I totalled my new coupe!!!!!

[CoasTek240]

I turned into a neighborhood today went to the first intersection, put on my left directional, veered right and turned left to do a u-turn and a 1982 turbo 280zx T-boned me. My car is totalled, but I have to go to court and prove I was not at fault.  The 280 left a 24' 7" skid mark before he impacted my car leaving a 2 foot(2 ft, deep maybe 4-5 foot wide) indention in my door and rear quarter panel. Can you please help me to find stats of a 280z, and a way to calculate how fast he was going before he started braking? I need to be innocent or I will not recieve money for my car and will have to take out another loan. Please Help.

[DrDubbleB]

Honestly the cops should have done all of that work for you. What's going on with that? You did contact the cops correct? If so then you should contact the officer that was in charge and ask him for the information/specs, and the police report. It should say in the report who THEY found to be at fault, and that's all that matters.

There I go posting w/o thinking again.  Sorry to hear about your car man!  Really sucks to have lost it. D:  I hope that all works out and you stay within the 240 community.

[HaLo]

I'm really sorry to hear this...  Hopefully, everything will work out.    My sympathies for your car.  I know I would be very saddened to lose my 240sx.

[Fresh 240SX]

Yea thats a shame about ur car...... what do you think its gonna cost to repair? or is it even worth repairing?

[kanekz]

Dang that sucks to hear.  At least you made it all right without any serious injuries.  My sister just got in an accident and the police report made out that it was her fault.  She also got a traffic ticket too.  If you called the cops at the scene of the accident, there should be a report. If you got a ticket, well it might be considered to be at your fault.  Did you have full coverage on your insurance for this car? Well I hope everything works out for the best.

[CoasTek240]

hey yes we worked everything out with the cops.. they gave the 280 a sitation for something.. but they also gave me a sitation for failure to yield right of way!... it's soo dumb.. i even had my left turn signal on and everything. well i really need to get some formulas and specs b/c he was going way to f*ing fast and he F*d up my car!. well thanx yeah i'll be stickign with a nissan.. but i dunno abotu a 240.. hopefully though.. later

[ca18guy]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (CoasTek240 @ Aug. 20 2002,2:41)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">hey yes we worked everything out with the cops.. they gave the 280 a sitation for something.. but they also gave me a sitation for failure to yield right of way!... it's soo dumb.. i even had my left turn signal on and everything. well i really need to get some formulas and specs b/c he was going way to f*ing fast and he F*d up my car!. well thanx yeah i'll be stickign with a nissan.. but i dunno abotu a 240.. hopefully though.. later</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
If he had right of way then it is your fault. Even with a turn signal your the one crossing their lane.

[CoasTek240]

but the cops never got the story.. they only asked the other guy.i never crossed his lane.. b/c i never left my lane.. he was behind me. on top of that, he had to have been going way to fast toleave 24' skidmarks.. well hopefully this changes ur prespective
later

[bing]

i'm sorry to hear it....

are you getting another one???

are you parting it out???

[240 2NR]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (CoasTek240 @ Aug. 19 2002,8:00)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I turned into a neighborhood today went to the first intersection, put on my left directional, veered right and turned left to do a u-turn and a 1982 turbo 280zx T-boned me. My car is totalled, but I have to go to court and prove I was not at fault. The 280 left a 24' 7" skid mark before he impacted my car leaving a 2 foot(2 ft, deep maybe 4-5 foot wide) indention in my door and rear quarter panel. Can you please help me to find stats of a 280z, and a way to calculate how fast he was going before he started braking? I need to be innocent or I will not recieve money for my car and will have to take out another loan. Please Help.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Ok, you're going to have to do a better job of explaining what happened. &nbsp;You put on your left turn signal I assume and where did you veer right too? &nbsp;What lane were you in, where was the Z that it totaled you? &nbsp;Right now I picture you pulling into the right lane to get extra room to turn, and then went left with a Z in the left lane hitting you when you crossed lanes. &nbsp;

Skidmarks and stopping distances will be different. &nbsp;Threshold braking is much more efficient than skidding, so the skidmarks will be longer than if he had kept traction. &nbsp;In any case, if you crossed his lane or whatever, if speed was his only fault, then you are still accountable, and he will be accountable for a portion of the accident due to his "role" in the lawbreaking, but right now it sounds like you hold most of the blame unless he was nearing triple digits or something excessive where he would have come up on you so fast you would not have seen him coming.

[gfisch]

damn, that sucks about the car.
Hope it works out for you OK. I actually ended up ahead when I totalled my 240, ended up with a newer one and cash from parting the other out.

