Fifty Plus (50+) - ......crash, Boom Bikemobile No More

......CRASH, BOOM BIKEMOBILE NO MORE

My wife and I were sitting in our Caravan at a stop light behind several cars this evening. I noticed a large black pickup screaming by us, squeezing through into the left turn lane. Immediately afterwards, CRASH, the car behind the pickup hit us full speed at about 40 mph. I don't even think the 18yo used her brakes!! She didn't realize there might be a car in front of the pickup aftrer he changed lanes at a high rate of speed.

We were pushed into the car in front of us. The front of the the car that hit us was totally destroyed, our rear end was destroyed, and the front heavily damaged.

The car in front was mildly damaged (a Lincoln Town Car) - 1993.

My bike mobile is no more. I hate trying to find a replacement vehicle that received as good of care as my car did. I am not sure if we will buy another Caravan or similar or not.

No one was injured, except my wife is feeling some "seat belt" pain. Everyone seems to have insurance.

The paramedics were great - so comforting to my wife, and the police were also great. We rode home on the rescue truck, and the medics took all of our stuff out of the car and put it in our garage. The police came by later to give us info about the other driver - we had not received the info exchange form before we left the scene.

I HATE SHOPPING FOR NEW(ER) CARS!

Wow! Glad to hear that you and your wife appear to be unharmed. I hope that continues to be the case. It may be a hassle, but cars are replaceable, not so with loved ones.

Your were lucky to get out of that one alive. I don't know what's going on, but they better start cracking down with these people with no insurance. I'm glad to hear your ok, take care.

Glad you and wife are ok. Sorry about the loss.

Hope no health problems pop up later.

Just a thought on bike-mobile

Honda Element.

Mount skewers on cover for spare tire.

I own 2 of them, and the ONLY other car I might consider is when the Honda Accords get the diesel for the 2009 models.

We test drove the Element last year. It was not our favorite, due to the seeming contortion and wrenching of the back to get the rear seats folded, and the fact that we need to carry a 3 wheeler in the back, and it wouldn't have fit.

However, we now have a foldable 3 wheeler which might work. We'll check it out. Thanks

We test drove the Element last year. It was not our favorite, due to the seeming contortion and wrenching of the back to get the rear seats folded, and the fact that we need to carry a 3 wheeler in the back, and it wouldn't have fit.

However, we now have a foldable 3 wheeler which might work. We'll check it out. Thanks

Glad your safe, Denver!

I think you would look awesome driving an Element! Windows down, sunglasses on, bass thumping, bikes on the back... :D

IMHO, you cant go wrong with anything that Honda or Toyota put out in the last few years. Two of my friends have Rav4's, amazing vehicles, worth checking out. The element holds a lot more room then you would expect.

I'm glad Nora and you weren't seriously hurt. Buying another vehicle is always a pain, but it could have worse...at least you will need another vehicle.

Dang braindead drivers. Glad y'all are alright.

I've lost TWO Caravans due to being rear-ended.

One was at a 3-lane stop light. I was driving in the middle lane, with cars on both sides of me. We all stopped when the light turned red. Then a blond woman, talking on a cell phone, driving a red SUV that was about 200 yards behind me, failed to see the light until too late and slammed into me. It is pretty bad when you miss 3 red lights hanging over the road and three sets of brake lights coming on in front of you.

She totalled my then 7-yr old Caravan. Got a good settlement for a vehicle with 145,000 miles on it, but as it was in perfect running condition (it drove as well as a new car), I lamented losing it. I thought I was going to get at least another 50,000 miles out of it.

I've lost TWO Caravans due to being rear-ended.

One was at a 3-lane stop light. I was driving in the middle lane, with cars on both sides of me. We all stopped when the light turned red. Then a blond woman, talking on a cell phone, driving a red SUV that was about 200 yards behind me, failed to see the light until too late and slammed into me. It is pretty bad when you miss 3 red lights hanging over the road and three sets of brake lights coming on in front of you.

