[Shotimes] SHO is DEAD

[Donald Mallinson]

GRant,

So glad you are OK.  Yes the SHO/Taurus is one of the safest 
cars on the road, but your attentiveness and planning also 
played a big part by your getting some momentum going before 
the impact.

I am pretty sure I have talked about this before, but it 
bears repeating.  Even if the soreness in your body goes 
away in a few days (it should) you may have damage that 
won't show up for years.

When I was about 21, I was in a roll-over accident (no seat 
belts, was thrown around like a shirt in a dryer in the back 
of a friends van that spun on slick roads into a ditch and 
flipped three times!).  We all walked away, and my neck was 
sore for a couple days.  never saw a doctor.

About 15 years later, I was getting an exam and the doctor 
commented that my neck/head movement was about 1/2 what it 
should be, I could not look over my own shoulder, not even 
90 degrees!

X-rays showed I had 2 vertebrae fused.  A little 
brainstorming revealed that the soreness in my neck those 
years ago, led to that damage.

If I had kept up certain exercises and made just a few 
specific doctors visits over those years, I would still have 
full range of motion.  This could even be life threatening, 
as doctors have told me that in a bad accident, my neck 
movement could break those bones and cause damage to my 
spine/nerves.

So please, make sure you let your doctor know that you want 
a full exam for trauma to your neck/spine and any other 
joints that might have been effected.  And keep a watch on them!

Don't sign away any insurance releases till you are SURE you 
won't develop a problem in the future, or get that specified.

The SHO can be replaced, you can't, so glad you are OK.  I 
hope the offending driver has her license taken away and 
gets proper punishment.  Most states now REALLY frown on 
construction workers getting harmed.

Don Mallinson

Grant wrote:

> Well ,while doing a part time job today I had me a little accident. I was
> sitting on a IH-10 East doing construction safety for a local road
> construction / repaving company, it was 7pm when we started, the SHO got
> killed at 7-29pm, a driver that had clear view of my car for about 3/4 of a
> mile with all the emergency lights going said she never saw my car unitl she
> was right up on me , she hit her barkes after she had hit me, which meant at
> that time her speed was estimated at approx 100 mph, but I say prob 85-90 at
> least. I was sitting still with the car in drive , left foor on brake and
> right foot on the gas and an exit planned for any mishap that might occur,
> well at 150 yds or so I saw that she wasnt going to change lanes or hit her
> brakes because the nose of her car never dipped down indicating she was
> braking. I nailed the throttle and was doing about 15-20 when I got hit. So
> I braced myself and pushed my back into the seat and leaned my head back and
> held it tight to the head rest knowing that most damage is caused by the
> second movement foward and the brian impacting the back of my skull. The
> skid marks that the other car left were only about 10-15 ft. long that tells
> me she hit the brakes at the time of impact, my skid marks taking off at WOT
> were almost that long.  (LOL) and then being spun around for about 100 ft.
> My first reaction was to get out of my car and check the other driver, but
> the back and neck said no, you aint going anywhere, so I didnt, I just
> waited for EMS to get to me to get me out. The back seat is not there
> anymore its just the front drivers seat, passenger seat went almost into the
> front dash while my seat broke and was laying down The roof is creased up
> about 6-8 inched all the way across, like I said the car looks like it has
> been put in the compactor and crushed until  the rear bumper cover met the
> back of the front seats. Well don't know if another SHO is in my future
> although this crash makes me a firm believer that this is one of the safest
> cars on the road , the EMS crew and fire dept. said from whats left of my
> car I must have had the hand of God behind me cause I should have been more
> seriously hurt or even died. I pulled my self out of the passenger side door
> and onto the back board so I could be transported. When I got to the
> hospital all the attending nurses and Dr's. were asking me for 6 numbers
> between 1- 56  ( our lotto game card numbers) , saying it tradition that all
> drivers who survive accidents like mine that souldnt have are very lucky and
> they want a little of that luck and play the numbers I gave them. So as for
> me I'm in a Apsen Collar for the next 2 weeks, with nothing
> broke,dislocated, just gonna feel the aches and pains of whiplash in the
> next few days. I might have some good parts for sale after I see what the
> insurance is gonna do so stay tuned.