It was icy in Kansas City yesterday morning. On my way to the office another driver lost control going the opposite direction. He ended up in my lane, and I t-boned him. Both cars are probably totaled, and the other driver is still in the hospital from head injuries. I had my seat belt on, and only suffered bumps and bruises, mostly from the air bag and seat belt. But, I am home in one piece. Check out my blog here for some pictures of my car. It was only about two months old, but the frame is bent, so it will probably get totaled.

Just glad I didn't have a wedding to shoot this weekend. I have backup people, but I hope I never have to use them.

Glad to hear you have no serious injuries. Hope the other driver recovers quickly. I always wear my seat belt after driving by a horrific accident.

Hey man...sorry to hear about your accident, but happy to see that you ok...


::conrad::

Just heard from the family of the other driver. He is going home today. They kept him overnight for observation. He is going to be OK. Really glad he is OK.

I'm certainly glad that you are okay, but you won't ever find me wearing a seatbelt. My mother, father, grandmother, and cousin were all in accidents in which wearing the seatbelt would have trapped them in place and thus have been crushed to death.

No matter how you feel on that subject though, the important things is always that those involved are okay.

OK Travis. Whatever you say. But when you are ejected and the car rolls over you after the outside rear view mirror has broken off and the remaining stud drills right into your temple, those you leave behind will be wishing you did. This happened in a case I handled. The odds of being hurt w/o a seatbealt are way way higher than the opposite and I would hate to see your personal "statistics" hurt or kill you.

John Power wrote:
OK Travis. Whatever you say. But when you are ejected and the car rolls over you after the outside rear view mirror has broken off and the remaining stud drills right into your temple, those you leave behind will be wishing you did. This happened in a case I handled. The odds of being hurt w/o a seatbealt are way way higher than the opposite and I would hate to see your personal "statistics" hurt or kill you.

They may be, however, I believe that I have the right to make that choice for myself. I do not believe that the government has the right to make laws requiring me to perform an action that, in some cases, can kill me. I understand laws requiring helmets or belts for underage passangers, especially those under the legal age to drive by themselves, however, I believe that an adult should be legally allowed to make their own choices, for better or worse.

However, if you've worked on one case where it killed a person to not have a seatbelt (and is there really a guarantee that they would have survived with a belt?) and I know of a minimum of four cases where a belt would have ABSOLUTELY killed members of my immediate family, I still have a more compelling case. I am NOT saying that belts are a poor choice or advising others not to wear them, I am simply stating why I will not wear them myself.

I'd be very interested to know what the situation where a seat belt will trap you is. Unless you have a car that breaks down every time you happen to cross a railway line or you like driving into lakes I cannot imagine what that situation is. Even if you do drive into a lake, if you are not wearing a seat belt you'll probably end up hitting something and drowning as you'll knock yourself unconscious.

Personally I always wear a seat belt. And since I've been in a car that rolled over I know it is the right thing to do. Once it stopped rolling and landed upside down, I undid the seat belt and went out through the window. Then I walked back and collect my coat, bag, phone and other things that were ejected out of the car while it was rolling. If I wasn't wearing, the ambulance crew would probably be doing the same thing collecting not just my things by little bits of me as well. So there is your case where it saved a person. Total injury to me, a few scrapes on my legs from them hitting the console and door, a friction burn on my arm from the airbag and a few cuts from bits of glass.

And I have seen a few cars crashed on the motorway where it is very very clear that driver didn't wear a seat belt. There was a head-sized mark on the windscreen and a body bag next to the car.

You've never seen a crash test then? No wait, that must be a conspiracy by the car industries and the government, just like the lunar landings.

Anyway, it's your life, your choice.

I'm glad you are ok. Dennis had a bad crash about 8 years ago. His seat belt saved him along with the fact it was a toyota and the crumble zones protected the engine from coming into the cab. It pays to research how safe the car is that you're driving and to always keep your eyes on other drivers that may pull out in front of you. I took a defensive driving class once and it had kept me from being in major accident at least twice. I hope the other driver recovers as well. Take care, Yvette

Really glad you are OK. How's your face? Mine was burned by my airbag -- eyes were injured, too. Hope yours are ok!

Dang - -2 month old car. That really, really stinks. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you won't get anything close to what you paid for it. Ugh! Ultimately it doesn't matter- - you are safe and alive!

I'm going to second panos.v -- I, too, was in a rolled vehicle. And I'm pretty sure the seatbelt saved me. I had no injuries at all and ran 14 miles the next day (was training for a marathon). I've been in multiple car accidents and I have few injuries as a result of wearing a seatbelt.

It doesn't look too bad for a T-bone impact, actually. Glad to hear all are OK.

You'll be surprised at what they can fix! Looks about $5-$8K worth of damage, depending on if the motor was impacted at all.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and prayers. i am going to see my doc this morning, because my right shoulder and arm are really sore. That is the area that took the brunt of the airbag. I have lots of bruises all up and down my legs from going up against the under side of the dash. There is an airbag under the dash to protect the knees, and it deployed too. Didn't get any damage to the face from the airbag (too bad, it might have helped my looks ) but it did break my glasses. I look like a 50's geek with tape around the nose piece.

I know there are those who won't wear seat belts for a variety of reasons, but, some of you might remember my son being killed last year. If he had been wearing his seatbelt, he might not have been thrown from the car as it flipped. That is why I always wear mine and suggest to others to do the same. But, I am not trying to start a controversy over seat belt laws or anything like that.