Anyways, as far as the speed the 280 was going, you dont need any braking specs.
Sorry if this reminds you too much of high school physics, but heres the Mechanical Engineer in me speaking.
When a cars in a skid, that means the wheels are locked up, and the only thing stopping the car is the sliding friction between the tires and the road. However, it is very difficult to get the speed he was going because of two problems. First, the speed you would get is the speed he was going when his wheels locked, which is after he first started braking. Second, you would have to assume he was pretty much stopped at the point of impact and that it was only friction stopping him and not you car.
Well, anyways, heres the equation based on those assumptions I derrived.
Vo = sqrt(2*s*u*g)
Where:
Vo = his speed in ft/s (multiply by .682 to get miles/hr)
s = distance of skid (should be the length of the mark, but subtract out the wheelbase of the car if all 4 wheels were locked)
u = coefficient of kinetic friction ( I searched and saw this page, it says to use 0.8, http://www.sciencejoywagon.com/physics....ion.htm (http://www.sciencejoywagon.com/physicszone/lesson/02forces/friction/friction.htm) )
g = graviational acceleration (32.2 )

Anyways, I came out with only 24.3 miles/hr if the length you gave is the full length of the skid.
Again, thats the speed he would have been going when the wheels locked and if he was barely moving at the time he hit you.
if you can estimate how fast he was sliding at impact, then you can have a better estimate. I think you would actually just add that on.

Well, sorry for rambling on, but figure Id share with ya.

Good luck,
Greg

[GamblerZ]

Sorry to hear about your loss, but I think you both were at fault.

1. You made a U-turn. &nbsp;Despite the fact that you signaled to go left, you admittedly moved right first. &nbsp;Furthermore, you compounded the error by not checking whether you could safely execute the U-turn without interfering with traffic.

2. &nbsp;The 280 erred that he is not allowed to pass in a residential area. &nbsp;He further erred because he proceeded even though you had your signal indicator on to turn left.

If push came to shove, I would say you would lose in court because you failed to safely execute the U-turn.

Sorry. &nbsp;Just my two cents.

[HippoSleek]

Sorry to hear about your news, but I can't see any way you are not at fault either. &nbsp;If he hit your pass. side, you are at fault for making an unsafe turn. &nbsp;If he hit your driver's side, you are at fault for turning from an improper lane. &nbsp;His speed is a) largely indetminable and b) not at issue unless it was reckless (which neither the skid marks nor the damage seem to indicate). &nbsp;Get a lawyer if you think you can get anywhere, but I don't like your chances.

Steve - a bit of caution. &nbsp;Not all states have comparative negligence. &nbsp;In many places, they will pro-rate the damages, in many others whoever is 50.01% at fault is totally liable.

[240 2NR]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (HippoSleek @ Aug. 20 2002,09:17)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Steve - a bit of caution. Not all states have comparative negligence. In many places, they will pro-rate the damages, in many others whoever is 50.01% at fault is totally liable.</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Good to know. &nbsp;I took what I said from a civil law class in high school (new york), but I figured some of it applies.

[GamblerZ]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bing @ Aug. 19 2002,9:14)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">...are you parting it out???</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Vultures!!! &nbsp; <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sigh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':rolleyes:'>

[drift freaq]

well I am sorry to hear you totalled your car.
I will say though from your description of the accident you are going to be at fault. First off in the state of california you cannot swing to the right to make a left that would be considered an illegal action in any Policemans eyes. second off if the guy was behind you but you managed to have him broadside you while making a left you are indeed at fault. Its called failing to yield to oncoming traffic. Now if you have a good lawyer(read slimy) then he might be able to get you to only partial negligence due to the other parties speed . If the cops gave the other party a speeding ticket.
I was in an accident in San Francisco several years ago where a nun(yes a nun ) turned left right after the light changed at an intersection in front of me. The light had changed and I went and all of a sudden she was going left in front of me . Now in San Francisco cops don't come to make accident reports unless someone is injured. So it was up to the insurance companies and the San Francisco Archdiocese had a powerful lawfirm behind them so I wound up with them paying 80% of damages to my car. &nbsp;that is about as lucky as you would get in this situation. i.e. you may not have to pay the other party as much . Which is why we have insurance companies to fight for us.
sorry to hear about your accident but I think you may have to chalk it up to a lesson learned the hardway, which sucks. &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('>

[bing]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (GamblerZ @ Aug. 19 2002,12:10)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (bing @ Aug. 19 2002,9:14)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">...are you parting it out???</td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
Vultures!!! <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sigh.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':rolleyes:'></td></tr></table><span id='postcolor'>
it's all in good fun... hehehe

btw, are you???