Worst day of my life....

matyas

matyas

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
534
Location
Espoo, Finland
Car(s)
1981 Mercedes 280SE
Yesterday evening, we were driving back with the family from a nature-park, and as we were coming off the side road, to the motorway, everything went wrong. As I accelerated, the gearbox changed down, and the rear end started sliding around, finally putting us in a 180 degree spin, into a ditch....upside down. Whatever you think about crashing...it's wrong. Everything happened so quickly even at the low speed were were moving, I didn't even realise we were upside down, until I dropped down when I released my seatbelt.

I think the great combination of gearbox+ice+incompetent driver+old winter tyres hit us. I am still shocked about the whole thing. Fortunately nobody was injured, and the passanger compartment remained intact. I am eternally greateful to the mercedes engineers, because I know it could have been a lot worse.

The real irony of it all, is that I am literally "captain slow". Probably the only guy who has always obeyed the speed limits around here...and then this happens.

Here are the pictures of the car....sorry for the quality, but I couldn't pay attention to it...it really broke my heart to see her like this

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jesus. at a distance, you can't even tell the thing recently rolled...

Now that's a good chassis. Glad to hear everyone was ok.
 
Glad you're fine! But lucky you that a "little" material damage is your worst day so far. Most people aren't that lucky in 21 years ;)

It's kind of funny when u read in forums comments about how you could have avoided the accident by a different reaction.. blah. There is very much you can control when u see it comming. A intentional drift that goes wrong e.g. But when sth. like this happen all of a sudden even real professionals have more luck then skill to gain control again.
 
That's one of the reasons I don't trust automatic gear boxes in the winter.

Glad you're ok.
 
I exited the ramp at around 40km/h...the speed limit was 100km/h...so probably between that. My estimate would be 60km/h, seeing as the wheels spun quite quickly.
 
:(

That's pretty much the only thing I don't like about automatics. Accidental downshift + rwd + snow = instant oversteer. It's happened to me a couple of times, but my volvo is fwd so it doesn't matter at all.

Glad you're ok though. A car is just a car.
 
That's a real shame. I remember the original thread about the car, and it was in a really nice condition then. :/
 
Man that sux, I'm glad everyone is ok. The road must have been real slippery if that happened at mere 60kph.
 
public said:
That's a real shame. I remember the original thread about the car, and it was in a really nice condition then. :/
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I know...it really broke me when I realised what had happened. I really can't even comprehend yet that she has been crashed :(
 
Is it beyond repair? Meaning, is it sensible to get it repaired again?
 
That sucks. I also thought she was a cool Merc. But metal is metal, it can be replaced. Good thing no one got hurt, 'cause that would've sucked. Especially at those speeds, could've been a lot worse.

I guess the general consensus is that skill can't save you from such accidents. I agree to a certain extent. A tanker-sized Merc with an automatic transmission with a mind of it's own can be quite a handful on the lovely winterish roads of Finland. But having said that, I think all young drivers should spend a winter evening or two at some abandoned parking lot to get used to how cars handle in slippery conditions. Oversteer and all that. Might give you just the reaction time you need to save your RWD car from skidding out in a surprising loss of traction.

I almost had the same sorta accident a couple of winters ago with my 200SX. I say almost because I am one of the best drivers alive. Or damn lucky. Pick one, anyway.

The weather was like how it's been these past few days, with everything, including the roads, covered by ice. And with the temperature at -2 C, ice loses its meaning as a nice addition to your vodka-based drink, and instead becomes a deadly and nearly invisible enemy, covering just about every (driving) surface out there.

I recognized the risk, so I tried to make my motorway acceleration as smooth and calm as possible. Too bad the open differential on the SX didn't agree with my plans and before I knew it, I could see the left lane through my front window. At this point I made an effort to reach my mobile phone to quickly grab a photo of the woman in the car next to me. Her expression was priceless, I tell you. I got the car straightened though in the end, which was nice.
 
None of the glass even shattered on that thing! What a beast.
 
Glad to see you are ok. Looking to get another old Merc? I remember when we had a 450 SEL. My mom backed into it with her Series 2 Discovery, and there was only a minor dent on the door of the Merc while there was over $3500 worth of damage on the Land Rover. Old Mercs are absolutely bullet proof.
 
matyas said:
I didn't even realise we were upside down, until I dropped down when I released my seatbelt.
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He he...same thing happend to me when I flipped my pick-up truck.

"Okay...my skid seems to have stoped. I'm probably off the road. Hmm...why is my hair standing up? Why do I see dirt straight out through the windshield? Why is there pocket change and a floormat on the ceiling? I'd better investigate."

*unbuckle seatbelt*

*thwap* (as I fell into the ceiling)
 
Glad to hear you're all okay - impressed by how well the Merc stood up. Shame that it's beyond repair though.
 
matyas said:
The chassis is too badly damaged. The dents, the paint, the rear axle...and sooo on.
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WEll, it does have a leather interior, a twin cam six and an automatic gearbox, they sell for quite a bit as spares. But really, shame about the car, W126's rock.
 
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