Two month old SUV. Really sucks. But, I have what is called GAP insurance on the loan, so that pays off the difference between what the insurance gives me and what I owe on the car. But, now I have to go through the whole buying a car thing again. I will be off work for about a week, since my insurance company requires even the owner to follow the rules about doctor's release. Guess I will get some stuff done at home on this computer.

FSJ_Guy wrote:
It doesn't look too bad for a T-bone impact, actually. Glad to hear all are OK.

You'll be surprised at what they can fix! Looks about $5-$8K worth of damage, depending on if the motor was impacted at all.



I have been told this weekend that airbags alone are around 2K to replace, and two of them deployed. Also, the frame is bent up in the center, under the drivers seat. The drivers door is bent up out of the doorframe, and the back axle is bent sideways. Since it is a true 4WD, it has two drive shafts, which transferred a lot of the force to the back axle. Many states have passed laws that require totaling a car if more than one airbag deployes, because of hidden damage to frames and such. I don't know if Missouri is one of them, but I will sure find out. I am going by the body shop this morning after visiting the doctor to see what they have found.

Glad you're okay, hope the other driver gets to shake things off as well. I always wear it. It's not me I worry about, it's the people out there who think it's okay to roll through a stopsign on a sidestreet intersecting a main road. People can be horrible judges of speed/distance and be overconfident of their accelerator pedal...

I'll never forget my accident. Had it not been for the broken ac that lead to the window bring rolled down, my head would have smashed into the window, leaving me worse off than I look now :-p

You can be the safest driver in the world, you still share the same road as someone who took the drivers test 6 times.

UPDATE...They totaled my car on Monday. As I suspected, the frame was buckled under the drivers seat. I had stopped at Starbucks that morning and had a big cup of java in the cup holder. Turns out it ended up all over the electronics inside the dashboard. The stereo alone was going to be $1500.00 to replace. Came as a package with the Sport Trim, so I didn't know how much the stereo actually cost. I also found out that the airbags are a bit more expensive than I thought. The body shop told me that in the USA they are not allowed to use refurbished airbag parts, they have to be factory new. They also have to replace all the sensors, not just the one that activated, and they have to replace the computer that controls them. The airbags were going to cost about $4000.00 to replace.

I am feeling better, although I still have pain in my chest from the airbag. I bruised my sternum, and two doctors have now told me that I could hurt from that for 6 months. Every time you breathe it moves, so it has a harder time healing. I have been back to work for a couple of weeks, but it still hurts to hold a camera for too long at one time. I shot a middle school basketball tournament over the New Year's weekend, and I was one tired puppy after that was through.

Went out last night to pick out a new car. Got the same exact car, in a different color. I figured that I more or less walked away from a near 60mph crash, so I would stay with that car.

So long as you don't drive with the attitude that safety gear makes you indestructible then all is good. Anything that makes you less likely to have an accident in the first place is usually a good thing - hence the argument that drivers would be safer with large spikes on the steering wheel rather than airbags. More realistically, I know I ride my motorcycle a lot slower without a helmet than with.

Most of the worst driving that I encounter is by tw*ts in 4x4s who have bought a tank to compensate for their own bad driving, not to mention cyclists in full protective gear, riding around pedestrians on the pavement (grrr....)

Wow I never realised seatbelts were optional in the US

In Australia they are compulsory and you get fined and even lose your licence if you don't wear them

sealsphoto glad you're relatively ok, did the airbag deployment affect your hearing adversely?

Glad OP is OK.

What kind of crash causes your seat belt to malfunction? Funny I've never heard of that happening. Seems like you would because the person it happened to would sue the car company for a billion dollars.

Glad to hear you are OK! Hope GAP insurance took care of everything!

Travis Biggs wrote:
They may be, however, I believe that I have the right to make that choice for myself. I do not believe that the government has the right to make laws requiring me to perform an action that, in some cases, can kill me. I understand laws requiring helmets or belts for underage passangers, especially those under the legal age to drive by themselves, however, I believe that an adult should be legally allowed to make their own choices, for better or worse.

However, if you've worked on one case where it killed a person to not have a seatbelt (and is there really a guarantee that they would have survived with a belt?) and I know of a minimum of four cases where a belt would have ABSOLUTELY killed members of my immediate family, I still have a more compelling case. I am NOT saying that belts are a poor choice or advising others not to wear them, I am simply stating why I will not wear them myself.


There are always folk that have strange or odd ideas. It is unimaginable in the modern age that one would not wear a seatbelt and it is irresponsible and inconsiderate not to wear the seat belt. The assertion that "an adult should be legally allowed to make their own choices" chafes at the fabric of a society and nation.

This assertion falls to the fallacy of special pleading and ought be reconsidered or considered more deeply. The same person that makes this assertion with respect to seat belts would likely phone the fire department or believe that the military entity is justified in maintaining their fallacy of security.

Wearing seatbelts is the smallest of civic duty one could exercise - it is respectful of your family, your children and your country. It is naive and cowardly to neglect your seatbelt and the fallacy of 'adult decision' is wrong at every turn.

glad you and the other driver are safe. yes seatbelts are a must. did any of your photogear get damaged?

RedWhiteandRed wrote:
There are always folk that have strange or odd ideas.

I thought that was supposed to be you?

Actually with your little speech back there, I think it still is.

"This assertion falls to the fallacy of special pleading and ought be reconsidered or considered more deeply. The same person that makes this assertion with respect to seat belts would likely phone the fire department or believe that the military entity is justified in maintaining their fallacy of security."

Would someone interpret this for me