How to avoid rearend accident?

[Ms_Jam]

The bad news is that last night another car rearended me.

I was stationary, about three cars back from traffic lights, in the right lane with a median strip on my right. The lights had turned green, but the cars in front did not move. In my rearvision mirror, I could see a car coming up fast, too fast, behind me. I expected it to hit me, and in a couple of seconds it did.

My question of the wiser heads here is what could I have done to avoid the accident. My WS Fiesta Zetec has nice big tail lights, with a horizontal tail light on the spoiler. Would brighter bulbs have helped? The current ones I got from Repco (their in-house brand). Someone this morning suggested Narva lights.

Second, I could have slammed my car into first gear and tried to get onto the median strip. But I wonder whether I would have had time.

Third, I suppose I could have hit the emergency lights switch. Might have got a flash or two off before impact.

Fourth, would a loud horn have helped? One of the very few criticisms I have of the Fiesta is its polite little horn. Otherwise it is an outstanding vehicle IMHO.

Anyway, the good news is that not much damage was done. There were a few scratches on the paint. And the large plastic apron (if that's the term) on the back was partly dislodged. I suspect some of the metal is slightly bent. But I'm fine. The front of the car that went into me, on the other hand, was not in good shape at all.

Fortunately I always leave more than a bit of space between my car and the one in front.

So does anyone have any better ideas on how to avoid a rear ender when you can see one coming?

[Fordman]

Theres just not to much you can do. I have seen a car coming before, and took my foot off the brake (i was the first car at the lights) as a result the contact was a little lighter as my car just sought of got bumped forward, yet it was still damaged, just less.

Very frustrating though when you always do the right thing and end up being the victim.

[Powdered Toast Man]

I think in that situation you did all you really could, hold on and wait for impact. I have had a similar traffic light rear end incident myself.

Really it was the fault of the driver that hit you. They weren't paying attention properly, probably distracted or half in a day dream, saw the green light and just kept going without paying attention to the traffic flow. Brighter lights wouldnt have helped, all that will do is annoy people following you.

[xisled]

Well good news is that you are ok, to bad for the car.

The truth of the matter is, that you have no control over what the other car has done. Even having the brightest brakes lights would not stop someone running into teh back of your car.

[b0son]

the only rear enders you can avoid are when you're moving. when you're a sitting duck, all you can do is wait for the crunch.

[Trevor 57]

You give yourself a bigger gap in front if you are mobile, if you are stationary, then there isn't much you can do

[StrokedXT]

Originally Posted by Big Trev

You give yourself a bigger gap in front if you are mobile,

How does that stop someone hitting you from behind?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Pull the handbrake up and pump the brakes so the lights flash.

Other than that, not much else.

[2011G6E]

As they say in the Navy: "Brace brace brace!!!"

Seriously, in a situation like that with cars in front of you and nowhere to go, there's nothing you could have done. Keep the foot off the brake so the impact is slightly lessened, face straight ahead and sit deep in the seat with your head against the headrest, hands on the steering wheel in the normal "driving" position just in cast the airbag goes off...they're designed to allow for your hands being there instead of flopping around. Don't brace too hard with the shoulders either as a very hard shunt will damage them as the shock goes up your arms.

But if there's no one in front of you, and traffic is clear, have no hestitation about steering anywhere at all to get out of his way. I once practically smoked the tyres and turned to the right across an intersection on a red light when a taxi was quite obviously not going to stop behind me. He screetched to a halt halfway across the intersection, and the whole scene was witnessed by a policeman standing nearby. I had stopped and the cop walked over and after asking if I was OK, told me I was right to continue on my way. I imagine he said something else to the taxi driver...

But in reality, by the time you see them coming, it's usually too late...however, long years riding motorbikes means I now automatically watch my mirrors when I'm sitting at a stop sign or traffic lights...just in case.

The shortest piece of advice you could follow is "don't stand on the brakes, and brace yourself".

One other little tip they used to tell us in a defensive driving course I once did was that when you are sitting on a main road, stopped waiting to turn across oncoming traffic to enter a side road, keep your wheels straight ahead so that if someone drives you from behind, they don't push you in front of the oncoming cars...

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

. Keep the foot off the brake so the impact is slightly lessened,..

