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I love all the internet experts trying to talk ****. lol
On one hand we have an officer with 17 years experience in crash investigation....on the other we have a couple of guys who have been in a wreck or 2. Talk about apples to oranges...
No way the OP was hit at 55mph....period. Didn't happen.
These things fold up at low speeds because that's what they're designed to do.
Thank you. Worst crash I ever handled was a DUI in a brand new Nissan 370z. 45 MPH zone, TCR estimated his speed at impact to be ~60 MPH. He was approaching a red light near our industrial park at o'dark early. A semi from the right had a green and was pulling into the intersection. We don't know if he didn't see the red light and the semi, or if he saw them and liquid courage propelled him to try some Fast 'n Furious movie stunt. Either way, he went under the trailer and may have just taken the roof off his Z except that he hit the trailer landing gear. The gear removed the front suspension on the driver side, ripped up the hood, and then removed his face and top of his skull. The entire top of his skull bone was sitting all by itself, no scalp, nothing, right on the median barrier 40' from the impact point. The entire roof of the car was in his lane of travel, and he and the car went ~75' off into the right ditch. He slumped forward and the gear shifter went into his head where his face had been.
The truck driver never saw him coming. Toxicology showed the Z driver was .268. Don't drink and drive, kids....
Don't forget the officer that gave OP the 55mph estimate, you know, the one that was actually at the scene. And not that this necessarily applies to VTX, but there are a lot of cops out there that are nowhere near smart enough to handle the math that it would take to make an accurate speed estimate based on a crash scene. Hell, I went to high school with a couple of current state troopers that spent about half of every day in the special ed room.
Well I think you are MF'ing some cops that are not trained specialists to do accidents 24 x 7! Something that is unfair. Most cops that don't work in a division that is responsible for accidents, hate making accidents. Unfortunately, the ones that are highly trained and specialize in accident investigation are usually tied up on more serious vehicular accidents.
So you are right, but saying they are not smart enough is not the right analogy, they are not trained specialists!
SUV, sits lower to the ground vs pickup that sits higher and had the vehicle that hit it go underneath, apples to oranges. Look at his bumper, it is clearly bent under by a lighter vehicle. Stop trying to compare without seeing what the other vehicle looks like. Until then it is nothing more than just ASSuming.
I can see that part of the vehicles hood hit the tailgate, but everything else was absorbed by the bumper, hitch and frame, the strongest part of the truck, and all that energy was transferred forward through the frame. I would not be surprised if the frame is rippled all the way forward. We also don't know how far forward the truck was pushed by the impact, no debris trail, nothing that we can see that the onsite officer did to determine has fast the other vehicle was traveling.
How fast do you think the guy who did this was going?
Don't forget the officer that gave OP the 55mph estimate, you know, the one that was actually at the scene. And not that this necessarily applies to VTX, but there are a lot of cops out there that are nowhere near smart enough to handle the math that it would take to make an accurate speed estimate based on a crash scene. Hell, I went to high school with a couple of current state troopers that spent about half of every day in the special ed room.
I don't mean to impugn the deputy, but for all we know he was some rookie and this was his first crash scene. I'll bet my 2017 salary that the OPs truck was not hit at 55 MPH while stationary. I realize that some members here probably have their ego tied up in their big, tough trucks, but there is absolutely zero chance this was a 55 MPH closing speed impact. No way, no how. I'm betting this was easily less than 20 MPH closing speed at impact.
How much more do you think that 4runner weighs compared to a highlander?
Do you think it hit the truck in the same exact spot or higher? Square or at an angle?
What do you think would absorb more impact a truck in park or one in gear that may have rolled forward?
All of those variables make a huge difference.
Unless you have pictures of the car that hit the OP its pretty pointless.
And I make no claim to be an expert, I just think that its completely possible that an impact at 55mph could result in one of the cars looking like the OP's.
Right now you're grasping at straws trying to validate your argument....and with all due respect if you can't see by now that you're completely wrong then I won't waste my time trying to convince you.
I don't mean to impugn the deputy, but for all we know he was some rookie and this was his first crash scene. I'll bet my 2017 salary that the OPs truck was not hit at 55 MPH while stationary. I realize that some members here probably have their ego tied up in their big, tough trucks, but there is absolutely zero chance this was a 55 MPH closing speed impact. No way, no how. I'm betting this was easily less than 20 MPH closing speed at impact.
I'll add my 2017 salary to yours. No way in hell was that a 55 mph impact.
Can you explain this to me: "Also in Texas they are 100% at fault"?
Some states are "no fault". In Texas the driver that hit me is according to Harris County(and other agencies) 100% at fault. Somebody is almost always at what is considered 100% fault. Rear endings are pretty cut and dry here no matter the circumstances.
Also, there's no point in arguing about the projected speed of the other vehicle. I wasn't in that vehicle and the estimated speed was told to me by someone who wasn't there when it happened. Every "comparison" argument that's been posted wasn't this exact collision. I've been hit at 20 mph and I can tell you that this was way more violent than that.
On a different note, the All State inspector looked at the truck today and wrote up an estimate at $8,900. He admitted that he didn't look under the cab at the frame. The projected work as of now is to replace all interior bed components, wheel wells, tailgate with camera, bumper with sensors, hitch, leaf springs, shocks, rear frame section and fix the cab corners and door alignment. Edit: Forgot to add frame pull and four wheel alignment.
If it comes to be that the frame sectioning or bed floor can't be repaired properly then they'll be declaring a total loss. And they may still after they factor in DV and truck rental for 20 something days. They have my truck's cash value around 23k.
Some states are "no fault". In Texas the driver that hit me is according to Harris County(and other agencies) 100% at fault. Somebody is almost always at what is considered 100% fault. Rear endings are pretty cut and dry here no matter the circumstances.
Unless you can sight line and verse from the Texas Motor Vehicle code, I think you better change that to 99.9%!
LEO agencies, nor municipalities (Harris County or City of Houston) write the laws that pertain to accidents. The State of Texas does.
VTX and Unbroken may be 100% correct, all I'm saying is that without seeing the scene or the other vehicle there is no way to make that assertion without a doubt. Now if the car doesn't look any worse than the truck I would agree the speed was much lower, however, if it looks like a pug that got kicked in the face with a steel toe boot I'd say 55 was likely. I know when I hit that little carola at highway speed I couldn't believe the how much damage my truck had sustained compared to how little the back of his car had. But hey, VTX saw a guy put a shifter through his face so clearly he knows more about OP's crash than the officer on scene.
Glad you're ok OP, good luck dealing with insurance.
03-23-2017, 06:31 PM
