learnt a lesson the hard way

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by MAD

That is 100% correct.

This is why I say education is king. Not everyone needs to experience something to learn from it. Many peope understand the consequences and choose not to try it in the first place. I learned my 'lesson' though education rather than experience.

If there is education you have a chance to change the actions of many people. If you dont have education you have ZERO chance to change anyone.

Yes agree .... education is the key and the process above is all part of it. Nothing is more educational than a raw photo and to experience what can go wrong. Sitting in a class room and being 'educated ' is a start but only goes so far. 1 lucky event is lesson enough for many, I had a couple when I got my licence as most have. It was pure luck, not skill that got me through the first 12 months of driving to finally realise I had no idea ........... probably still don't I thought I could drive better than anyone else (especially old farts who had been driving for 40 years) but 4 major hits in 2 years put rest to that claim. Pulled the head in and (touching wood madly) 20 years with no claims since.

Takes balls to come on a forum and admit mistakes as there will always be those that know better. Just hope it doesn't take another close call to get the message that it is scary out there. Best of luck on your recovery. Put the pic of your wrecked car on the fridge as a bit of a reminder .......

[sprint347dave]

did you get the young womans phone number? speedy recovery mate

[Jack91]

Originally Posted by sprint347dave

did you get the young womans phone number? speedy recovery mate

If he didnt lose it he might have.

Nah but serious, had the same thing happen on my P's. I still put the foot down every now and then but nothing like what I used to. Having a serious crash is the only way to learn. Tokyo drifting doesnt really end well in falcons.

[xisled]

Good to see your ok and everyone else. Hope your recovery is fast.

You can say know that you will not be stupid and you will not do this, but time will tell if you have learnt anything from this.

[Neale]

Originally Posted by fmc351

So exactly how unhappy were your folks, or were they just glad everyone was alright, at least that day anyway.
Im assuming your mate recovered alright?

They were pretty good about it, which supprised me. I remember the look on dads face when he first saw the car though because it was his pride & joy. You tell he was pretty peed off but then he realised how lucky we were to be alive.

My mate did recover alright, but there was about a week where we werent sure if he would make it. Then the following couple of months were numerous operations & rehabilitation. After spending so long in a bed not moving, there was alot of muscle wastage.

Unfortunatly we are no longer friends though after everything that happend.

Its good to see other people sharing their stories aswell. Just goes to show how easy it can happen. I know you can save everyone by sharing these stories but if it saves one person from doing something stupid, it must be worth it.

[FalconForce]

i got the car back today but my camera wont work so when i get a chance ill post some pictures it so much worse in the daylight, i would also like to add that that the i had just bought the car too which makes it sting a little bit more

[galaxy xr8]

Sometimes we have to make mistakes in order to learn from them, I am sure we have all made a mistake in some form or another in our lifetime, what matter's is the fact that we learn from them and are able to walk away and talk about them, even if it mean's walking away with your tail between your leg's.
We live and learn.

[FGII-XR6]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Sometimes we have to make mistakes in order to learn from them, I am sure we have all made a mistake in some form or another in our lifetime, what matter's is the fact that we learn from them and are able to walk away and talk about them, even if it mean's walking away with your tail between your leg's.
We live and learn.

how true
to become old and wise you must first be young and stupid

[mik]

yes it`s amazing how having a bit of fun can in a split second get out of control and before you even realize it, suddenly you and maybe others involved have their lives and future down the toilet, probably most of us have thought at some time it can`t happen to me.

[RyanFalcon21]

I feel your pain mate, I not too long ago wrote off my AU.

4 o clock in the morning after a long day of working and then going straight out, dropped a mate off at his joint in an area I'm not used to. Had the girlfriend in the car. Down a dark road with no lights, think I had a mini nap and all of a sudden a blind corner was there. Only doing about 60k but Launched up hillside into the air ( I blacked out at this stage) Hit a tree and I came too with girlfriend screaming, airbag in my face and the car full of smoke. Very Scary. Thank-god we both came out of it with minor injuries.. But jeez it still scares me.
I hope that everything just takes it that little bit easier on the roads because its an unpredictable road out there and you have to be on your wits at all times...