Very poor advice in my opinion. Im more interested in minimising personal injury in such instances, money can fix broken cars but maybe not broken necks and backs.

If you keep your foot of the brake, the car can move forwards more easily in the impact, that means you in the car are accelerated forwards at a higher rate, increasing your risk of injury.

While keeping your foot on the brake on a small car hit behind by a truck will make ba difference if hit by a truck, it will make a difference if you are in a similar mass vehicle.

The more your vehicle resists moving, four wheels braked
helps couple you to the earth, the less injuries you will recieve. The trade off is the car will receive more damage, and the person that runs into you will actually experience more deacceleration/injury, sounds a bit selfish, but hey they caused it, Im not that community spirited!

This is one just many of the reasons why not having the car braked while waiting at intersections = fail in any driving test,

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by sudszy

Very poor advice in my opinion. Im more interested in minimising personal injury in such instances, money can fix broken cars but maybe not broken necks and backs.

If you keep your foot of the brake, the car can move forwards more easily in the impact, that means you in the car are accelerated forwards at a higher rate, increasing your risk of injury.

While keeping your foot on the brake on a small car hit behind by a truck will make ba difference if hit by a truck, it will make a difference if you are in a similar mass vehicle.

The more your vehicle resists moving, four wheels braked
helps couple you to the earth, the less injuries you will recieve. The trade off is the car will receive more damage, and the person that runs into you will actually experience more deacceleration/injury, sounds a bit selfish, but hey they caused it, Im not that community spirited!

This is one just many of the reasons why not having the car braked while waiting at intersections = fail in any driving test,

Very true.

Not to mention that if you do not have your foot on the brake, if you are then forced into the other car in front of you, you are then responsible for the damage to that car.

[Rodp]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Very true.

Not to mention that if you do not have your foot on the brake, if you are then forced into the other car in front of you, you are then responsible for the damage to that car.

While I agree with letting off the brake being a bad idea, I believe as long as you had come to a complete stop when someone hit you from behind, you're not responsible for the damage to the car in front of you if you are pushed into it, brake applied or not.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Not to mention that if you do not have your foot on the brake, if you are then forced into the other car in front of you, you are then responsible for the damage to that car.

No you're not.

[aussie muscle]

Originally Posted by sudszy

Very poor advice in my opinion. Im more interested in minimising personal injury in such instances, money can fix broken cars but maybe not broken necks and backs.

If you keep your foot of the brake, the car can move forwards more easily in the impact, that means you in the car are accelerated forwards at a higher rate, increasing your risk of injury.

...,

this is all about energy dispersion. if you have your wheels locked hard, the energy will go through the other parts of the car. if the wheels are free, the energy can be transferred into motion of the stopped car. you should know hitting a solid immovable object is more painful than something softer, lighter or moving. my advise would be to put your head back onto the headrest so your neck is not snapped, but let off the brakes, and apply them after the impact to stop the car rolling into another car/intersection.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

my advise would be to put your head back onto the headrest so your neck is not snapped, but let off the brakes, and apply them after the impact to stop the car rolling into another car/intersection.

You would have to have lightning fast reflexes to achieve that.

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

my advise would be to put your head back onto the headrest so your neck is not snapped, but let off the brakes, and apply them after the impact to stop the car rolling into another car/intersection.

Perfect advice, I do the same.

It's true, I'd rather the car be at a panel beater or wrecking yard than me in hospital or morgue!

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by aussie muscle

you should know hitting a solid immovable object is more painful than something softer, lighter or moving..

You are looking at the collision from the point of view of the person that does the rear ending, they affectively suffer a higher change in speed if the vehicle in front is braked, because they have effectively hit something that is more resistant to movement, just the same as if they had hit a larger vehicle and hence their collision is "harder" and so would be the injuries.

The people in the heavier vehicle, or the vehicle "connected" to the ground dont suffer as high a speed change and hence their collision is more survivable.

[kypez]

I ride a motorbike and was always taught to leave enough room in front such that if you see a car coming up too fast, that you can move forward a bit or have an escape path planned (ie, go between cars or something such). Sometimes all it takes to avoid an accident is a few meters.

Bit harder in a car, but give yourself some extra room in front and if you see the car come at you quick, maybe move forward and get closer to the car in front of you. The downside being that if they do still hit, you might have front and back damage, but this has severed me thus far.

