My Porsche Crash - A positive view
Discussion
Good morning all
Yesterday I was unfortunately involved in an RTI on the motorway, luckily no-one was injured.
My 987.2 Cayman S, with PDK and almost every option, didn’t fair so well and will most likely be written off. I’ll post a few pics and more details once insurance/police investigations are complete.
I am beyond gutted, having worked hard to get this car, truly my pride and joy, I feel sick just thinking of all the lost time, effort and work I went through to get it to the ‘almost perfect’ standard it was in. I just hope the insurance company will pay out a reasonable amount (updates to follow).
As the title says, there is a positive side to this, and that is the frankly amazing safety systems built into these cars. Without going into too much detail the rear of another car ended up on my bonnet and an inch (literally) from my windscreen after an incident that took place at an effective speed of around 40mph. Once the airbag was out the way I could see no movement or damage to any of the interior, the crumple zones did their bit and the structure bent away from the cockpit, keeping me safe.
I am literally unscathed, and a day later have no bruises, aches or pains anywhere.
So if you are unfortunate enough to have an incident in one of these, there is some comfort in knowing they have been built to keep you alive if the worst happens.
Updates to follow...
Yesterday I was unfortunately involved in an RTI on the motorway, luckily no-one was injured.
My 987.2 Cayman S, with PDK and almost every option, didn’t fair so well and will most likely be written off. I’ll post a few pics and more details once insurance/police investigations are complete.
I am beyond gutted, having worked hard to get this car, truly my pride and joy, I feel sick just thinking of all the lost time, effort and work I went through to get it to the ‘almost perfect’ standard it was in. I just hope the insurance company will pay out a reasonable amount (updates to follow).
As the title says, there is a positive side to this, and that is the frankly amazing safety systems built into these cars. Without going into too much detail the rear of another car ended up on my bonnet and an inch (literally) from my windscreen after an incident that took place at an effective speed of around 40mph. Once the airbag was out the way I could see no movement or damage to any of the interior, the crumple zones did their bit and the structure bent away from the cockpit, keeping me safe.
I am literally unscathed, and a day later have no bruises, aches or pains anywhere.
So if you are unfortunate enough to have an incident in one of these, there is some comfort in knowing they have been built to keep you alive if the worst happens.
Updates to follow...
OirishKev said:
Sorry to see this.
Did we wave at each other whilst heading east on Friday? I was in a White Cayman R?
Hi Kev, yes it might have been me. Hopefully not long till I can get back to waving in mutual appreciation again. Did we wave at each other whilst heading east on Friday? I was in a White Cayman R?
It’s not quite the same in my Hyundai Q10 (I think) courtesy car.
Yes that’s the one, a minor incident up ahead (bad lane change or similar) had a concertina effect, leading the chap in front to emergency stop to a standstill from 65.
I was a fair distance away, but when I realised he was coming to a stop it was too late, and there was a car in lane 2 so I couldn’t turn in as the incident would have been much worse!
Having had the time to reflect and review the dash cam footage, I don’t believe speed or distance to the car in front was the issue here. Bad lane discipline was the cause, we all see it every day and when it’s busy, as in my case, there is often no safe escape.
I was a fair distance away, but when I realised he was coming to a stop it was too late, and there was a car in lane 2 so I couldn’t turn in as the incident would have been much worse!
Having had the time to reflect and review the dash cam footage, I don’t believe speed or distance to the car in front was the issue here. Bad lane discipline was the cause, we all see it every day and when it’s busy, as in my case, there is often no safe escape.
Glad you came out of it unscathed and presumably the driver of the car ahead of you as well. Never good to have to test crash safety features but good to know they did their thing.
But, without wishing to add insult to injury, if you ran into the car in front of you then you were either following too closely or not paying attention. If he was able to panic stop from 65mph then you should have been able to do exactly the same.
But, without wishing to add insult to injury, if you ran into the car in front of you then you were either following too closely or not paying attention. If he was able to panic stop from 65mph then you should have been able to do exactly the same.
gwsinc said:
Having had the time to reflect and review the dash cam footage, I don’t believe speed or distance to the car in front was the issue here.
This must be wrong. I find it unbelievable how close people drive to the car in front. A good rule is to leave at least a 2-second gap, and preferably more.James McScotty said:
This must be wrong. I find it unbelievable how close people drive to the car in front. A good rule is to leave at least a 2-second gap, and preferably more.
Whilst the 2 second rule is often quoted to be a safe distance to follow the car in front, it can't protect you in all circumstances. If a car on the opposite carriageway/side of the road happens to cross the divider and crashes head on in to the car in front, bringing it to a stand in .001 of a nanosecond and 3 inches, if you were all doing 60mph at the time, even a 5 second gap is not likely to prevent you from rear ending the wreckage.On the basis that we don't know what the exact circumstances of the incident were, none of us can correctly make any assumption that just because the OP ended up with a car on his bonnet, he was necessarily following too close.
DIW35 said:
Whilst the 2 second rule is often quoted to be a safe distance to follow the car in front, it can't protect you in all circumstances. If a car on the opposite carriageway/side of the road happens to cross the divider and crashes head on in to the car in front, bringing it to a stand in .001 of a nanosecond and 3 inches, if you were all doing 60mph at the time, even a 5 second gap is not likely to prevent you from rear ending the wreckage.
On the basis that we don't know what the exact circumstances of the incident were, none of us can correctly make any assumption that just because the OP ended up with a car on his bonnet, he was necessarily following too close.
