“A couple years ago I was rear ended by a young woman (23) at 45 mph. I was stopped and waiting for a turn. She was texting.”
I try to keep my eyes on the rear view and have avoided an accident by swerving off the road. (I don’t know what the driver was doing but he wasn’t paying attention.) I’ve seen drivers I thought were drunk only to discover they are paying attention to their phone. Trouble is, events change in seconds and even if you do see a hit coming, often all you’ll be able to do is brace yourself.
I was stopped with my blinker on to turn into my own parking lot at my shop. I braced myself, turned my wheels straight, and took my foot off the brake (there was no one in front of me) when I saw in my mirror that the little mazda coming on behind me wasn’t going to stop. Most of the momentum of the crash was used up by my K-5 Blazer rolling 40 feet or so forward. The two boys in the Mazda made spiderwebs on both sides of their windshield. Their front end was in little pieces scattered about. The K-5 trailer hitch and bumper got some paint on them. I towed the boys’ Mazda out of the street while they stumbled around dazed. That was just before cell phones, though.