inkfx

My friend has the Droid X and he absolutely loves it. I've played with it a few times and it seems to be a really cool phone. Everything loads quickly, nice interface, and the camera is pretty damn good for a phone. I've owned all of the iPhones but seeing my friends Droid makes me want to get one.

Well I was just driving home after dropping some friends off. I was a designated driver for the night and refused all alcoholic beverages to me. I was so worried the whole night of being pulled over and the car impounded or something so I didnt drink. So right as I turn into my neighborhood, the apartment complex to my left has their sprinklers going. Mind you, its about 30 degrees outside, 3:30am, and we are in water restrictions. I turn into the neighborhood as I always do and hit a big slick of water from the sprinkler system. My car swerved uncontrollably to the left and then violently to the right ending in my car being wrapped around a telephone pole. I crawled out of my window which I guess shattered since I didn't roll it down. After laying on the asphalt for a few minutes, people came out of their apartments to help me up. I was in so much shock that my car was actually gone I collapsed on the ground. I didn't feel a single injury and told the police I was alright. It's been almost 2 hours now since the crash and my whole left side of my body is in utter pain. Almost certainly due to the fact adrenaline has worn off in my system. I guess the lesson of the story is when you think you are going slow enough through water, slow down some more. This was the scariest thing thats ever happened to me in my entire life. I've had a gun pulled on me and been less worried than this.

I just got done talking with the agent and it looks like I have a case here. The USAA agent told me herself that it was negligent on the apartment complex's part to have their water running in freezing temperatures. Pictures of everything will be up later. If I can't get a hold of a camera, I will use my iPhone.

I was really looking forward to getting that work done in the coming week. I'll get back to you after I figure out what happens with insurance buddy. If you or Jon need a helping hand in any work let me know. I'll have my dads truck until I get squared away with all this mess.

Nobody said you were doing crazy things, just dont play the blame game. Even if you cant blame yourself for something directly, you gotta look at the situation indirectly thats all. Its life, its fair just a lot of speed bumps on the way (some we can control and others that we have no control over). I understand what you're saying. I guess I will just have to see what happens tomorrow with USAA. Like I said before, i'll post pictures of everything tomorrow. Where it happened, the car, the whole nine. Pictures tell a thousand words.

You're right. I was being crazy and mashed my gas trying to do a cool spin out at 2 am. I drive a Grand Marquis on 22s so I thought I'd show off the power under the hood.

Have you ever hit ice before? Do you understand what happens when your tires hit ice? From the way you posted, it doesn't seem like this is the case. When my tires hit the ice, they began to spin. Now, keep in mind that my tires are spinning. So when I hit dry pavement, and my traction returned, my car accelerated uncontrollably. This is what sent me over the curb and into a light pole. I turned left onto the street where several apartment complexes are located. Not 50-ft from the turn is when I hit the ice. Everyone who knows me knows I drive SLOW. I was doing MAYBE 25mph, if that. I would honestly have had to been in a full acceleration to have been going any faster, which I most definitely was not. Also, I did check the weather. I knew it was going to be cold as shit. I also knew it wasn't going to rain meaning there shouldn't be ice on the ground However, I don't have control of an apartment complexes sprinkler system to shut it off when it may freeze. That is THEIR responsibility and hence why I claim negligence on their part. One, I live in NW IN, so I am very familiar with adverse weather conditions. Two, when on ice and then going onto pavement where you get traction your car will not accelerate rapidly like what would cause your issue, especially if you had traction control and it was on. The traction control would have stopped the wheel spin since it was not relative to the front wheels. How do you explain that one? Are you going to sue Ford for the traction control malfunctioning. If you had common sense you would have realized your tires were spinning with a loss of traction and let off the gas instead of staying on it though the ice and onto the pavement again which is what caused your "rapid acceleration." BTW, if that thing got up to 25mph in 50 feet, you had your foot to the floor. Come on guy. 50 feet after a turn in an apartment complex going 25mph. . . That's just idiotic. BTW, you do know that the car's computer keeps a record of things such as throttle positions and wheel speeds and what not? Just think about it. Sprinkler or no sprinkler, it is the DRIVER'S RESPONSIBILITY to be aware of all driving conditions at all time. Black ice or not, this is not the fault of the apartment complex. You also act like my traction control is the most amazing thing ever. It doesn't always work like you think it might.

