Laus Mercedei Benzis

[Jona Lendering]

Wow - if things had been a very, very little bit different tonight, my friends, you would not be reading this.

I had to lecture in a town called Bussum, which is normally accessible by train, but not tonight, and therefore, I took a taxi from a nearby railroad station. We had just left and I was telling my driver that he had forgotten to switch on the fare meter, when unexpectedly, a car that had been waiting for a cyclist to pass, accelerated and hit the taxi from the right. The image of the approaching car is burned on my retina; it was followed by the dry "DONK" sound of the impact. The other car's momentum must have been pretty great, because the taxi, a heavy Mercedes Benz, was not just hit, but shoved across the left lane to the side walk, which was fortunately empty.

I could not open the doors on my side of the car, where we had been hit, and when I finally left the taxi through the driver's door, I saw the taxi driver speaking to a young man, who was shocked and explained that he did not understand how he could have ignored the right-of-way rule. He had been watching that cyclist, had accelerated, and had not noticed the swiftly approaching taxi. The talk was very friendly and calm, as it should be, because -and I can still not believe this- none of us was hurt. It's amazing how efficient safety belts are. One or two witnesses gave their addresses, photos were made of the two totaled cars, and while I was making a phone call to cancel the lecture, the police arrived.

When I left the scene, I for the first time realized that the damage to the side of the taxi was immense. It was only now that I realized that the place of impact had been only a few centimeters away from me. As I said: had things been a very, very little bit different, you would not be reading this. So I decided to go for a drink.

PS:
I now understand why Janis Joplin was praying for a Mercedes Benz. :wink: The side impact bars and side crumple zone are indeed life-saving attributes.

[MARCVS PETRONIVS MAIVS]

Good to see you are still alive, I know what its like.

Years ago I was saved by wearing a heavy jacket that I NEVER wore before. The day I wore it was the day I got hit riding a bike, and landed upside down, head first on the pavement, with the weight of my entire body on my neck. Luckily the heavy quilted hood of the jacket absorbed the impact and softened the impact on the neck/spinal cord.

Perhaps God/Jupiter/Budha or whatever god you believe in must like you :wink:

[M. Demetrius]

Glad to hear you're all right, Jona. Car accidents sure happen fast, don't they? I've been in a few, and no matter what we think ahead of time, there isn't time to do anything at all. Sometimes loose items seem to float past, but they're really moving at high speed...I guess perception speeds up, I don't know.

I'd like to bottle that sped up perception, if I could, without the auto accident part.

Again, glad you're ok, and all the others, too. Um, was the cab ride free? :roll:

[Praefectusclassis]

Yikes! Glad you're okay Jona!

[Martin Moser]

Glad to hear you (and everybody else) came out of this uninjured, Jona!

[jvrjenivs]

yeah, good to see you're totally okay.

I also know from personal experience what a small impact can do on a car, and what it is to realize after you got out of the car that your door was hit has came a couple of inches to the inside.

[Jona Lendering]

what a small impact can do on a car

That is indeed the shocking part of the story: seeing that dent in the car, and knowing that if the other car would have collided with the taxi a bit more, you'd be dead. Of course, you're theoretically aware that cars are constructed with side impact bars, and that to create a deeper hole, exponentially more energy is needed - but that is only a theoretical awareness. To see that dent and realize that only fifteen centimeters separated you from disaster, is quite disheartening.

Perhaps God/Jupiter/Budha or whatever god you believe in must like you :wink:

That was one of my first thoughts as well, when I realized that the three of us were unharmed: "An angel must have been sitting on our shoulders", as the Dutch proverb says. And when I started to walk back to the station, I thought about what my father had said when he had survived falling from a balcony and breaking his neck: "Obviously, Someone Up There still needs me for something down here." When you're still in a state of shock, religion is always close. But on second thoughts - it would be a bit immodest to believe that God has for my benefit suspended the Laws of Physics.

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Glad to see you survived and the others Jona!
I had quite a severe accident years ago, before side impact bars came about, so I firmly believe there is someone looking out for us at these times...afew scratches and nothing more(at least that I know of)!

[Libitina]

Glad you are still with us Jona hock: must have been an awful shock.

[Octavianvs]

Jona - you were indeed furtunate it is good to come away uninjured sometimes though it can be a day or so later that you begin to realise injury. So if youve the time it may be a good idea to get checked out by your doctor. I was involved in a car crash about 4 years ago. I was driving down the motorway at about 80 and was struck on the side rear tire area by someone wishing to light his cigarette in his truck. this caused my car to start to spin sidewys but befor i could regain control I hit the concrete wall in the middle. both wheel were broken off on the driver side and teh car stops in the middle sideways on the motorway. when the rescure truck arrived I was finally out of my car and mad as hell as it was brand new ( not even a week) I only noticed bruises and was not in pain. teh next day I began to notice headache after a few days I went to get checked out and found to have injured my neck severe.... so take care of yourself and if you need to see your doctor.

[Robert Vermaat]

Shocking! Glad to hear there was no personal injury to anyone.

[hoplite14gr]

Glad to know you are OK.
All is well that ends well.

Kind regards

[Jona Lendering]

So if youve the time it may be a good idea to get checked out by your doctor.

Point noted.

[DECIMvS MERCATIvS VARIANvS]

This post has been removed by the author. I do not see a point to being on a forum where moderators such as Matt Lanteigne aka Magnus can practice harassment and hypocritical behavior. RAT seems to have slipped into a place where people of this ilk can do or say whatever they want AND since he's a moderator, I guess it's all okay w/ the forum owners. Good luck, but I am done here.

[Magnus]

Wow...you're lucky Jona. Take a hot bath so your muscles relax...you may be stiff and sore in a few days after the accident.