LIFE IS HARDER WHEN YOU'RE DUMB!

well, heres a story! but first, a little back-story.

since i started driving, i dont think i had anybody tell me i drove slow. ever. as i have gotten older, i have slowed down a bit, learned about hurried lane changes (rear-ended the car i was trying to pass ) when i was 18 or so; but in my old age of 25, i would consider myself a pretty moderate driver.

went to meet a couple of friends in the mountains on friday, by myself, and on the way down, noticed it was just me and a nice windy road. i hit it hard. like pissed off and 16 hard. not a car in sight just me and my headlights bookin it like a moron.

fast forward about 2 mins and here i am coming up on a hard left and i knew it was gunna be a screecher. stepped the rear end out a bit to help me around (im panicking now) and was abruptly heading toward the mountainside. granite with patches of dirt. i think of my son, my wife, and how im going to ruin my brother's wedding that im the best-man at tomorrow. what a piece of shit.

i cranked hard right to soften the blow, and the truck was officially on its own. i cant believe it actually responded because it over-steered to the right, and whether i pushed the clutch in, or what happened, the truck was basically going in a reverse sideways direction.

boom. i was basically stopped and blurry, but knew i was on 2 wheels if that, and waiting for the roof to cave. it felt like it took 20 mins for the wheels to come down and surprisingly, they did.

im expecting sirens, good semaritans, just people to be surrounding me by now, in the mountain night it must have been heard for miles. i look left, look right, and nothing. just me. no glass, no airbag, no signs of a crash. im ok, but i'll never make it home for the wedding. i turn the key and she starts right up.

im expecting the truck to grind into gear, but it goes in smooth, it pulls itself off the mountain and im driving without the slightest pull or wobble. amazing. i can hear what sounds like tire rub whenever i turn right. a car passes opposite me and i get a glimpse of my gas-cap floating in the wind.

you guys wouldn't imagine the self-loathing i was going through on the drive home. stupid. selfish. idiot. i knew better. should have known better. all this "your going to kill yourself one of these days" i heard over the years.

alas, its been a few days and im looking up now. i've had and ignored too many close calls, God had to go to slightly more drastic measures and i think i get the point. the road is not my playground, and i am so incredibly thankful that not another person, or their property was involved. just granite and dirt.

stay tuned for pix and the fix!

 

you're*

 

glad ur ok dude

 

Oh dude. Dude.

 

Glad you're OK

 

lucky for me, this is it. only on the driver's side, and suspension and axle seem fine. tailight was ejected, bumper corner pushed in, and the bed-side is scrap.






removing the bumper was easy. the two furthest back bolts on each frame-rail, and the two bolts covered by plastic caps that go through the bumper and attach to the receiver. the bedside was strait forward. remove fender flare and tie down rail, and its easy to see what holds it on. have your little fingers ready

 

nice story

 

inner bedside and splash-gaurd. really shows of the creases, but im going to see how well i can hammer it out just in case

 

this is the main offender. the bumper i can make, the bedside i was already planning on buying, but this support i really want to save. this was before i put any pressure on it, but using the jack and massaging it with all i have in my hammer collection is getting it pretty close

 

wow.. god must be watching you.. now with that lesson.. better not do again.. majorty you need your brain check

 

Don't really know about the whole God part but heh you're here to tell story. Most of us learn such lessons young some older but better to learn it and live then not and simply die. Trucks are made daily it'll all be alright indeed.

 

lucky is an understatement, i dont know how to feel about the fact that i got this chance, (i was probly doing about 60 when shtf, with the fishtailing scrubbing speed down to something a little more collision friendly.)

many people dont make it down that hill, they front end into the moutainside, roll, go of the edge, and die. you guys dont know how thankful i am.

 

Crazy story man glad you are ok. Damage seems to be nothing compared to what could have been.

 

Sometimes it takes an incident like this to make us wake up and appreciate all that we have to lose! Sheet metal is easy to replace....fathers, brothers, husbands, family & friends are not! Glad you came out of it with just a bent truck! Good luck on the repairs (might consider adding a bit of heat to the various hammers).

 

Dang dude

I can't say you're stupid though, you just had a lapse in judgement, it happens to all of us.

 

You're not dumb if you learn from this. Glad you're OK man, but just remember, as fun as speed can be, slow and steady often wins the race in the end. I had a close call a few years ago that slowed me down too, in my case no damage was involved. I did a 180 on black ice when I thought it was bare pavement at highway speeds narrowly missing a few other vehicles in the process. I give God the credit for my survival too.

Good luck with the repairs.

 

We've all done stupid stuff. I wrecked 13 years ago really bad. 140MPH, pot hole, spun out, rolled 7 times into a telephone pole. Walked away without a scratch.

Learned big time from that one. I think the fastest I have driven in the last 13 years is 80mph.

Luckily in both our cases we walked away without an injury.

How did you explain to your wife the damage to the truck? Did you tell her the whole story or omit some details?

 

Glad you're ok dude.

A similar situation happened to me yesterday, but luckily with no loss of control. It was in the morning just after sunrise and I was headed to meet up with a local guy to buy a bed mat from. I had encountered a few extremely slow drivers on the local roads and that got me a bit impatient because I wanted to get back home on time to watch the football games.

I get on the freeway and haul ass towards my destination. This guy I'm meeting lives in an area I'm not familiar with so I'm glancing at my gps to see how much further I have to go. The off ramp winds up around a mountain and I'm still glancing at the gps now and then when I realize I'm entering a long sweeping left that calls for 20mph when I'm still going 50mph! My heart rate quadruples and I know I can't hit the brakes or I'll just plow into the guard rail and tumble over the side. I apply the slightest amount of throttle in hopes of it being just enough to pull me around the corner and not too much that I start spinning tires.

It felt like forever getting around that corner, but I made it without a screetch from the tires. Thank goodness it was dry out or I would have been screwed for sure. I need to stop thinking that this truck sticks to the pavement like the STI I traded in does.

 

Well 25 years old is young, so don't beat yourself up about doing something stupid.
But I can't imagine taking such a risk with a family at home. They're just as lucky as you are.
All in all the important thing is everyones okay, and you know how selfish and stupid it is. no matter how far you see no cars on the road, it takes a second for one come around, especially after a sharp turn that you lost it on. Think of someone else's wife or son that you can put at risk just because going fast is the cool thing to do

 

You are not dumb. Sounds like you are smart.

You will need help figuring out why you sometimes feel like it's fun to risk killing yourself, such as the day before your brother's wedding.

Then you will need help planning on how to deal with that.

Do you agree?

Best wishes.