True, but it's a fair assumption given that the OP would probably have included a small detail like that!On the basis that we don't know what the exact circumstances of the incident were, none of us can correctly make any assumption that just because the OP ended up with a car on his bonnet, he was necessarily following too close.
DIW35 said:
Whilst the 2 second rule is often quoted to be a safe distance to follow the car in front, it can't protect you in all circumstances. If a car on the opposite carriageway/side of the road happens to cross the divider and crashes head on in to the car in front, bringing it to a stand in .001 of a nanosecond and 3 inches, if you were all doing 60mph at the time, even a 5 second gap is not likely to prevent you from rear ending the wreckage.
On the basis that we don't know what the exact circumstances of the incident were, none of us can correctly make any assumption that just because the OP ended up with a car on his bonnet, he was necessarily following too close.
Crikey that's a rare set of circumstances. You may have missed where the OP posted:On the basis that we don't know what the exact circumstances of the incident were, none of us can correctly make any assumption that just because the OP ended up with a car on his bonnet, he was necessarily following too close.
"Yes that’s the one, a minor incident up ahead (bad lane change or similar) had a concertina effect, leading the chap in front to emergency stop to a standstill from 65.
I was a fair distance away, but when I realised he was coming to a stop it was too late, and there was a car in lane 2 so I couldn’t turn in as the incident would have been much worse!"
The point behind the 2 second rule is that it is supposed to allow for a driver's mental and then physical reaction times and leave a margin for error as well. Under normal circumstances (the car ahead braking as hard as it can, not the scenario above about debris from the other carriageway bringing it to a halt in a tenth of a nanosecond) if a 2 second gap isn't enough then me thinks the driver is not fully concentrating on the road ahead.
Other drivers using your safety margin as their bit of tarmac - that happens all too frequently. You then have to either create a bigger gap for yourself (and risk the same happening again and again) and/or increase your level of focus to keep you safe within the smaller gap. I try where possible to look through the windscreen of the car ahead to understand what they're about to react to rather than waiting for them to react.
Isn't a full-on panic stop part of the driving test to help people realise just how quickly their car can slow down and what it feels like?
Other drivers using your safety margin as their bit of tarmac - that happens all too frequently. You then have to either create a bigger gap for yourself (and risk the same happening again and again) and/or increase your level of focus to keep you safe within the smaller gap. I try where possible to look through the windscreen of the car ahead to understand what they're about to react to rather than waiting for them to react.
Isn't a full-on panic stop part of the driving test to help people realise just how quickly their car can slow down and what it feels like?
that's all 100% accurate AW10 - but in reality, everyday people are distracted when driving.
They aren't 100% focussed as you described.
That 2 second reaction time never needs to be deployed to many people, and thus they don't take it seriously as they think it will never happen to them.
I am in no way casting aspersions on the OP's driving, he may well literally have had no reasonable chance and this was indeed the true definition of an accident.
I consider myself reasonably well trained at driving, and very focussed. I can honestly say that if I'm driving the Range Rover 200 miles at 70mph versus riding my motorbike the focus can on occasions be slightly different between the two.
I am used to avoiding high speed debris, accidents etc on a regular basis with single make racing.......and still on occasions some things happen when driving that I could have anticipated or reacted to more quickly depending on the circumstance.
In short, we are all human and s
t happens 
Glad you're ok OP - sorry about the car..............
They aren't 100% focussed as you described.
That 2 second reaction time never needs to be deployed to many people, and thus they don't take it seriously as they think it will never happen to them.
I am in no way casting aspersions on the OP's driving, he may well literally have had no reasonable chance and this was indeed the true definition of an accident.
I consider myself reasonably well trained at driving, and very focussed. I can honestly say that if I'm driving the Range Rover 200 miles at 70mph versus riding my motorbike the focus can on occasions be slightly different between the two.
I am used to avoiding high speed debris, accidents etc on a regular basis with single make racing.......and still on occasions some things happen when driving that I could have anticipated or reacted to more quickly depending on the circumstance.
In short, we are all human and s
t happens Glad you're ok OP - sorry about the car..............
Hi all. Many good points here and if you take an unemotional step back the facts were that I was too close to conduct an emergency stop, I’ve accepted that!
But my point in my first post was that the gap between us was on the safer side of a daily M27 commute. Obviously not safe enough and I learned the hard way.
I’ll post the video when I have the chance later today and please feel free to comment, it’ll be a good lesson to us all.
When you watch it look out for the emergency stop flashing brake lights on the Insignia in front, which in the heat of the moment, led me to believe momentarily that he had come off the brakes, delaying my reaction. We’ll never know how long this delayed my reaction by, but it was probably significant enough to increase the impact speed.
The good news is the insurance company have offered me a fair amount and I already have (quite a special) 987 CS lined up. Watch this space!
But my point in my first post was that the gap between us was on the safer side of a daily M27 commute. Obviously not safe enough and I learned the hard way.
I’ll post the video when I have the chance later today and please feel free to comment, it’ll be a good lesson to us all.
When you watch it look out for the emergency stop flashing brake lights on the Insignia in front, which in the heat of the moment, led me to believe momentarily that he had come off the brakes, delaying my reaction. We’ll never know how long this delayed my reaction by, but it was probably significant enough to increase the impact speed.
The good news is the insurance company have offered me a fair amount and I already have (quite a special) 987 CS lined up. Watch this space!
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