[Muscle_Inc]

This thread is so powerful and emotionally moving but i acknowledge the courage that ''Falconforce'' has too describing his actions and the consequences as a result of it!

I thought maybe i can share a little about my background, the cars and the circle of friends it created in the process At the stage where i was on my p's you could say for someone who was in their early 20's was on some level disciplined when behind the wheel of a vehicle, took great deal of pride in my cars and still do

During this period i became associated with individuals who we are now close friends of mine because of our cars to this very day. We shared a fond interest with the e-series fords, we modified them tastefully, went on cruises etc. We reached a stage when the guys upgraded their cars, circumstances changed etc, etc which during this time i observed some ''cool'' things you could say when individuals engadged in certain activities but thankfully nothing negative had occurred.

Personally for me i experienced a event when i was negotiating a turn on a bend which the road goes slightly uphill and i had applied more throttle then i should have and keeping in mind its in wet weather conditions, my car lost traction which resulted hitting directly into a tree.

Its horrible just thinking about it because before making contact with that tree, my friends, family and events were flashing before my eyes (no exagerration).

I paid the price for my actions which thankfully i can say no other person, animal or motor vehicles were involved and just as important im here to share something im not overly proud of....

On a final note i want to say is this, im very grateful to some extent about these circumstances i endured because the loss of (Money, The car, The punishment) was actually a transformation.

Made me realise i took certain things for granted, spent great deal of money and time on my car (not too make it go faster or look more appealing) but i changed my model of the world. Began contributing more economically, strengthen relationship with my friends and family and while this is still my focus, my goal to some extent is to substitute or minimise driving my car for a pushbike (great reason to embrace mothernature and implement it part of my fitness regime) and inconjuction im doing my bit towards the environment. Also as i took for granted what i had at that stage and being in the position where this is my 3rd E series, im working towards a strategy for the near future too having in posession a EB and EL GT for sunday duties and being part of a GT car club

THANK YOU too all who have taken time to read a little on my story!!!

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by Zero_PSI

That's the problem with burnouts etc. When you're wheels are spinning at 160k's and they suddenly grab traction, you're gonna eat ****

Good to see you're okay though man. I learnt the hard way too. Smashed my Skyline into a gutter drifting like a tool on public roads. Secretly, I'm still a hoon. But more in the sense of giving it a squirt here and there rather than throwing burnouts and trying to drift every decent corner.

There have been many posts by members here complaining about hooning laws and how a little bit of wheelspin never hurt anyone etc, I think the experience of the OP is evidence of why those laws are in place and thank the OP for sharing their enlightment on this issue.

Perhaps that ad where the person spinning the wheels in a car has their car disappear around them would be better off replaced where someone doing a 'simple' fishtail around a suburban corner was shown to go terribly wrong.

[MrsLow006]

If this thread changes one drivers idea that there's fun in the "slide your car sideways mate" or "give it stick over this rise" or "how fast can it go" then it is a huge win. Means one less insurance claim?, one less fatal accident to investigate? one less mess for the firies to clean up? one less knock on the door by the police to a family? one less person spending months in rehabilitation? one less innocent being taken? - Part of my brothers rehabilitation was having a photo of his wreck above his bed in hospital a sobering experience when visiting the rehab centre and seeing all the photo's above the beds of these patients. Maybe a trip to a place like this for drivers done for silly driving would also hit home about what could happen when machines in our control create the carnage they are capable of.
My brothers accident was not his fault. Driver on the wrong side of the road collected him and has left him with life time head injuries.

