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13 Posts
My 6 month old A3 is no more.....
Yesterday I was returning to work after enjoying lunch with my son in Ventura. I was half a mile from the store when the unthinkable happened. I was approaching a sweeping left when I noticed the approaching car. My first thought-wow he is moving!! (Witnesses said he was doing in excess of 70 mph) My second thought-wow he is in my lane!!! I had precious few seconds to decide my options. I couldn't go right due to a chain link fence, trees, a small revene. So my options are 1) stay the course and hope he realizes he is in my lane and get back into his own lane OR 2) assume he won't and stays in my lane in which case I go to my left. I chose number 1.....He never changed lanes and at the last second I jerked the wheel left avoiding a direct head on collision. Looking at the scene afterwards there were no skid marks indicating that he was even remotely aware that he was in the wrong lane.
From what I can tell at this time the impact destroyed the right front side of the A3, pushed me backwards 30-40 feet from point of impact and across into the on coming lane, and destroyed the entire front end of what I believe to be a Nissan Maxima Stationwagon. The debris field was enormous.
My kudos and many thanks to everyone involved in the design, build, and development of the A3. I was able to not only open my driver door perfectly, I was able to walk out of this horrific event with only a broken collarbone. Several firemen and medics could not believe the safety performance of this vehicle. They kept asking me over and over if I was okay and did I hurt anywhere other than my shoulder. I think they thought I was in shock because I must be hurt worse than just my shoulder. One medic said that there was zero intrusion into the passenger compartment. He said that if he hadn't seen the outside first he would never have believed that the car had been this badly damaged from the condition of the interior. The other guy was extracted using the jaws of life and is spending several days in the hospital. I walked away and spent last night in my bed.
Yes these cars are expensive but I have no doubt that this vehicle performed exceptionally well in avoiding a terminal situation and protecting its contents. My life is certainly worth more than an A3........
Below are the photobucket links to some pics of the car.
http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/fahrenheit351/A3/
Yesterday I was returning to work after enjoying lunch with my son in Ventura. I was half a mile from the store when the unthinkable happened. I was approaching a sweeping left when I noticed the approaching car. My first thought-wow he is moving!! (Witnesses said he was doing in excess of 70 mph) My second thought-wow he is in my lane!!! I had precious few seconds to decide my options. I couldn't go right due to a chain link fence, trees, a small revene. So my options are 1) stay the course and hope he realizes he is in my lane and get back into his own lane OR 2) assume he won't and stays in my lane in which case I go to my left. I chose number 1.....He never changed lanes and at the last second I jerked the wheel left avoiding a direct head on collision. Looking at the scene afterwards there were no skid marks indicating that he was even remotely aware that he was in the wrong lane.
From what I can tell at this time the impact destroyed the right front side of the A3, pushed me backwards 30-40 feet from point of impact and across into the on coming lane, and destroyed the entire front end of what I believe to be a Nissan Maxima Stationwagon. The debris field was enormous.
My kudos and many thanks to everyone involved in the design, build, and development of the A3. I was able to not only open my driver door perfectly, I was able to walk out of this horrific event with only a broken collarbone. Several firemen and medics could not believe the safety performance of this vehicle. They kept asking me over and over if I was okay and did I hurt anywhere other than my shoulder. I think they thought I was in shock because I must be hurt worse than just my shoulder. One medic said that there was zero intrusion into the passenger compartment. He said that if he hadn't seen the outside first he would never have believed that the car had been this badly damaged from the condition of the interior. The other guy was extracted using the jaws of life and is spending several days in the hospital. I walked away and spent last night in my bed.
Yes these cars are expensive but I have no doubt that this vehicle performed exceptionally well in avoiding a terminal situation and protecting its contents. My life is certainly worth more than an A3........
Below are the photobucket links to some pics of the car.
http://s224.photobucket.com/albums/dd273/fahrenheit351/A3/