She totalled my then 7-yr old Caravan. Got a good settlement for a vehicle with 145,000 miles on it, but as it was in perfect running condition (it drove as well as a new car), I lamented losing it. I thought I was going to get at least another 50,000 miles out of it.

I lost another Caravan when a guy went into a diabetic coma and turned left directly in front of me. Flipped his truck and totaled my Caravan. Is there a message here somewhere?

I'm glad you and your wife are OK. Good luck on finding the replacement bikemobile.

My daughter got broadsided while she was driving our Caravan around four years ago. Caravan, 0; daughter, 1. She came out of it in good shape, save for some rattled nerves.

Among you and I and Tom, we've lost five Caravans, and we and our families all OK. Guess they're reasonably tough vehicles.

Did the 18yr. girl at least finish her text message?

I've lost TWO Caravans due to being rear-ended.

One was at a 3-lane stop light. I was driving in the middle lane, with cars on both sides of me. We all stopped when the light turned red. Then a blond woman, talking on a cell phone, driving a red SUV that was about 200 yards behind me, failed to see the light until too late and slammed into me. It is pretty bad when you miss 3 red lights hanging over the road and three sets of brake lights coming on in front of you.

She totalled my then 7-yr old Caravan. Got a good settlement for a vehicle with 145,000 miles on it, but as it was in perfect running condition (it drove as well as a new car), I lamented losing it. I thought I was going to get at least another 50,000 miles out of it.

And her hair color had what exactly to do with this? :p

Just reporting the facts.

You can decide if it made any difference.

Just reporting the facts.

You can decide if it made any difference.
So you would have said, "This brunette woman..." if that were the case?

Yikes! Sorry about the accident but I'm glad you both are still OK!

So you would have said, "This brunette woman..." if that were the case?

Yes. That would be like me.

Yes. That would be like me.
What if she'd been wearing a hat? Would you have said, "This blond woman, wearing a hat and talking on her cellphone..." ?

If there is a upside to this, there were no destroyed bicycles in this crash. I've had two hitch racks destroyed without the loss of a bike.

On vacation last week with bikes on the back, I noticed that I spend a lot of time looking in the mirror to see what was coming from behind. Would that be Satchel Page syndrome?

She wasn't wearing a hat at all, nor was she blond. How in the world did that get in this thread? :D

I've been checking around on cars.com.

You simply can not get a better deal for your money than a near new Chrysler T&C or Dodge Grand Caravan.

I.e., 2006 Chrysler T&C (loaded), 25,000 miles for $12,900 and similar range of prices for Caravans, etc.. (http://www.cars.com/go/search/detail.jsp;?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&pageNumber=1&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=descending&sortfield=PRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7CE-%7CM-_10_%7CD-_121_%7CN-N%7CR-30%7CI-1%7CP-PRICE+descending%7CQ-descending%7CZ-80134&aff=national&paId=134198599&recnum=57&leadExists=true)

These cars fit our needs SO well. I hope that my old car is totaled. If I can get about $7-8,000 for it I will be happy with an upgrade for $5,000. We'll see what the adjustor has to say.

Glad you are both all right. The car, after all, can be replaced.

Paul

Seems a shame that 'you' have to spend money because of someone's inadvertence or lack of paying attention, but I guess that is why they are called accidents... glad you all came out OK...
peace...

Seems a shame that 'you' have to spend money because of someone's inadvertence or lack of paying attention, but I guess that is why they are called accidents... glad you all came out OK...
peace...

It gripes me greatly. You spend literally hours and extra money just shopping for a replacement vehicle. The insuance company never offers to pay for all of that effort.

I am seriously thinking of keeping track of my time, and then submitting it as a part of my claim to their insurance company - or small claims court.

You ALWAYS lose a substantial amount of cash in these crashes - it never fails. I have never had an accident that was my fault, nor has my wife.

Just reviewing:

1. My Pinto was hit and totaled during the night parked in front of our house and pushed to the other side of the driveway by a neighbor "high" on Nyquil - who then left the scene of the accident, but returned.

