2nd accident 100% my fault in every way in almost 1.3 million miles of driving - Toyota Yaris Forums

nookandcrannycar · 10-07-2014, 11:30 PM

Sorry mods

...I've got a few questions and I'm unsure to which section this post should be added.

I've been driving (not professionally...just driving like everyone else) since the 1970s. I've driven probably close to 1.3 million miles in the U.S.(every state except HI and AK), Canada (every province), Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, etc. in scores of vehicles (my own cars, family cars, company cars, company cars my dad had, rental cars, friend's cars, etc. Over these decades, I've gotten in 2 accidents that were 100% my fault in every way. One was a really bad one when I was 18, and the other was (what turned out to be) a fender bender today (

).

I was in Huntsville, TX, with 297,404 miles on my Yaris. This happened about 10 min before I reached the 8 year mark with my Yaris (8 years since driving away from the dealership). I was on the northbound I-45 feeder road and wanted to get on the southbound I-45 feeder road on the other side of the freeway. Such roads in Texas have 'before the upcoming signal bypass the signal U-turn lanes. I utilized such a lane (one with an overpass over I-45) just before the signal with State Highway 30. I got over the freeway to the opposite side and then was stopped in traffic. Eventually, there was one car ahead of me. That driver 'launched' to merge and I mentally checked off that he/she had gone. I looked back,keeping a close eye and waiting until there was enough space to be the next person to 'launch'. I 'launched', and before I could get my head completely around I'd hit that car that I thought had launched and cleared but was still at the end of the U-turn lane (not out in traffic). I wasn't going very fast (I'd only traveled a few feet).

I was lucky. The driver was a healthy high school student who was on his way to do something for an AP class. Some of his AP buddies were in a Jeep a few cars behind me and they pulled over as well. He was driving his parents 2003 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition. The Expedition will probably need a new bumper cover, plus the piece below the passenger side tail light repainted. My Yaris....initially..ugh. I could barely pull off the road re wheel travel. I called AAA and spoke with an adjuster and coordinated with the adjuster re when he would call the other driver.

I pulled the front part of the wheel well liner off (before driving away to the nearby Starbucks). I then had full 'steering/turning travel' for the wheel, but when I'd go over a bump, the tire I got from CTScott would scrape on the left front fender. I went to Starbucks for a few minutes. Before leaving, I bent the fender back away from the tire as much as I could. While driving back to Montgomery County...no more rubbing re the tire

....and driving seems to be normal (frame bent ?). The headlight lens doesn't appear to be cracked or damaged.

One other issue...obviously very inconvenient...is that the fender was knocked back enough that the diver door won't open more than a couple of inches

. I had to crawl out of the car when we pulled over.

I'm thinking that removing the fender would alleviate this problem (????).
So...a few questions:

1. Will removing the fender 'free up' the driver door?....or is that an unknown unless someone is physically looking at the car.

2. Is it legal to drive in Texas without a front fender as long as the headlight and turn signals function normally?

3. If I take it to a very reasonable local shop ($10.00 to swap my battery, under $20.00 (IIRC) to replace my control arm bolts, and not much more (IIRC) to clean my rear brakes) would they be able to remove the fender for me easily...or would I have to have a body shop do that even though I'm not going to 'have it fixed' (I have really high liability limits, but I don't carry comp or collision (I don't carry a note, and can replace if needed) ?

4. Taking into consideration that I don't have comp or collision, and that it seems to be driving okay......Do I need to determine if the frame is bent?

I was going to take this car to California next week, but now I'll take my 2014.

nookandcrannycar · 10-07-2014, 11:38 PM

bump

jcboy · 10-08-2014, 01:50 AM

Im sorry to hear about what happened and glad no one was hurt.

You dont have to remover the fender. You can pry the fender with screwdriver so that the part of the panel near the door goes inside. This should make the fender not aligned with the door panel but temporarily just so it clears the door when you open it until you get it fixed. (Talking from experience when a motorcycle hit my front driver side fender with a different car back then)

Re the frame being bent, i dont know until you have it visually inspected. Other than that your camber and toe measurement should give you an idea of the damage to the front suspension.

CTScott · 10-08-2014, 08:24 AM

The fender is very easy to remove and it very flexible (to where you can give it a few stomps and maybe get it back into a usable shape. The door not opening is likely just the fender. If the door frame was bent, the A pillar would be misshapen a bit and the windshield would have cracked.

To remove the fender you have to remove the bumper and the fender liner on that side. It would be difficult to drive without the fender unless you also left the bumper off.

