my 18 yr old, a fire hydrant, and an attempted three point turn in a driveway

My first accident: My uncle buys an immaculate 80's benz wagon I think from an online auction and its somewhere up in the carlisle area. He asks me to ride along and then drive the car back while following him.

This car is immaculate, one owner, no accidents, flawless.

The merge ramp to the highway is under construction...aka...there isnt a merge ramp. Just a stop sign from which you proceed out into traffic going at least 60+mph. Did I mention I was following my uncle in such a nice old benz? That had never been in an accident? And that he was driving a Chevy Silverado with a trailer hitch?

I was watching the traffic....and I thought he had proceeded through the stop sign. CRUNCH! (I am sure he had some interesting discussions with his insurance on that one) My youngest brother and cousin who were riding in the rearward facing seat (because awesome benz wagon) heard an interesting string of foul language from me that day.

Now I never look at the traffic in those situations until I see the car in front of me go.

Keith Tanner wrote:

KyAllroad wrote: To the best of my knowledge (I was a passenger at the time) hydrants are designed to break away when hit but the valve is way down in the ground (prevents freezing) actuated by a rod that the FD twists on top. This means that there should not be a gusher when you knock one over.

I find this a little disappointing.

It is one of those things that every movie has lied to us about. It just doesn't happen. I think hydrants were designed to break away dry in the 50's but they still use it in movies.

If you hit 'em right, they'll spray. Not like in the movies, but I've seen it happen.

This thread reminds me how not normal I am. I never had a single concern about crashing a car when I was young, and I drove moderately spiritedly. It blows my mind how many people I know have written off a car at one time or another, and I've drove a TON since I was 14.

Duke wrote: If you hit 'em right, they'll spray. Not like in the movies, but I've seen it happen.

GRM should have it's own Moto-mythbusters squad for instances like this that need testing.

I have seen them clipped clean off with nary a drop spilled. It shattered my juvenile expectations.

Damnit my hotlink wont work

http://www.firehydrant.org/advertisements/scans/kennedy-safetop.gif

first one worked.

Ditchdigger wrote: I have seen them clipped clean off with nary a drop spilled. It shattered my juvenile expectations.

Yes, I have too. But I have also seen them dislocate the pipe riser enough to dump water. It's more of a gush than a spray, though.

Matt B wrote: Hold on, he waited until he was 18 to get his license? I'm not judging, but I'm always a little surprised to hear of kids waiting years after their eligible. Although in this day and age I guess I shouldn't be.

You have been asleep. The current generation of kids sees car ownership as a curse, not an advantage of any kind. Yeah, you will always have gear-head kids, but for the most part, the cost of admission is not worth the going.

Not an exhaustive search by any means, but here is a quick reference that addresses the situation. http://www.forbes.com/sites/michelinemaynard/2013/07/27/the-top-3-reasons-why-people-are-driving-less/

My daughter (21 and no intentions of ever driving) pretty much confirms the article.

Kind of scary when you realize that the automotive market has evolved to exclude its customers!

NOHOME wrote:

Matt B wrote: Hold on, he waited until he was 18 to get his license? I'm not judging, but I'm always a little surprised to hear of kids waiting years after their eligible. Although in this day and age I guess I shouldn't be.

You have been asleep. The current generation of kids sees car ownership as a curse, not an advantage of any kind. Yeah, you will always have gear-head kids, but for the most part, the cost of admission is not worth the going.

Even gearheads my age, including myself, see owning a car for street use as a necessary evil at best. I know a guy who owns a GC RS and an R1 and only drives recreationally. He can do everything else within walking distance and I think that's awesome.

I think the social aspect mentioned in that article is a big one. The idea of car ownership as cool or desirable or a sign of adulthood as seen in movies like BTTF, Grease (ugh), or even something as recent as the first Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire is on its deathbed with my generation and will be incomprehensible to Gen. Z kids.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: I didn't have a license (I was 13) when I backed my dad's freshly waxed '74 Charger out of the garage. I cut the wheel early and smashed the front fender into the side of the doorway. Not only did I bust up the fender - I broke the garage. I lived.

How long was your hospital stay?

GameboyRMH wrote: Even gearheads my age, including myself, see owning a car for street use as a necessary evil at best. I know a guy who owns a GC RS and an R1 and only drives recreationally. He can do everything else within walking distance and I think that's awesome.

