I NEED some information.

I just got word from my insurance company that they are finding me 100% at fault for the accident I was just in due to the way the police report was written. If it's the same report I have, I don't see how they could have come to that assumption.

I did some investigation of my own (since the police didn't measure my tire marks, I did).

I need to know the stopping distance for a 2001 Tiburon 4 wheel lock from 60-0 mph. (50-0 mph would be best, because it's a 50 mph zone)

Look here for diagram of the accident:
Diagram of Accident

Here's the skid info I found...

Left wheel skid ONLY, due to me trying to manuver around this guy: 39 ft.

All wheel skid: 46 ft

After collosion skid (my rear end skidding around): 11 ft

I had one passanger other than myself in the car. Total passenger weight is 390 lbs + 50 Lbs of stuff in the trunk.

I have 205x40r17 Falken Zien tires. Stock Brake system.

Can anyone figure out how fast I was going? I think I was traveling between 50 and 55 mph. The police report says I was going between 55 and 70 mph... which is bogus, cause my airbags would have gone off and I'd probably be in a hospital.

[ April 10, 2003, 11:07 AM: Message edited by: Spiffywerks ]

 

Little Update:

I found Stopping distance for a 1998 Tib.

Braking Distance (60-0 mph): 148 ft.

So I still had over 50 feet to go if I was doing 60 mph... which I wasn't... interested...

And thanks to itsBrad and Random for giving me some advice on what to do so far..

 

if you (or anyone) can get the friction coefficent for those tires (or that tire compound) on whatever condition pavement the accident too place on, it wouldn't be hard to figure a theoretical distance.

 

Should of just aimed for the front of the vehicle lol in many states hitting the rear of any vehicle would suggest fault to whomever is in back. Since you hit the rear of the vehicle you were considered at fault for which you were either speeding or not paying attention to your surroundings. Yes the van should of yeilded but thats how it goes.

 

unfortanetyly aoshi is right....another thing...you were in the left lane...was there anybody to your right??? did you just pass somebody...because if your were just in the left lane and nobody was in right lane...you are breaking the law....the law requires you to move to right after passing...therefore if your not passing anybody and sitting in the left lane...you could get a ticket for improper use of the left lane!! thats another consideration...because say that your where in the right lane when they got out infront of you you could have avoided the accident totally...thats probably what the insurance company is looking at. your best bet anyway would have been to move to the center lane...so if they hit your car...its their fault...if you swerve left...the car brakes....nothing...but if go right and the car breaks...bang! i have taken sooooo many classes due to my accumulation of points that i have acctually learned alot about how to handle situations...just a thought and thats my .02

[ April 10, 2003, 06:02 AM: Message edited by: ONLY1DB ]

 

let's try to keep this thread on topic about braking distances.

If you guys want to discuss the accident, please start a seperate thread in "off topic".

I'm moving this to BRAKING/Suspension/Wheels

 

Looking at your little diagram i think that you still would of hit for another 50 feet you would still be slowing to a stop. Also you skidded that means that your wheels probably locked. Do you have ABS? If not you should pump your breaks? Also another think you should of done but it has its faults is down shifting at the same time as breaking.

[ April 10, 2003, 09:21 AM: Message edited by: Aoshi ]

 

In a perfect world:

spiffys thoughts... "Oh no a van, time to aim for good spot IF I cant stop. Now I need to take the left foot pressin clutch, right foot needs to press brake (but pump the right foot). Perfect stop no accident.

In real life: OOOHHHH SHHIIIITTTT... SMACK!!!

 

When C&D and Motorweek test vehicles for stopping distances they RARELY, RARELY lock up the wheels when measuring the distance. They use constant and increasing pressure applied to the brake pedal to give a round figure of the stopping distance. If you lock up the brakes your stopping distance will increase.

 

In response to a couple of comments about the accident itself:

The guy was moving making a left turn, I swerved right to try and avoid hitting him completely. If I had gone straight, I would have smacked his driver's side door. He WAS moving and STOPPED at the last second, which caused me to hit his rear SIDE quarter panel. (I didn't rear end him) Had he not stopped, I would have missed him due to my manuvering. Also, There were no other cars driving the same way I was, so I was able to swerve to the right.

So here's the senario:
Choice 1:
Go Straight, smack into his driver's side door causing major damage to his car, to my car and more than likely bodily injury to at least him.

Choice 2:
Swerve left. I get side swiped and pushed into oncoming traffic. Or driving into oncoming traffic.

Choice 3: (The choice I made)
Swerve Right. Try to avoid hitting him all together, he keeps driving to make his left, I miss his rear section. If I do it (Like I did) it's only minor damage to his car, and the damage is on MY side, not my passanger's side, keeping my passanger safe.

Now do you believe I made the better choice by swerving to the right? The problem is the guy stopped, after jumping out in front of me, so both of my lanes were blocked. I did what I could.

Stopping distance stuff:

My tires DID lock up. It happened so fast, like I would remember to "pump" the breaks. We are talking about 2 seconds here. (full wheel skid is only 46 ft mind you.)

I do not have ABS. It's your typical blacktop pavement. And my tires didn't start skidding until I hit the painted lines.