some trees.
Of the 13 or 14 that were in the truck only three survived, including the scumbag driving.
When they didn't arrive at the party some went back to find them scattered along the road and hanging from trees.
It was the most horrible thing that I could ever imagine.
I really don't care if kids get high or drink.
I just wish it didn't involve auto mobiles!

My thoughts and prayers go out to Christina and her friend's parents during this very rough time.

I'll link this to CISCO.

b

A lot of good advise here. Thanks for the stories folks, some of them pretty scary!

I was at Lisa's house that night. Christina went to get us some food and she was on her way home when it happend. It was one of those hard to pin fault accidents. She pulled into a blind alley where some rice burner wannabee racer car with 3 kids in it was zipping down the alley. They claimed they were only going 10 MPH, if they were, they were not paying attention as the accident happend only about 100 feet or so from the entrance they pulled in to. Damage was minimal and nobody was hurt which is a very good thing. My truck would stop in a second at 10 MPH. They were just not paying attention. The skid marks we only about 1 foot from the impact spot and it was at night so the lights were on so visibility was not an issue. The skib mark from their car was about 3 or 4 feet long and there was only one mark which means only one wheel locked. These kids nowadays spend all their money on stuff to go faster but nothing on braking upgrades and they lack in maintaining them. This car was no exception. It had the coffee can muffler and lowered by heating the springs. Low buget upgrades.

It doesnt matter who was at fault, I am just glad that nobody was hurt.

QUOTE (skline @ Jan 4 2006, 09:16 AM)

It doesnt matter who was at fault, I am just glad that nobody was hurt.

Thanks for posting this Howard.

Yes I was all over my daughter for getting in the fender bender...mostly thinking about insurance rates and money..(BTW...thanks Scott for helping us check things out that night)

Those of you who looked at the link and saw the news story can understatnd how "I" could just as easily be that poor grieving Mother!

I think that is what has certainly given our family a wake up call.

We have known this child and her family since my daughter was in kindergarten with her!

Also the intersection where this happend is literally 3 min from my house and I have gone through there many times. But a new, young driver in an SUV, and in a hurry is so much worse, you can certainly see the danger!
Had there been a cement baracade, she would have only had a crunched up car..........she drowned because her car landed in the channel upside down. The local paper said that they found her in the back of her SUV, which leads me to believe that she had undone her seat belt and was trying to get out....and worse...knew she was drowning! So very sad

ok time to bash older drivers, the dumb shits that drive with no paying attention. I damn well care who is at fault,a nd believe driving privilages, and / or jail time be required of the at fault driver in any injury accident (other than injury to the fault driver)

I have been hit too many times by dumb fuck adults, not paying attention, I thinkonly one was ever cited, although all were fully at fault. The adult bitch that broke my back never lost dreiving privilages or anything.

If folks started landing in the poky, or lossing thier license or car for years at a time, I think that would get the message out and more folks will pay attention.

Don't just blame the just kids, there are more incompentant adults drivers by far.

I won't by a car with power windows for reason of safety, other is it is one more thing to break or go wrong on a car.

I think the big issue is the fact that kids don't realize the things they are doing are so dangerous while they are in the act... They have little comprehension.

I am still crazy behind the wheel, but I'm crazy with respect to the machine- much more than when I was a kid... Now at least I look and think before yanking the E brake handle and throwing the car around in the middle of the road at 70 MPH... Back then I did not because I didn't even think about the consequences.

When we are kids we do think that we are invincible or that things won't happen to us.. well I proved that one wrong on everything from dirt bikes to quads to cars and even doing stupid things operating equipment. Just from those incidents and doing stupid things like jumping power lines on dirt bikes, its a wonder I'm alive and as I get older those injuries show up every time the weather turns cold as memories I'd rather forget

I agree that kids need to see posts like this and realize that it could be them that had to be removed from a car after it flipped end over end 11 times after tossing it's self through the air and even tearing down telephone poles on its way to a sudden stop- Thats when I realized it shortly after blazing over a slight bump in the road at 135 MPH that sent the car airborne when I was 17 years old.... That was in a borrowed Mercedes and it took me 5 years to pay for the damage I did to the car alone!

MRs K,

I am very sorry your daughter was in an accident and very glad it was a minor one.

I tell all my kids they are not invulnerable, they WILL get into an accident at some time or another, and hope that it is one they can walk away from.

Of three kids, all had an accident, all were minor, and all drive more carefully now...

OH yeah, we have a rule- NO CELL PHONES WHEN DRIVING. Kids noticed the drunk like driving behaviors and now make rude comments and gestures to derelict cellphone drivers.

Ken

I saw the SUV in the channel on the news, never thought it would be indirectly related to people I "know".

My regards go to christina and your family lisa, I have lost friends of my age(17) before, its really a hard thing to cope with...

Dear Lord!! I just viewed the news link and read Mrs. K's comments. It's worse than I could have ever immagined. I don't have driving age kids yet, I'm fearful of when I do. As parents, we need to teach children what we know BEFORE there is a problem. I've never lost a friend like this, but I see it around my town constantly. It's such a shame. More of a shame is that the town could have (should have) done something to prevent this.

It's never too early to teach others what we know, but it can be too late.

Peace to you Christina and Lisa. Peace to the mother of this poor child.

Truly heartbreaking. Our thoughts are with her family.

As a kid, its tough to realize a car weighs 3,000 lbs and is only connected to the road with 4 pieces of rubber. I've never even been in a car accident above 5 mph. Its really tough for me to imagine what it feels like, especially behind the wheel. I wish cops werent so stupid about kids skidding out in big parking lots. Ive had many friends get tickets doing donuts and practicing car control in wet and dry conditions in parking lots. It seems stupid that we're trying to understand the limits of a car and not panic in that situation and all they do is peg us with a ticket... oh well, this post isnt about police.

Sorry to hear the news Lisa

Front Page of LB Press-Telegram

And article

Lisa, close to home is no good....sorry for all affected. Dont worry about the fenderbender...it's only sheet metal....perspective is a wonderful thing. I had my share when I was young...and old too, my son had one fender bender and is a very careful driver now, hated to be wrong...take care...Jim

Lisa,
Glad to hear your daughter is safe at home, and so sorry to hear about her friend. My prayers are with her parents at sucha difficult time...

Thank you all for your prayers and well wishes!

We went to the viewing last night and the funeral today. It has been very draining emotionally to say the least!

At the viewing, I had to drive several kids home as they just were not prepared to see thier friend and classmate at a Mortuary

I wish more of these kids' parents had come with them to console and to drive them!

My daughter just got behind the wheel today, for the first time since last Friday....and she said she has a much better appreciation of how much you need to be aware and follow the rules of the road.

I totally agree with Howard in that it should be absoultely required for kids (if they are still allowed to drive at 16!) to take a defensive driving course, in a controlled enviornment!

Hug you kids everyone! Today sure made me, and everyone there, realize how our lives can change in the blink of an eye!

Thanks again....you all are wonderful!

Lisa