2. My wife's Plymouth was totaled from the rear while at a stop light - just like this accident. She was injured.

3. My older 1993 Caravan was totaled when a guy went into a diabetic coma and turned left DIRECTLY in front of us - no signal, no warning, we were about 10 feet away. My wife was injured.

4. My VW Bug was totaled by a lady on the freeway as I was stopped in a traffic jam. She "Just forgot to put on my brakes."

5. And then this!

And I drive terribly defensively, and my last ticket was in 1980 for being in a bus lane at 4:01 when the lane closed to buses at 4:00, and my watch was slow. I have never received a "moving" violation, and I have been driving since I was 12 - 55 years.

Glad to learn you and the wife are alright. Now that you don't have your bikemobile, you just became car free. Imagine what you'll save on insurance, fuel expenses, maintenance and repairs.

Glad to learn you and the wife are alright. Now that you don't have your bikemobile, you just became car free. Imagine what you'll save on insurance, fuel expenses, maintenance and repairs.

Dreamer! (I have 2 other cars, anyway)

It gripes me greatly. You spend literally hours and extra money just shopping for a replacement vehicle. The insuance company never offers to pay for all of that effort.

I am seriously thinking of keeping track of my time, and then submitting it as a part of my claim to their insurance company - or small claims court.

You ALWAYS lose a substantial amount of cash in these crashes - it never fails. I have never had an accident that was my fault, nor has my wife.

Just reviewing:

1. My Pinto was hit and totaled during the night parked in front of our house and pushed to the other side of the driveway by a neighbor "high" on Nyquil - who then left the scene of the accident, but returned.

2. My wife's Plymouth was totaled from the rear while at a stop light - just like this accident. She was injured.

3. My older 1993 Caravan was totaled when a guy went into a diabetic coma and turned left DIRECTLY in front of us - no signal, no warning, we were about 10 feet away. My wife was injured.

4. My VW Bug was totaled by a lady on the freeway as I was stopped in a traffic jam. She "Just forgot to put on my brakes."

5. And then this!

And I drive terribly defensively, and my last ticket was in 1980 for being in a bus lane at 4:01 when the lane closed to buses at 4:00, and my watch was slow. I have never received a "moving" violation, and I have been driving since I was 12 - 55 years.

So the laywer says about this last driver "Let me see, your a terrible defensive driver with such a short attention span that you don't even know what time of day it is. You don't find your violations to be moving and you have a history of illegal underage driving. And this is supposed to be your excuse?:

:(

When the Honda Element first came out, I swooned at the auto show. I really, really liked that car. Or van. Or whatever it is.

I had images of getting up into the mountains and camping out of it. I liked the idea of an easily cleanable interior. I test drove and thought...not bad... not bad. I even hung out at the Honda Element forum for a while, learning all kinds of interesting things from real owners.

I still have a soft spot for the Element -- its physical shape one either loves or hates, and I happen to love it. But my original puppy love for the vehicle has faded, and I probably wouldn't get one. The rear seats are too heavy and difficult to move around; the rear passengers are waaaaay back there, there have been lots of issues with cracked windshields (which may have been resolved by now), the mileage isn't all that outstanding, and so on. I do like the new colors, however!

Glad the two of you are ok. From your list of totaled cars above, it seems the best course of action would be to give up motor vehicles altogether.

I've been driving a Honda Odyssey for several years. Other than more road noise than I'd like, it has been a quality, reliable minivan.

So the laywer says about this last driver "Let me see, your a terrible defensive driver with such a short attention span that you don't even know what time of day it is. You don't find your violations to be moving and you have a history of illegal underage driving. And this is supposed to be your excuse?:

:(

The only thing moving regularly around here is ... well forget that, but my doc says it is a good thing. Hey, I used to drive on the off road in the mountains in a jeep - a long time before there was official "off-roading." That was a 1946 Willy's Jeep, BTW.

Did you know that the letters u..d..s..e.. can make

used
sued
dues
and
edus?