[gtxb67]

Originally Posted by sudszy

There have been many posts by members here complaining about hooning laws and how a little bit of wheelspin never hurt anyone etc, I think the experience of the OP is evidence of why those laws are in place and thank the OP for sharing their enlightment on this issue

most of us are suggesting a wheelspin from stand still, where the car moves at a very slow speed forward is not a huge issue. i personally (and no doubt many others) have never suggested that a fishtail at 30kph is not potentially dangerous. the wheelspins i did when younger were done at a speed where the car was doing less than 10kph an hour in a straightline. if the tyres suddenly gripped i would have lost a diff long before the car took off

as with most things, there is a time and place - and a way to do it

i do not doubt i was lucky in my younger years, but you are very lucky just to pull back into your drive way at night without incident



either way, even though i think my actions as a kid were calculated risks, instead of chances, i still do not have a problem with the hoon laws the way they are

[sexyxe]

Glad to read you're okay, and to those that have contributed. Wasn't too many moons ago I was doing pretty stupid **** in my old cars, but have moved on somewhat now.

I genuinely believe owning a nicer more expensive car has toned down my idiot levels. Plus having been to the track quite a few times on a motorbike has helped give me a better appreciation for accidents and handling on road.

Here's to a speedy recovery.

[sudszy]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

as with most things, there is a time and place

Possibly the only sentence I agree on in your post.

and that place should not be on a public road, space, carpark....no exceptions, Louis Hamilton or not.

[wulos]

Luckily? for everyone involved, we can learn from this incident, the easy way.
Often times the results, can be a hell of a lot worse

Thank you for having the courage to admit what has happened. Fingers crossed that others learn from this, and prevent themselves from going through the pain & suffering...

[vanman_75]

It's funny I actually am not scared of the so called hoons , even though I disagree with hooning as such , but its the very ordinary daily drivers that scare me , and having spent the last two weeks in Melbourne I am very surprised there are not more deaths , as a country we have some real bad driving going on .
Hope you learnt from your stuff up , I have lost too many mates from it , and lucky to make it through that stupid time in life where your invincible.

[MAD]

Originally Posted by galaxy xr8

Sometimes we have to make mistakes in order to learn from them, I am sure we have all made a mistake in some form or another in our lifetime, what matter's is the fact that we learn from them and are able to walk away and talk about them, even if it mean's walking away with your tail between your leg's.
We live and learn.

But how do we ensure that people can learn from their mistakes without killing someone in the process?

[XR6_661]

We've all been there, and we've all learnt...Thanks for sharing mate, you've learnt a very valuable lesson.

[mytgxl]

Originally Posted by MAD

But how do we ensure that people can learn from their mistakes without killing someone in the process?

This is only my thoughts! By giving them an outlet where they can do this sort of thing that is in a controlled enviroment.

In our case in newcastle they setup a place at our local Motordrome just to do burnouts, they charged a losey $5 entry & it was amazing how much hooning went down on the streets!

Well they shut the motordrome down now they have no place to go to do it locally so back to the streets they go!

I believe that if the government wants to save lives, then setup a driving track where they not only can test their skills but have driver education their as well, that is all in a controlled enviroment!

Imagen that, a place to go do burnouts,track driving & been shown what can go wrong when you do this on the street & being taught how to handle your car better by a pro!

If you had that kind of setup close by would you do it on the street?
Hell I would go & pay money just to watch it, as well as enter!

[MAD]

Originally Posted by 1 bad ef

This is only my thoughts! By giving them an outlet where they can do this sort of thing that is in a controlled enviroment.

In our case in newcastle they setup a place at our local Motordrome just to do burnouts, they charged a losey $5 entry & it was amazing how much hooning went down on the streets!

Well they shut the motordrome down now they have no place to go to do it locally so back to the streets they go!

I believe that if the government wants to save lives, then setup a driving track where they not only can test their skills but have driver education their as well, that is all in a controlled enviroment!

Imagen that, a place to go do burnouts,track driving & been shown what can go wrong when you do this on the street & being taught how to handle your car better by a pro!

