Yes, getting your car T-boned -would- ruin Christmas

[Gaudemeus]

These people were potential customers, and I did see what happened. Although they never made it to the parking lot. Now I share my tale.

I was walking to the local Mickey D's that's near my work, when I witnessed what looked to be a Transforming hybrid plastic piece of crap Blazer slam into what appeared to be a mid-nineties Pontiac. Now, my immediate reaction was to laugh because THAT'S WHAT YOU FREAKIN' GET FOR SHOPPING ON CHRISTMAS GODDAMNED EVE! But I restrained myself because I know how bad it sucks to be in motor vehicle accidents. Then I snorted when the T.H.P.P.C.B -bounced- off the car and did a full circle run into a light post.

Safer vehicles indeed.

Now, amidst the screams for help and "dial 911!" and so on, nobody could get to the vehicle because everybody else NOT involved in the accident still had plenty of shopping to do. But, eventually someone parked their Suburban assault vehicle in the way to divert traffic and those who were arsed enough to be concerned with the safety of the occupants were able to get there.

As I neared the vehicle on my trek to deep fried delights, I hear above all else "Christmas is ruined!" At this, I began to laugh my ass off because it was at that point I knew that the worst injury was that of their common sense.

And what of the plastic model kit car that runs seemingly on dreams and ego? Well, after what I'm sure was five minutes of hyperventilating, making sure the five hundred bucks worth of shit that was bought was okay, and that enough people were gathered around to warrant them getting out of the vehicle, they emerged.

Nobody was hurt, which I am glad for. And don't let my apparent mirth at the situation lead you to believe I get off on seeing accidents of this nature. But after having been working from 5am to 2pm without a break or a lunch and dealing with the constant flow of people shopping for stuff they've had ample time to shop for, my Giveashitter had stopped working and the sarcasmatron was on full blast in coordination with my servesyourighter.

Let this be a lesson to you all. When you wake up on December 24th and you suddenly realize your kids have no gifts and there's not a pie or a cobbler to be found in your house. It's time to get your act together, because NOBODY working on Christmas Eve gives two squirts a piss about your problems, and won't until December 26th.

[Bright_Star]

People drive like maniacs on Christmas Eve hauling ass back to their homes from whatever stores they were shopping in. So when they haul ass then they don't care how they drive-they drive CARELESSLY.
It's like every parking lot in the world on Christmas Eve suddenly turns into a demolition derby. All you need is John Madden doing the play-by-play & there you go...lol.

[GolfCart34]

Apparently Sunday somebody ran into a telephone pole right outside the operation center for the bank. A few branches were without power, the servers all went down, and the ATM network for all of the branches went off line for over a day. Of course, this meant that we got a barrage of people coming in or calling to complain about how the ATM wasn't working and they wanted to know if it would be fixed immediately. I don't know how many times we had to explain that the entire network was down but they were more than welcome to use their ATM or Debit card at most stores (as those still did work). But nooooo, all these people wanted lots and lots of cash to buy their Christmas crap with. They also complained when we told them that the bank was closing at noon. Now, these people have had ample time to come in and get money out. And an ATM being down is hardly the end of the world.

So yes, a car accident can ruin your day, but I hardly see how it can ruin Christmas as long as nobody was hurt or died in the wreck.

And by the way, the ATMs all came back online 15 minutes after we closed and were heading out the door.

[blas]

A car accident can certainly ruin your day.....if you're an innocent elderly couple just watching tv and some crackhead high on crystal meth comes smashing through your LIVING room with their car.......or if a drunk driver smashes into something that could effect electricity or cable signal.

Driving to my parents' house yesterday was a nightmare. Christmas eve to boot, we had just cleaned up after a bad snowstorm, and people were just AWFUL and careless. Tailgating like crazy! I had a girl so angry with me she was pounding her steering wheel and flaring her arms behind me! I drove past Wal-Mart and it was packed, and people were driving like idiots in a mad dash to get there!

[protege]

The holidays bring all the idiots out. As usual, I had to drive to my grandmother's, to bring her home for the holidays. Just getting *to* the highway took well over half an hour--it usually takes less than half that. Too many idiots doing 25mph in the *passing* lane...even in the 55 zones

[IT Grunt]

There are some cases where I'm laughing right along with you. Yes, car wrecks suck, but when the wreck happens because one of the idiots practically /begged/ for the other car to hit them, I can't help but laugh my ass off. Perfect example is one of the exit ramps on my way to work. When you get to the bottom of the ramp, you're at what can best be termed a split highway, except traffic coming from your left is only on one lane, the other lane becomes the on-ramp and curves up to the highway. Turning right from the ramp takes you onto that lane, which becomes a regular two lane road further on. The other side is also one lane, and the second lane begins where you would cross from the ramp and turn left. Traffic coming from the right can turn into the median in order to cross to the on-ramp I mentioned, and here is where the suck begins.

Although said spot has a stop sign, people rarely obey it. They will turn right across the lane to the ramp, as if they are in the belief that they have the right of way. So, picture this. A Jeep Cherokee pauses. Not stop, pause, because he's still rolling a bit. Coming from the left is a Ford Ranger. Jeep driver just pulls right out in front of him. The guy in the Ranger had absolutely no chance to stop. WHAM! T-boned the Jeep. I'm on the off ramp watching this unfold, and I couldn't help but split a gut, because one of those idiots who doesn't obey the signs at that intersection got what was coming to him. Thankfully, no one was hurt, but I suspect that Jeep had some serious repair bills, and there were plenty of witnesses to attest that it was his fault. He ran the stop sign, plain and simple.

[protege]

As I'm reading this, it reminds me of what happened around this time in 1980. IIRC, it was cold, but there was still some snow around. Not much though...meaning it was sunny and the roads were clear.

My parents had just bought a new Volvo wagon not long before. Anyway, as my mother is driving us home from a friends house, she got hit. We're sitting at the stop sign, about to cross Route 88 in South Park (there's a traffic light there now, just a few miles from the county fairgrounds). Traffic on 88 was busy, so we had to wait awhile.

Since Route 88 is a nice drive through the park, it's not uncommon for people to pull their classic cars out and occasionally cruise through there. As we're sitting at the sign, white Chevelle starts across the intersection. Not even a second later, a brown sedan ran the stop sign facing us...and plowed into it Both cars then went into our station wagon

Even so, we barely felt the impact, even though the brown car was totaled, the Chevelle pretty screwed up, and the entire side of the Volvo bashed in. What was really scary, is that none of us were wearing our seatbelts Dad had moved some furniture the night before, put the rear seat down...and forgot to release the belts when he put the seat back up!

That wasn't the only wreck to happen there--quite a few people have wrecked there. Too often, they simply misjudge how fast people are going, or don't even bother looking.

[Shabo]

the Chevelle pretty screwed up

NOOOOOOO!!!!! Won't someone think of the classic cars?

Glad to hear you weren't hurt though. Accidents do suck. I'm dreading my ride home from work today...

[protege]

NOOOOOOO!!!!! Won't someone think of the classic cars?

Of course in those days, it wasn't anything special--much like my MG, it was just another "old car." Now, many of those "old cars" can be worth some serious cash

[ArcticChicken]

Although said spot has a stop sign, people rarely obey it. T

Reminds me of something that happened to my cousin. He works the evening shift, and as a result gets home around 3 or 4am. On the way home there is a stop sign at the bottom of an exit ramp. Nobody, but nobody, obeys that sign, especially not at 3am. Except my cousin, who wound up with a ticket for running the stop it. Not two days before he had to show up in traffic court he was rear ended by someone who ignored the sign. I'm told she could not figure out why he had stopped.