By the way, maybe that wheel is cursed, since this is its second time being involved in a wreck.

bronsin · 10-08-2014, 11:34 AM

What rotten luck sorry to hear about the accident! Glad it wasnt the new Yaris!

Yeah a mistake I made when I was 18 and have seen several times since then. Typically the person in front has a MILE before the next car, they act like theyre going...then they dont!

Its a trap and I blame the person in front too!

nookandcrannycar · 10-08-2014, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CTScott

The fender is very easy to remove and it very flexible (to where you can give it a few stomps and maybe get it back into a usable shape. The door not opening is likely just the fender. If the door frame was bent, the A pillar would be misshapen a bit and the windshield would have cracked.

To remove the fender you have to remove the bumper and the fender liner on that side. It would be difficult to drive without the fender unless you also left the bumper off.

Thanks so much for the great information!

Quote:

By the way, maybe that wheel is cursed, since this is its second time being involved in a wreck.

It performed well though during a week of use.

nookandcrannycar · 10-08-2014, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcboy

Im sorry to hear about what happened and glad no one was hurt.

You dont have to remover the fender. You can pry the fender with screwdriver so that the part of the panel near the door goes inside. This should make the fender not aligned with the door panel but temporarily just so it clears the door when you open it until you get it fixed. (Talking from experience when a motorcycle hit my front driver side fender with a different car back then)

Re the frame being bent, i dont know until you have it visually inspected. Other than that your camber and toe measurement should give you an idea of the damage to the front suspension.

Thanks so much for the great information as well!

nookandcrannycar · 10-08-2014, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronsin

What rotten luck sorry to hear about the accident! Glad it wasnt the new Yaris!

Yeah a mistake I made when I was 18 and have seen several times since then. Typically the person in front has a MILE before the next car, they act like theyre going...then they dont!

Its a trap and I blame the person in front too!

Thanks. A more experienced driver in front of me probably wouldn't have 'launched' and then abruptly stopped.....but I still unconsciously assumed the other driver's behavior would be that of an experienced driver. He's in high school...everyone has to start somewhere.

I've been in one 'similar' accident in my life, in the late 1980s..in the San Francisco Bay Area. Re that accident, I took a freeway exit and came down to the surface street via (at the end) a right turn only lane. The surface street = 2 lanes in each direction + a center turn lane in an affluent town. One car was ahead of me as we waited for that one car to clear (no other cars for a 'country mile'). After that one car passed, the car in front of me pulled out into thee slow lane, and I followed. The driver of that car then slammed on her brakes to avoid running over a squirrel

, and I had no time to respond. She did get some percentage of the blame, but not much.

When I was 18....

...I had a Bilstein sport kit on my car. I took a sharp corner at a speed greater than I should have. Totaled the car.

Hershey · 10-09-2014, 11:45 AM

That's a shame . No one is perfect . Most important is no one is hurt and only frayed nerves .

nookandcrannycar · 10-09-2014, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hershey

That's a shame . No one is perfect . Most important is no one is hurt and only frayed nerves .

Thanks

. I HATE handing over one penny more than is necessary to any insurance company. Now my rate will go up at my next renewal

.

Hershey · 10-09-2014, 11:25 PM

Ours went up after a no fault accident . Was rear ended while waiting for red light to change during a wet snow and the the other car totaled it . Pushed it out into the intersection . Only had one or 2 payments left on the loan . Never fails

. Hope you have better days ahead .

nookandcrannycar · 10-10-2014, 01:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hershey

Ours went up after a no fault accident . Was rear ended while waiting for red light to change during a wet snow and the the other car totaled it . Pushed it out into the intersection . Only had one or 2 payments left on the loan . Never fails

. Hope you have better days ahead .

AAA allows one accident to not count toward raising rates/a virtual 'free pass', but I was rear ended in February. That February rear ender used up my 'free pass', even though it wasn't my fault. The last accident I was in before February was about 11-12 years before that. That accident was like yours. I was stopped behind the limit line at a red light and was rear ended (in my Suzuki Swift) by a 4-door F series Ford pickup. I was also knocked into the intersection.

.

Kal-El · 10-10-2014, 06:38 PM

Sorry to hear. After you've driven this car all over the country for 300,000 miles, it must carry a lot of sentimental value. In a way, it's worse than crashing a new car.

nookandcrannycar · 10-10-2014, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kal-El

Sorry to hear. After you've driven this car all over the country for 300,000 miles, it must carry a lot of sentimental value. In a way, it's worse than crashing a new car.