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by kypez

I ride a motorbike and was always taught to leave enough room in front such that if you see a car coming up too fast, that you can move forward a bit or have an escape path planned (ie, go between cars or something such). Sometimes all it takes to avoid an accident is a few meters.

im the same, especially after my ghia got rear ended a month ago, and now im having to use my bike until its fixed. i always stop in a position where i can shoot either between the cars or across the centre line (on coming traffic withstanding of course)

theres one intersection on the way home where its quite narrow, and my only exit would be to dump the bike and try and use the concrete barrier as a safety zone. dodgy

[my_gxl]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

im the same, especially after my ghia got rear ended a month ago, and now im having to use my bike until its fixed. i always stop in a position where i can shoot either between the cars or across the centre line (on coming traffic withstanding of course)

theres one intersection on the way home where its quite narrow, and my only exit would be to dump the bike and try and use the concrete barrier as a safety zone. dodgy

I had to use my bike escape plan once. Had pulled up but saw a car coming too quick down a hill. I moved in between the ute in front, and the median strip. The car only just pulled up where I was-not far behind the ute.

Very happy with my bike skills.

To the OP, +1 for you did what you could. Can't help idiots.

[Gaz]

don't try and drive over the median strip, if you damage your car and he missed you then your footing the bill!

[MAV50L]

A sure fire way to avoid being rear ended is to not drive! Leave the car in the garage.
Really what a question..........................................

[GULL]

Originally Posted by MAV50L

A sure fire way to avoid being rear ended is to not drive! Leave the car in the garage.
Really what a question..........................................

REALLY WHAT AN ASWER TO A QUESTION !!

[Mitch89]

I had a guy nearly hit me in traffic on the motorway, completely locked up his brakes. Fortunately I had been keeping an eye on him in the rear view mirror (he was tailgating me, my XR6T was no match for a plater with VTEC), and had enough room to move forward about a metre.

After he'd stopped and the cloud of tyre smoke had wafted over my car, I got out to take a look, he was less than a metre off my bumper. Lucky day.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by Ms_Jam

The lights had turned green, but the cars in front did not move.............................................. .......

I could have slammed my car into first gear and tried to get onto the median strip.

Why werent you already in first and ready to go?
By your own accounts, the lights were already green.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by davway

Why werent you already in first and ready to go?
By your own accounts, the lights were already green.

The OP can't go move if the cars in front haven't moved so what is the point

Unless you have eyes in the back of your head there is very little you can do.

Best thing is leave a gap in front to reduce the likelihood of you hitting the car in front when the knob nails you from behind.

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

The OP can't go move if the cars in front haven't moved so what is the point

What a stupid post - honestly.
Regardless of if the cars in front have moved or not, you should be in first and ready to by the time the light turns green - which it had already.
The only is you.

[MAGPIE]

Originally Posted by davway

What a stupid post - honestly.
Regardless of if the cars in front have moved or not, you should be in first and ready to by the time the light turns green - which it had already.
The only is you.

So when you get hit from behind your in 1st with the clutch in

Good Luck

[THE CADBURY KID]

There will always be people who dont pay enough attention whilst driving and they will always be the one who slams up your ****,and they will always be the one at fault.
I have had this happen to me and the missus at least 3 or 4 times,the first time my eb fairmont was written off
Theres nothing like knowing that split second before and then whooshka,what could i have done,could i have avoided it???
Dont let it keep you awake at night,theres nothing you could have done because if you could have done something you would have done it on the day.
Accidents arent just accidents they almost always have a proven cause and to steer clear of "accidents" in the future you must be more aware of what other drivers are doing to protect yourself

[svo supporter]

Originally Posted by davway

What a stupid post - honestly.
Regardless of if the cars in front have moved or not, you should be in first and ready to by the time the light turns green - which it had already.
The only is you.

You can't move off, when you've got another car in front, regardless how quickly the lights change. EDIT......You can if you want to rear end them for being a slow ***.

I was always taught, make sure the traffic has stopped at the lights, before moving off. Saves getting slammed into by some fewl, that wants to run a red light.

So what the OP has mentioned, they had no way to avoid the rear ender.