Wherein a tedious 5 1/2 hour drive becomes a test of skill

[Raveni]

Tdhehd?

That's what car insurance is for! If my insurance company didn't pay for injuries to my daughter, I'd be suing them, and wouldnt mind my daughter doing whatever she needed to do.

[Sapphire Silk]

Quoth mharbourgirl

The company whose name was on the ladder refused to acknowledge any responsibility, claiming they hadn't used such ladders in at least 5 years. Which is bullshit, because it was a generic 12-ft aluminum stepladder. The police couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. My lawyer said my only option was to sue my MIL so her insurance would pay out, but seriously?

I might have sued the company anyway, and demanded they prove they sold that ladder, and argued if they sold it they should have removed their company name from it. At the least, it might have gotten the attention of their insurance company.

Quoth Raveni

Tdhehd?

That's what car insurance is for! If my insurance company didn't pay for injuries to my daughter, I'd be suing them, and wouldnt mind my daughter doing whatever she needed to do.

I don't blame her for not suing the MIL. MIL's insurance premiums might have skyrocketed, especially if she were partly at fault and didn't live in a no fault state.

I might have sued myself, and framed it to the family, "It's the only way to pay for my hospital bills, and MIL's driving is partly to blame." But I don't blame anyone for NOT choosing that route and choosing to preserve family.

Update!

I passed the accident scene on the way home today. The shattered remains of the chair are still visible on the side of the road. I think I'll write a LTE of the local paper and see if the victims try and contact me. I'm curious to know if they caught the guy.

[HYHYBT]

Even with ABS, have you ever seen a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera sedan stand on its nose?

Mine didn't happen in a Cutlass Ciera, but it was in a 1995 Oldsmobile. Good brakes, that car had.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I've had to dodge stuff detaching from vehicles on I-95 before. I've related this story, but I'll relate it again.

I was going up to Philadelphia to attend a Ring of Honor wrestling show, with my friend Sam. At the time, Sam had aspirations of becoming a pro wrestler himself, and we were bouncing ideas around for gimmicks. He was in the midst of describing a gimmick he called "Tragedies over time" wherein his character-- whom we dubbed 'The Atrocity'-- would dress up like infamous 'bad guys,' and he specifically mentioned the Columbine shooters and Nazi gestapo, ignoring my protestations that "that is really not a good idea."

While this conversation has been taking place, I'm driving behind a vehicle towing a small trailer, one that looked almost hand-made. It had wooden sides and had a lid that had been secured down badly with one point of contact in the middle of the lid. Making matters worse, the hinge on the lid was at the BACK of the trailer.

As anyone with a basic knowledge of physics may have predicted, the wind from the vehicle's movement was catching under the lid, which was only barely hanging on. Sure enough, as I watch, the lid finally flaps backwards and the hinges snap like twigs.

Since I'd given myself plenty of room, I swerved onto the shoulder to avoid the lid, then back onto the road and got out from behind the trailer. Sam had gone quiet when this happened, then looked skyward and said, "Okay, God, I get it, it's a bad idea!"

[dalesys]

We need to have Maria's dad beef up our bumpers with a little rebar and cement so we can survive the idiots.

[pitmonkey]

What gets me are the people that think light twine is sufficient to hold a mattress to the top of a car. You see them going down the highway with the things floating on the roof.

[Kogarashi]

Quoth dalesys

We need to have Maria's dad beef up our bumpers with a little rebar and cement so we can survive the idiots.

Problem with that is it'll completely tank our gas mileage.

[dalesys]

Quoth Kogarashi

Problem with that is it'll completely tank our gas mileage.

Details, details. What does Enzo say about aerodynamics? (in protege's siggie)

[protege]

Quoth pitmonkey

What gets me are the people that think light twine is sufficient to hold a mattress to the top of a car.

Some of that you can blame on the store that sold the mattress. Not just those stores either. I worked at Hechinger's, and all we had to secure such items was twine. It sucks, but if management isn't willing to provide something decent, you have to make do.

[Jay 2K Winger]

Quoth protege

Some of that you can blame on the store that sold the mattress. Not just those stores either. I worked at Hechinger's, and all we had to secure such items was twine. It sucks, but if management isn't willing to provide something decent, you have to make do.

QFT. The wholesale club provided twine free of charge, and the customers were allowed to take as much as they felt was necessary to tie down the mattresses. We also sold sets of bungee cords.

The employees could help you load it into/onto your car, but securing it was left up to the customers. We were not allowed to help tie merchandise down.