Yeah, it does. Partially because of all the places it has taken me (so reliably!), and partially because it has given the person I love the most in this world (my little cousin) so much joy to make it a 'playground' when she was pretty little... (opening and closing all the compartments/storage areas, decorating plastic eggs---giving them names and biographies and storing them in some of the compartments (to keep me company, I think

), using the overhead handles like mini gymnastics rings, and (by the time she was 7) sitting in front (parked, flat, keys in my pocket)...wanting to drive.

At least this happened after I made it to all 48 contiguous states and (literally) to 'all 4 corners of the 48'...those specific parts of Maine, Florida, California, and Washington.

I'm thankful it is still drivable, so I'll make it to 300,000 miles. I was on the fence re doing major repairs when the time comes or not. Now I'm leaning toward a no on that. I probably won't take it outside the Houston Metro again unless I replace the fender, but I'll probably continue to drive it locally. I'll likely follow jcboy's suggestion re the screwdriver to move that part of the fender away so I can open the door. With CTScott's post, I know that taking the fender off and just leaving it off isn't a good idea/isn't viable and that the frame isn't really an issue because the windshield isn'rt cracked, etc. I may try to further manipulate the fender to get it closer to it's original shape (as CTScott mentioned), or I may try to find a fender on eBay or try to locate a junkyard fender.

bronsin · 10-11-2014, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nookandcrannycar

I'm thankful it is still drivable, so I'll make it to 300,000 miles.

400,000 miles. It'll go 400,000!

nookandcrannycar · 10-11-2014, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bronsin

400,000 miles. It'll go 400,000!

yougojay · 10-12-2014, 07:38 PM

So sorry to hear this Nook. Glad it was at a very low speed and all are OK.

nookandcrannycar · 10-12-2014, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yougojay

So sorry to hear this Nook. Glad it was at a very low speed and all are OK.

Thanks.

10-07-2014, 11:30 PM	#1
nookandcrannycar Drives: 2('14+'07)MT 3d ,wHandCrWndws! Join Date: May 2009 Location: S.MontgomeryCnty,TX(HoustonMSA) '07=BayouBlue=300,125miles=OrigOwnr '14=ClassicSilvr=29,059miles Posts: 4,839	2nd accident 100% my fault in every way in almost 1.3 million miles of driving Sorry mods ...I've got a few questions and I'm unsure to which section this post should be added. I've been driving (not professionally...just driving like everyone else) since the 1970s. I've driven probably close to 1.3 million miles in the U.S.(every state except HI and AK), Canada (every province), Mexico, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, etc. in scores of vehicles (my own cars, family cars, company cars, company cars my dad had, rental cars, friend's cars, etc. Over these decades, I've gotten in 2 accidents that were 100% my fault in every way. One was a really bad one when I was 18, and the other was (what turned out to be) a fender bender today (). I was in Huntsville, TX, with 297,404 miles on my Yaris. This happened about 10 min before I reached the 8 year mark with my Yaris (8 years since driving away from the dealership). I was on the northbound I-45 feeder road and wanted to get on the southbound I-45 feeder road on the other side of the freeway. Such roads in Texas have 'before the upcoming signal bypass the signal U-turn lanes. I utilized such a lane (one with an overpass over I-45) just before the signal with State Highway 30. I got over the freeway to the opposite side and then was stopped in traffic. Eventually, there was one car ahead of me. That driver 'launched' to merge and I mentally checked off that he/she had gone. I looked back,keeping a close eye and waiting until there was enough space to be the next person to 'launch'. I 'launched', and before I could get my head completely around I'd hit that car that I thought had launched and cleared but was still at the end of the U-turn lane (not out in traffic). I wasn't going very fast (I'd only traveled a few feet). I was lucky. The driver was a healthy high school student who was on his way to do something for an AP class. Some of his AP buddies were in a Jeep a few cars behind me and they pulled over as well. He was driving his parents 2003 Ford Expedition Eddie Bauer Edition. The Expedition will probably need a new bumper cover, plus the piece below the passenger side tail light repainted. My Yaris....initially..ugh. I could barely pull off the road re wheel travel. I called AAA and spoke with an adjuster and coordinated with the adjuster re when he would call the other driver. I pulled the front part of the wheel well liner off (before driving away to the nearby Starbucks). I then had full 'steering/turning travel' for the wheel, but when I'd go over a bump, the tire I got from CTScott would scrape on the left front fender. I went to Starbucks for a few minutes. Before leaving, I bent the fender back away from the tire as much as I could. While driving back to Montgomery County...no more rubbing re the tire ....and driving seems to be normal (frame bent ?). The headlight lens doesn't appear to be cracked or damaged. One other issue...obviously very inconvenient...is that the fender was knocked back enough that the diver door won't open more than a couple of inches . I had to crawl out of the car when we pulled over. I'm thinking that removing the fender would alleviate this problem (????). So...a few questions: 1. Will removing the fender 'free up' the driver door?....or is that an unknown unless someone is physically looking at the car. 2. Is it legal to drive in Texas without a front fender as long as the headlight and turn signals function normally? 3. If I take it to a very reasonable local shop ($10.00 to swap my battery, under $20.00 (IIRC) to replace my control arm bolts, and not much more (IIRC) to clean my rear brakes) would they be able to remove the fender for me easily...or would I have to have a body shop do that even though I'm not going to 'have it fixed' (I have really high liability limits, but I don't carry comp or collision (I don't carry a note, and can replace if needed) ? 4. Taking into consideration that I don't have comp or collision, and that it seems to be driving okay......Do I need to determine if the frame is bent? I was going to take this car to California next week, but now I'll take my 2014.