Glad to hear you and your wife are okay. The van can be replaced.

Well, we have a new Bikemobile!

My BM has to carry not only our bikes, but my sons 3 wheeler, as that is his favorite activity to do with us.

So, we ended up with a 2006




You guessed it




Minivan.


They work perfectly for us, and we found a nice low mileage (18,000 miles - "Certified" with an 8 year 80,000 mile warranty on the drive train, and the remaining normal regular warranty) Chrysler Town and Country with all the features we wanted and none that we didn't.

The thing we REALLY wanted was the "stow and go" seating, so we could EASILY convert to a 7 passenger van when needed, but use it for our bikes otherwise.

The nice thing is that both the 2nd and 3rd row rear seats (2nd row is Captains Chairs, 3rd row is 60/40 split bench) are stow and go, and as we never will be folding the 2nd row, there is a huge amount of storage space where the 2nd row seats stow, and that is where all the loose biking stuff and other stuff is now, instead of rolling around the floor of the van.

It is the extended van, but looks something like this.
http://www.motortrend.com/classifieds/popup.aspx?url=http://webiol.homenetinc.com/dealers/598/652/P802428Z.jpg

Here's what I'm amazed at... we often spend months choosing a computer, or a video camera or a bike (Tom Bombadil, substitute "years" for "months") but then we're often in a position of buying a car or house on the basis of spending a few hours time with it. In the case of the house, there's not even a good way to research* it. In the case of the car, you have to cram a ton of research into days, and buying used is even more* of a crap-shoot. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

Glad to hear you're both O.K. Is it possible to put a positive spin on the car shopping...was there anything about the Caravan that you could improve upon with this next purchase? Best of luck...

Glad to hear you're both O.K. Is it possible to put a positive spin on the car shopping...was there anything about the Caravan that you could improve upon with this next purchase? Best of luck...

Yes, the stow and go seating, and the fact that I needed to put about $1,000 into the old Caravan, and it had 85,000 miles.

Woo. This brings up bad memories. Was sitting at a light in Houston TX in a LeCar and some drunk/high a** ran a Chevy El Camino into me. Cops estimate the Chevy was going about 50 mph. Lucky to be alive and of course the LeCar was the size of a sardine tin when it was all over. Get this: no charges ever filed against the Chevy owner with no insurance and I have to go to war with my own insurance company to get a replacement. 23 years later my shoulder is still messed up.

Hey, I buy 3 bikes since Nov, 2006 and I'm cited for taking too long to buy bikes???
;)

I agree that the minivan is a great vehicle. They take a lot of criticism for being too bland, but they are one of the most utilatarian vehicles ever made. Much better for a lot of people than SUVs (and even for a lot of people who own SUVs). Smooth ride, great interior space, one of the safest vehicles on the road, very comfortable.

You're fast Dnvr! Glad you were able to find a suitable replacement-maybe even an upgrade! I went through a similar incident over the past year and surprisingly found the Insurance folks to be more reasonable than prior experiences. I did some research on my own and was able to get about $1000 more than they offered on the totaled vehicle. I also found out that use more years than just the exact model year if there are not a lot of local vehicles for comps.

Just glad you're not having to deal with medical costs as well.

I've come to really appreciate my van. I am so much more comfortable having my bike (and golf clubs) inside the van.

You're fast Dnvr! Glad you were able to find a suitable replacement-maybe even an upgrade! I went through a similar incident over the past year and surprisingly found the Insurance folks to be more reasonable than prior experiences. I did some research on my own and was able to get about $1000 more than they offered on the totaled vehicle. I also found out that use more years than just the exact model year if there are not a lot of local vehicles for comps.

Just glad you're not having to deal with medical costs as well.

I've come to really appreciate my van. I am so much more comfortable having my bike (and golf clubs) inside the van.

Last year we looked at a lot of vehicles, including sedans, the Element and the Scion van. We had already come to the conclusion that a minivan was once again our cup of tea prior to the accident.