If you had that kind of setup close by would you do it on the street?
Hell I would go & pay money just to watch it, as well as enter!

The problem there is that a controlled environment doesnt simulate the real world mistakes, and consequences, being spoken of in this thread. If you lose control on a skid pan, you might hit a witches hat. You lose control on the street, you could kill someone, or get lucky and just take down a few small trees and a fence.

Most people will not see the link that losing control on a race track, could translate to hitting a pole on the streets.

[chrisfpv]

Glad to hear that you are ok and nobody was injured because of your lapse of judgement. It looks like the experience has opened your eyes and made you realise that we're not invincible and we shouldn't take life for granted.

[RyanFalcon21]

Originally Posted by 1 bad ef

I believe that if the government wants to save lives, then setup a driving track where they not only can test their skills but have driver education their as well, that is all in a controlled enviroment!

Imagen that, a place to go do burnouts,track driving & been shown what can go wrong when you do this on the street & being taught how to handle your car better by a pro!

If you had that kind of setup close by would you do it on the street?

Spot on mate couldn't agree more!

[The Yeti]

all said and done the olny thing hurt was your car, you got of lucky and it seems as though youve learnt.

There's not a person on this forum that hasnt done somthing stupid with a car at some point in time you lived to tell the tail and are sorry for whats happend and as long as youve learnt a long term lesson, youve learnt the easy way

I used to drive like a tool, and fortunatly aside from some minor bingels been OK what slowed me down was helping the Ambo's at an MVA as an 18year old and have the guy die before my eyes, yea from time to time ive had the earg to push it a little harder since but that site in the back of my mind slows me up every time. Ive been a quite a few bad & Fatel MVA's since but this first one sticks in my mind

O and the best news of all is that it didnt end like this http://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11339415

Take the hit from the law and your insurance company and move forward havign learnt a valuble lesson

[Neale]

Originally Posted by 1 bad ef

I believe that if the government wants to save lives, then setup a driving track where they not only can test their skills but have driver education their as well, that is all in a controlled enviroment!

Problem is in reality the government is more interested in building houses on the tracks we do have & promoting street racing. By funding tracks like Homebush, Surfers Paradise, Melbourne GP (Albert Park). What sort of message is that giving people.

Enough of me ranting on. Here is another tradgic story of when things go bad.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/camero...50330313282107

[b0son]

Originally Posted by gtxb67

as with most things, there is a time and place - and a way to do it

+1

certainly when i was younger, we were at least a little discrete about it, back roads, middle of nowhere etc.

nowadays, it seems anything goes. any time. any place.

[WMD351]

Good on ya FalconForce for learning the lesson (sorry it had to be the hard way) and double good on ya for manning up and starting this thread.
Now go grab yourself a Lotto ticket.

[nipper575]

It's a hard thing to own up to, but it's something that helps us mature.

My experience is a bit tamer than yours, but it was enough to show me that I was not invincible. I was driving a small car with a rear mounted engine, took it around a bend and the back end stepped right out (I was a handful of kms over the limit but I didn't slow for the corner at all). That was that, the front tyres had no traction as there was no weight sitting over them (car was light enough to be picked up by a person at the front), ended up facing 180 the way I came, then when the fronts did grab (full opposite lock) I spun 180 in the other direction, ending up on the side walk.

I had two younger guys in the car with me, suspect I gave them a good shock, but nothing could overpower the guilt I felt, perhaps the thought of how the old man would react when I told him. The car came out without a scratch but it could of just as well ended up on its lid.

Other than that the thing that has kept me well behaved is my XR8. It cost me too much to risk doing stupid things and I spend far too much time maintaining it to my standards, the thought of writing it off/killing an innocent bystander/seriously disabling myself scares me more than losing my life.

[FalconForce]

this is the only picture i could take my camera is F'd

it looks a lot worse in real life you cant see it but the strut is snapped and the steering rack and there is similar damage on the left side