10-08-2014, 08:24 AM	#4
CTScott ULTIMATE View User's Garage Drives: 09 5dr LB, 2x 08 3dr LB Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: USA, CT Posts: 13,460	The fender is very easy to remove and it very flexible (to where you can give it a few stomps and maybe get it back into a usable shape. The door not opening is likely just the fender. If the door frame was bent, the A pillar would be misshapen a bit and the windshield would have cracked. To remove the fender you have to remove the bumper and the fender liner on that side. It would be difficult to drive without the fender unless you also left the bumper off. By the way, maybe that wheel is cursed, since this is its second time being involved in a wreck. __________________

10-08-2014, 11:34 AM	#5
bronsin Drives: 2009 Base Hatch 2 Dr Auto Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: nj Posts: 4,790	What rotten luck sorry to hear about the accident! Glad it wasnt the new Yaris! Yeah a mistake I made when I was 18 and have seen several times since then. Typically the person in front has a MILE before the next car, they act like theyre going...then they dont! Its a trap and I blame the person in front too! __________________ Synthetic Oil: Its All In Your Head

10-09-2014, 11:45 AM	#9
Hershey Drives: 08 Yaris sedan auto / Fit auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: northeast Posts: 2,897	That's a shame . No one is perfect . Most important is no one is hurt and only frayed nerves . Last edited by Hershey; 10-09-2014 at 12:13 PM.

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10-07-2014, 11:38 PM	#2
nookandcrannycar Drives: 2('14+'07)MT 3d ,wHandCrWndws! Join Date: May 2009 Location: S.MontgomeryCnty,TX(HoustonMSA) '07=BayouBlue=300,125miles=OrigOwnr '14=ClassicSilvr=29,059miles Posts: 4,839	bump

10-08-2014, 01:50 AM	#3
jcboy Drives: Sedan 07 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Asia Posts: 478	Im sorry to hear about what happened and glad no one was hurt. You dont have to remover the fender. You can pry the fender with screwdriver so that the part of the panel near the door goes inside. This should make the fender not aligned with the door panel but temporarily just so it clears the door when you open it until you get it fixed. (Talking from experience when a motorcycle hit my front driver side fender with a different car back then) Re the frame being bent, i dont know until you have it visually inspected. Other than that your camber and toe measurement should give you an idea of the damage to the front suspension.

10-09-2014, 11:25 PM	#11
Hershey Drives: 08 Yaris sedan auto / Fit auto Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: northeast Posts: 2,897	Ours went up after a no fault accident . Was rear ended while waiting for red light to change during a wet snow and the the other car totaled it . Pushed it out into the intersection . Only had one or 2 payments left on the loan . Never fails . Hope you have better days ahead .

10-10-2014, 06:38 PM	#13
Kal-El Drives: 07 Yaris S Sedan 5-Speed Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 2,179	Sorry to hear. After you've driven this car all over the country for 300,000 miles, it must carry a lot of sentimental value. In a way, it's worse than crashing a new car.

10-12-2014, 07:38 PM	#17
yougojay 25, 550 MILES! View User's Garage Drives: Yaris L Coupe Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: East End Posts: 500	So sorry to hear this Nook. Glad it was at a very low speed and all are OK.