A close one

Forgive me; this is not science education related. But it’s a pretty big deal to me. My 17-year-old daughter is alive and unharmed.

Yesterday she flipped the car. A deer dashed in front of her. She swerved and went off the dirt road. She smacked into a dirt mound and flipped the car. Not rolled, but flipped the car like it was doing a somersault. A total of five teens were in the car. They were all wearing seat belts. Not a single scratch on any of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My daughter is a stubborn girl, which exasperates me to no end. But this time her stubborness was a good thing. Her friends told me that she has a rule for all passengers in a car with her: seatbelts. Good girl.

I’m now in the market for a new car. Needs to be under $20,000 and good on gas. Any suggestions?

About Brandon Haught

Communications Director for Florida Citizens for Science.
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14 Responses to A close one

  1. James F says:

    Brandon, I can’t help you with car advice, but what a relief that no one was hurt!

  2. PatrickHenry says:

    A close one! My solution to the new car problem is to keep my old one. That’s obviously not an option in your case.

  3. Stacy says:

    Whew!! Did you advise her to hit the deer next time?!

    I’m so glad she’s OK … I can’t even imagine. Sigh.

    I’m not looking forward to the time when my son starts driving – I’m already nervous enough.

  4. BobH says:

    Wow – I’m so glad to hear that there were no injuries, Brandon. I’ve shown this to my own 13 year old daughter, and I can only hope that when it’s her time to drive, she’ll have the same good sense shown by your own daughter. Again, I’m glad that no one was hurt.

    I would disagree with you one one point, however. This is indeed science related; a good demonstration of applied physics and the results of properly used safety restraints.

  5. Bill T says:

    I am so glad to hear she is ok. To many accidents these days with teenagers not wearing their seat belts and suffering mightily because as a result.

    As to the car. If it was me, I would buy another of whatever that car is….

  6. Steve says:

    Glad she’s okay.

  7. Brandon Haught says:

    2004 Toyota Matrix. Once the tow truck guy flipped it back over he got in and started it right up! He backed it a little to get it into a better position for his truck to grab it. We were all shocked. Of course, the body is banged all to hell and the windows are smashed. But it still ran.

    I priced cars today and, unfortunately, today’s Matrixs are priced a little out of my range.

  8. cope says:

    I’m glad the outcome was positive. I would wager that that is a group of five who will always buckle up in the future.

    As for a car, I am loving my Honda Fit. Base price $15k, out the door at $17k. I am consistently getting 35-37 mpg with minor hypermiling techniques. Seating is comfortable even in the back for a big guy such as moi, the clever seat-folding configurations actually allow fairly large items to be carried and it has multiple air-bag systems that led to a good safety rating even if it is a small car.

    In fact, yesterday, my wife and I threw our new kayaks into our cars (yes, she has a Fit, too) for the short drive down to the Wekiva.

    Anyway, again, glad the accident wasn’t worse (I assume the deer ran off with a good story to tell his buddies).

  9. Jason R says:

    Second the Honda Fit. I got the Sport version and the paddle shifters help with controlling the mpg.

  10. Kathy S says:

    Holy crap Brandon! I bet you were shaking when you saw the car! I know you and all the parents of the kids involved will be hugging their children extra often and long for the next long while! I am so happy for you that all turned out so well – and I’ll be nagging my kids about their seatbelts (though I think they all use them all the time anyway).

  11. Jonathan Smith says:

    Glad all turned out for the best,a well built car with modern safty aids can cut down the chances of injury.Well done for your daughter to insist on seat belts!!! I could help with finding a vehicle but it would have to be a Ford.

  12. Pineyman says:

    Thank the stars she’s okay and everyone else. I had to go through the same thing with my now wife – no seatbelt, no move.

    What about a Prius? Here in NJ they’re advertised at 21K before any gov’t rebates.

    And – hit the deer, please be clear that is a joke. I hit one with my Colorado on my way to work one morning (Yes NJ does have natural wildlife). I head to work pre-dawn with the sun rising on the commute and the darn thing came right out of the sun. Even with the pick-up I did over $3k damage to the truck as well as screwing over my nerves for a while.

  13. Wow. I’m really happy that your daughter made it out of such a crash unharmed. That was definitely a close call.

  14. Green Earth says:

    Yikes! Glad to hear everyone is alright.
    As for cars- have a used Acura which is awesome. I know most Acura/Hondas are good for gas mileage.

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