So, with that info in mind, we just had to look at the variety of vans available. The Toyota and Honda, while nice, are extremely expensive used, and most of them have a lot of miles. The Chrysler minivans are rated a "best buy" by Consumer Reports, so then it came down to the features we REALLY wanted. I did alot of internet research, and was following up on a good deal, when I called a dealership, who had sold that van but had four on the lot meeting our requisites exactly.

We got the price we wanted, got them to fix a few minor things, and are on our way!

Glad that you are alright.


Do you think that Vehicular Driving(VD) might have avoided that accident. You know, take the lane and get the drivers respect. :p

Glad that you are alright.


Do you think that Vehicular Driving(VD) might have avoided that accident. You know, take the lane and get the drivers respect. :p

Hmm!

I WAS in the lane. Sitting there absolutely stopped.

Maybe I should place a big sign on the van saying, "Please respect me."

I shall refer the entire matter to the Advocacy and Safety forum. I am sure Helmet Head will have some advice.:D

I think you would look awesome driving an Element! Windows down, sunglasses on, bass thumping, bikes on the back... :D

I hope that I look good in an Element. I'm picking mine up on Friday.

I wanted a car that had enough space on the inside to carry our tandem and was short enough on the outside to fit into my garage. The Element and the short version of the Dodge Caravan were the only two cars I checked out that met both criteria.

Did the 18yr. girl at least finish her text message?

And her Starbucks?

And her Starbucks?

Now she is claiming it was my fault, that I hit the car in front of me first, and that caused her to hit me! Her parents need to teach her about honesty.

Last year we looked at a lot of vehicles, including sedans, the Element and the Scion van. We had already come to the conclusion that a minivan was once again our cup of tea prior to the accident.

So, with that info in mind, we just had to look at the variety of vans available. The Toyota and Honda, while nice, are extremely expensive used, and most of them have a lot of miles. The Chrysler minivans are rated a "best buy" by Consumer Reports, so then it came down to the features we REALLY wanted. I did alot of internet research, and was following up on a good deal, when I called a dealership, who had sold that van but had four on the lot meeting our requisites exactly.

We got the price we wanted, got them to fix a few minor things, and are on our way!


What did you find on your research for the Scion XB. It would appear that a bike will sit upright in the rear at least if you take off the front wheel and use a fork mount. I'm interested as this could also be my commuter vehicle.

What did you find on your research for the Scion XB. It would appear that a bike will sit upright in the rear at least if you take off the front wheel and use a fork mount. I'm interested as this could also be my commuter vehicle.

We need the van to be able to transport my son's large 3 wheeler. Ths Scion won't do that, and that was the end of our research.

I really like my Element. It is the '03 model, but those new SCs are sexy... for a box:rolleyes:. Those new Scion XBs look so much better than the older ones. That might be my next ride. I can fit quite a bit in the back of the Element. The only downside is the suicide doors in cramped parking. Makes it difficult to get people out of the back seats.
http://www.rabidchicken.com/misc/element.JPG

Now she is claiming it was my fault, that I hit the car in front of me first, and that caused her to hit me! Her parents need to teach her about honesty.

Serious?
I hope the investigating cops are smarter than this kid! :rolleyes:

Ally

I really like my Element. It is the '03 model, but those new SCs are sexy... for a box:rolleyes:. Those new Scion XBs look so much better than the older ones. That might be my next ride. I can fit quite a bit in the back of the Element. The only downside is the suicide doors in cramped parking. Makes it difficult to get people out of the back seats.
http://www.rabidchicken.com/misc/element.JPG
I keep finding myself coming back to the Element. I think it IS sexy, in it's own odd way. I like many of the new colors, as well. :)

Have your attorney prescribe those foam wiplash collars for you and the wife.At the pre- hearing,stare blankly and drool out the side of your mouth.Its all a "Dog and Pony Show" anyhow,and the girl that rear-ended you started it by lying.
You,ll be at the Mercedes dealership picking out one those new SEL300 SUV to throw the bikes in instead of a nasty old dodge van.