Well said That's great and all but it's not legal for them to be pouring water in the street. That is my point. Especially in freezing conditions.

Have you ever hit ice before? Do you understand what happens when your tires hit ice? From the way you posted, it doesn't seem like this is the case. When my tires hit the ice, they began to spin. Now, keep in mind that my tires are spinning. So when I hit dry pavement, and my traction returned, my car accelerated uncontrollably. This is what sent me over the curb and into a light pole. I turned left onto the street where several apartment complexes are located. Not 50-ft from the turn is when I hit the ice. Everyone who knows me knows I drive SLOW. I was doing MAYBE 25mph, if that. I would honestly have had to been in a full acceleration to have been going any faster, which I most definitely was not. Also, I did check the weather. I knew it was going to be cold as shit. I also knew it wasn't going to rain meaning there shouldn't be ice on the ground However, I don't have control of an apartment complexes sprinkler system to shut it off when it may freeze. That is THEIR responsibility and hence why I claim negligence on their part. One, I live in NW IN, so I am very familiar with adverse weather conditions. Two, when on ice and then going onto pavement where you get traction your car will not accelerate rapidly like what would cause your issue, especially if you had traction control and it was on. The traction control would have stopped the wheel spin since it was not relative to the front wheels. How do you explain that one? Are you going to sue Ford for the traction control malfunctioning. If you had common sense you would have realized your tires were spinning with a loss of traction and let off the gas instead of staying on it though the ice and onto the pavement again which is what caused your "rapid acceleration." BTW, if that thing got up to 25mph in 50 feet, you had your foot to the floor. Come on guy. 50 feet after a turn in an apartment complex going 25mph. . . That's just idiotic. BTW, you do know that the car's computer keeps a record of things such as throttle positions and wheel speeds and what not? Just think about it. Sprinkler or no sprinkler, it is the DRIVER'S RESPONSIBILITY to be aware of all driving conditions at all time. Black ice or not, this is not the fault of the apartment complex. You're right, my computer does keep records and I count on that. Maybe I'm not getting my numbers correctly on everything. This shit all happened so quickly.

I'm a LOT farther south than you are. Ice here is RARE. Cold weather here is RARE. You can't just go dumping copious amounts of water in the road and not expect there to be a problem. They are causing a hazard.

Have you ever hit ice before? Do you understand what happens when your tires hit ice? From the way you posted, it doesn't seem like this is the case. When my tires hit the ice, they began to spin. Now, keep in mind that my tires are spinning. So when I hit dry pavement, and my traction returned, my car accelerated uncontrollably. This is what sent me over the curb and into a light pole. I turned left onto the street where several apartment complexes are located. Not 50-ft from the turn is when I hit the ice. Everyone who knows me knows I drive SLOW. I was doing MAYBE 25mph, if that. I would honestly have had to been in a full acceleration to have been going any faster, which I most definitely was not. Also, I did check the weather. I knew it was going to be cold as shit. I also knew it wasn't going to rain meaning there shouldn't be ice on the ground However, I don't have control of an apartment complexes sprinkler system to shut it off when it may freeze. That is THEIR responsibility and hence why I claim negligence on their part.

The thing is, according to SAWS (our local water company) it is illegal for you to drain water into the streets. Especially at the amount they were draining. The reason I know this for a 100% fact is that my dad was fined several months ago for letting water run into the street. Weather predicted no rain, and freezing conditions. Yet, their sprinkler system was still engaged causing a sheet of ice to form. I understand it is on a timer and my point is it was negligent for them to not check weather and disable the system. That is their responsibility, not mine. There are also NO posted signs indicated that water and ice may be on the road. Had their sprinkler system not been engaged during freezing conditions, none of this would have happened. 9 times out of 10 that applies to houses and not apartments. No offense but I personally dont see you having a case unless there was a freeze advisory or warning in effect then I dont think that will matter about the sprinklers being on. Hopefully they can work with you for something and you can get this situated. Water and Ice on the Road signs usually are only put on bridges or overpasses, you rarely see them in the street unless it is in an area prone to freezing. They cant go out and put a sign up before it freezes in/on every street. You gotta take caution and know any wet ground at a certain temperature will cause the water to freeze over and cause ice. Is it not their responsibility to check the weather to see if the abundant amount of water they have flowing into a public street may freeze and cause problems for people over night? It just seems like it could have easily been prevented. Now, had it been raining and there were warnings in effect for ice in the road, I understand it would most likely have been my fault for not being more "cautious". At least, that is my understanding from what the police officer told me. As far as the sign is concerned, if they have water just flowing in the road and it's going to be below freezing, they should put a sign up. There was absolutely NO warning. I had no idea that there would be ice on the road. Here in Texas you don't see much ice ever, if any. I just think they should have taken the precautions to necessary to avoid accidents like this. I'm also not even sure how legal it is for them to have the water running at that time of night. We have pretty tight restrictions around here with all the drought.

