So, the morning after the whole hospital debacle, i'm up and ready to go to work. i leave at 7, my normal time, and start my drive down 20 to Cheektowaga.

about 20 miles in, i come up on the other side of a knoll, and there's a tread from a semi truck in the road. i can't swerve around it cause there's a car in the other lane. so, thinking it's not too high, i straddle it, however, it hits. PLUNK

i pull over, see no leak, so i keep going. i'm going into Alden, and try to slow down from 55, and NO BRAKES. i was like fuuuuuuuuck.

i try again, i pump a little, hoping there's an air bubble in my lines. no such luck. i start honking madly at the guy ahead of me and waving at him, but he doesn't pay attention. i slam my car into park, but the tranny safety net doesn't stop it like i thought it would.

i try to turn the ignition off but can't because of the mechanics of the car. i start resorting to looking for a tree to run in to, because i'm in a town and don't want to hurt anyone or hit a house.

finally in my head clicks the e-brake. it's not a handle so i almost forgot about it. i slammed on it and it dragged me down quickly enough where i could get off the road safely.

let me tell you about some scary ass shit...when you resign yourself to driving into a tree to safe your life and others. thank God the e-brake came to mind.

i get it towed home and get under, and i had broke both lines to the back and lost all my fluid. i also bent the corner of my gas tank, breaching the gasket, so i have a slow, 1/2 pt per day leak (estimate). i got the lines replaced today and tomorrow i have some materials to fix the gas tank so i don't have to replace it.

i also have to bleed my brakes tomorrow to really make it functional. oh, in case you're wondering, when i realized shifting to park did no good, i shifted to neutral, because the engine actually works as a minor brake when in neutral. that's why my tranny didn't blow.

I would probably have shit my pants.

Rough day for you, dude, although it could have been worse. Thankfully it wasn't!

Wow, nice to see that you ended up okay. I bet it was scary as hell.

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Damn, you should just stay in bed tomorrow.

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Gotta love cable-connected E-brakes.

yup, they're potentially life savers

Yep. Fuck that hydraulic BS. Glad to hear you're ok.

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man, that's a lot of damage from a tire strike.
Glad you're ok but look on the bright side, you got a free adrenaline fix out of the whole deal

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Hold my beer and watch this...

I know hindsight is 20/20; but if you ever find yourself in that situation again, your best bet is to manually down shift from D,3,2,1,N

Like you said the engine is a minor break, luckily your car was made after 1997 I'm assuming, because putting it into park would have just blown your tranny, giving you no other option but to smoke a tree, house, etc. Also shutting off your engine is the worst thing you can do in that situation, because shutting off the engine also shuts off your power steering, power breaks, well essentially the car (duh?)

Anyway, glad you're alright. That shit is scary as hell. I've never had my breaks go out, but had my accelerator stick on me. Not a fun feeling at all not having control of a car at high speeds. More credit to those NASCAR guys.

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"She's like plan C after an 18 pack"

Squanto 7/27/2010

downshifting in the newer trannies doesn't work very well. the gear ratios are off because there isn't extra torque or horsepower there like in a standard vehicle. plus that takes way too long in the middle of a town where there is no where to go but into something else.

if i slam that car into park it shuts my car down fast. it essentially is the brake. if you have fwd, jack up your car and try to turn the wheel. then put it in neutral and try to turn the wheel.

just sayin, most of the stuff i thought of. also if the engine is off the axles and bearing don't turn as well because they aren't engaged.

Ugh so fucking scary...glad you're okay. My dad always told me to put the car into neutral if my accelerator ever sticks.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

Glad to hear you didn't have to run into a tree, because you can't be sure that would have saved your life.

Cars are some seriously dangerous shit. I think we often forget that until some random thing shows us the force and the danger most of us take into our hands every day. Drive safe everybody. Stay healthy Pat, definitely sounds l've got a dark cloud hanging over you this week.

What's important, Pat, is that you're safe, but moreso that you thought rationally and behaved efficiently in a space of time where you didn't have many options at all. Kudos, man.

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mechaphil

If a situation like this happened to me, I'm glad I have a manual transmission.

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This is Mrs. Stuuuu, and I just have to say that having almost been paralyzed as the result of being rear-ended I would just rather not be in a car at all. It is so hard to think calmly, and I am impressed with all you thought of. It is no joke hurtling through space far quicker than your body could by itself. Defensive driving, and not really caring whether I'm 5 minutes late, is the only way I get through it. But I am very glad you're OK. Fuck Semis! They scare the shit out of me too, I have heard too many horror stories.

Today I saw a truck cut someone off the road on the 90! I was like, "Woah...woah...WOAH." watching it.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

stupidly, i enjoy driving erratically and very fast when in the open. in cities i become defensive, but come country roads and wide open spaces, i become michael daveti! formula 1 driver. vroooommmmm! i especially love icey roads.

glad your safe, pat. you seem like a jack of all trades kinda guy.

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You purposely drive fast over icy roads? That's kind of...stupid.

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"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hockey Night in Buffalo

perhaps if you dont know what your doing.

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to be fair, when i inspected the damage to replace it, the tire sheared both brake lines at a rust spot. upon further inspection, both shoe adjusters were semi-seized so that was an extra bitch to scalp.



at that point i was more worried about others' safety. i've hit a tree once before and it sucked, but with a fairly large car (lumina) i would have rather taken my chances at this point.



thanks. it was freakin scary as hell.



sorry to hear about that. thanks for your compliments.



thanks. i do try to live by that moniker.