On my days off.. unless I need to get something big and heavy from the story, look nice when I get there, it is a very long distance off, or really nasty weather.. the cars stay in the driveway and I take the my bicycle.

GameboyRMH wrote:

NOHOME wrote:

Matt B wrote: Hold on, he waited until he was 18 to get his license? I'm not judging, but I'm always a little surprised to hear of kids waiting years after their eligible. Although in this day and age I guess I shouldn't be.

You have been asleep. The current generation of kids sees car ownership as a curse, not an advantage of any kind. Yeah, you will always have gear-head kids, but for the most part, the cost of admission is not worth the going.

Even gearheads my age, including myself, see owning a car for street use as a necessary evil at best. I know a guy who owns a GC RS and an R1 and only drives recreationally. He can do everything else within walking distance and I think that's awesome. I think the social aspect mentioned in that article is a big one. The idea of car ownership as cool or desirable or a sign of adulthood as seen in movies like BTTF, Grease (ugh), or even something as recent as the first Spider-Man with Tobey Maguire is on its deathbed with my generation and will be incomprehensible to Gen. Z kids.

Great, I'm in my mid-thirties and my preconceptions about the world are already outdated.

Kidding aside, I'd like to think I understand the trend away from car ownership. However, I guess I'm still somewhat surprised when I see the evidence. Whatever, we can get back to the joys of fire hydrant destruction and first-wreck stories.

SkinnyG wrote: I tell my students: "Everybody gets one accident. Try to put that off for as long as possible. And when you finally have your first accident, ~learn~ from it, or you are going to keep having more accidents until you do." At least he's ok. Unless you've already killed him.

I pretty much figure one car per kid. So far they are holding true to form. Then when the pile one up it doesn't bother me as much. As long as I'm not making a trip to the hospital, I'm good.

Matt B wrote: Hold on, he waited until he was 18 to get his license? I'm not judging, but I'm always a little surprised to hear of kids waiting years after their eligible. Although in this day and age I guess I shouldn't be.

Might also come down to money. I got lucky being the oldest, my parents WANTED me to have my license so they weren't the 'taxi'. The rest of my siblings has come down to; good grades, jobs and money to help with insurance.

In reply to ryanty22:

Look at the bright side...

He could have broken off the fire hydrant.

bluej wrote:

Duke wrote: If you hit 'em right, they'll spray. Not like in the movies, but I've seen it happen.

GRM should have it's own Moto-mythbusters squad for instances like this that need testing.

I don't know about hydrants used in southern states, but in the north the shutoff valve part of the hydrant is located about 6 feet below grade so they won't freeze. As a result, when they get hit it just breaks off the top part and nothing gushes out.

In reply to stuart in mn:

There is no such thing in the South.

I just installed one. There is live water right up to the hydrant valve.

There is also a secondary shutoff, but it is left in the open position. It is for servicing and/or replacing the hydrant. It's directly under the hydrant valve, not 6' down.

In reply to SVreX:

Yeah I know. Looking at it in daylight it just going to be a bumpercover and maybe the support that holds the cover and bolts to the frame. If I can finish removing the grill without breaking it it should be fine. Lights looks like they escaped without damage too

Rock auto says about $85 for a new cover, still haven't pulled the damaged parts off the see the full extent. Feeling like complete E36 M3 from a gum infection that hasn't gone away completely yet.

1kris06 wrote:

Matt B wrote: Hold on, he waited until he was 18 to get his license? I'm not judging, but I'm always a little surprised to hear of kids waiting years after their eligible. Although in this day and age I guess I shouldn't be.

Might also come down to money. I got lucky being the oldest, my parents WANTED me to have my license so they weren't the 'taxi'. The rest of my siblings has come down to; good grades, jobs and money to help with insurance.

With no data to back it up, I would guess (key word here) that it is more expensive to own a cheap car now than it was 20 years ago--specifically with gas prices. Combine that with the price of college and stagnent wages for that sector, it is easy to understand.

There is the tradeoff though that cars nowadays are much much more reliable.

95% of all crashes/collisions are driver error--not accidents.

Look up Reference Points if you need help knowing where the car's corners and sides are.

In reply to vwcorvette:

No, I saw it the fire hydrant jumped in front if him. Not driver error, no way