I'd grab them from you if I knew I had a car to put them on. lol. I will keep you posted, though.

As of right now, no. I don't have any images of the damage. The only thing I snapped pictures of was my audio equipment in case the guys on the lot decided to play pick n pull on my car. I will have pictures up tomorrow after the meeting with USAA representatives.

The thing is, according to SAWS (our local water company) it is illegal for you to drain water into the streets. Especially at the amount they were draining. The reason I know this for a 100% fact is that my dad was fined several months ago for letting water run into the street. Weather predicted no rain, and freezing conditions. Yet, their sprinkler system was still engaged causing a sheet of ice to form. I understand it is on a timer and my point is it was negligent for them to not check weather and disable the system. That is their responsibility, not mine. There are also NO posted signs indicated that water and ice may be on the road. Had their sprinkler system not been engaged during freezing conditions, none of this would have happened.

Jon, I will have to double check the rims when I take a look at them tomorrow. I would think that they may be bent but then again I am not 100% sure. If I can salvage them and get reimbursed for a new set I will give you a ridiculous deal on them. I'm really anxious about the meeting tomorrow. Thankfully I still have a couple Adavant left that should ease my anxiety for now. I just wish I had my car!! My box was in perfect shape so I hope my subs are alright. Wont be able to visually inspect them until tomorrow. The only thing i grabbed from my car was my Sundown SAZ-1500D. I'm sure my driver side 6.5" is ruined but thankfully I still had my old Rockford Fosgate set in there. Sitting next to me are a set of the JLs I just bought so I'm thankful for that. It really sucks because i was supposed to do all sorts of work on my car the next two weeks to get it the way I want. Now I'm just praying the car isn't totaled and can be fixed. I will post pictures and updates on the meeting tomorrow evening.

Thanks man. I'm not sure where to turn right now as far as that goes. Driving my car and listening to music was just so therapeutic for me. Unfortunately, I've been having more frequent panic attacks since the accident. Mainly because I know I can't just walk outside and go for a ride to calm down. I have a doctors appointment scheduled for tomorrow along with a USAA insurance meeting. The claim adjuster is coming out to me with a lawyer to discuss the situation. I'm blaming the apartment complex 100% for their negligence. I've done a couple over the phone consultations with local law firms and they have all told me I have a pretty good case here. I really hope that is the case. I've had a couple people tell me it's all my fault because my 22s aren't road safe, which doesn't make sense to me especially with brand new Z rated Falkens tires on them. I have PLENTY of traction along with traction control in the vehicle. Some people just don't understand the power of a little ice on the road.

Looks like I will head to the ER just to be safe. I'm just so bummed right now. Working on my car is part of my therapy and without it I just feel like I'm going to spiral down the wrong path again. May sound stupid but my brain works in pretty dumb ways.

i hear you on that. i wish i would've done the alarm before the wheels but whatever i have both now. im looking to put 24s on my marquis sometime soon. also, where did you get those window vent visors? all this rain recently is making me consider them.

Are you going to put new wheels on it?

I listen to my system enough I could tell the difference when the amps were switched out.(Cadence to SAE1200) I did a 139.6 with the SAE-1200D on the TermLab and the SAZ-1500D sounds louder to me but haven't had a chance to meter it yet. If I meet up with Hugo or Jon I'll see if we can do a run. I'll bet the numbers go up.

I noticed differences switching between a Cadence TXA1000D, SAE-1200 and now a SAZ-1500D. Can't wait to see all the people here tell me that I didn't.

Too bad I don't get paid until the 3rd.

My 2 AQ 15s do fine on music daily. Everyone who has listened to my system hasn't complained either. Not the best but they get the job done. Especially for the price.

When did you plan on starting the fiberglass work? I still have a long way to go with my car so it will almost be like starting new. I just got a box design thanks to someone on this forum. Also picked up a new set of components.