But at least it is vehicle and snow related. My sweet mid 20's niece lives with her mother in the suburban/rural Buffalo, NY area and is a financially struggling grad student at UB. Sat night about 1AM she was driving home from her Fiance's house, hit a patch of black ice and her car spun, then slid into a snow filled roadside ditch. As it stopped, it did a about 45* slow roll onto the passenger side. A lady driving in front of her saw the spinning headlights go off the road, stopped and came back. When she saw the car in the ditch she called the FD and PD. By the time they arrived she had her window down and told them she was unhurt, but she was upset and crying because she had never been in an accident before.
The FD told her they couldn't take any chances she had hidden injuries and were going to take out the windshield to get her out (??? why they didn't just open the door is ????) She says they worked with tools and finally removed the windshield, then had her remove her seat belt, stand up on the passenger side and crawl out the opening herself (so much for the "hidden injuries"...)
To add insult to (non existent) injury, the police then spent a long time grilling her about how much she had to drink (none) and if and where they would find drugs and/or weapons in the car "when they searched it" She kept telling them that she didn't do or carry any drugs, but they kept insisting she tell them where the drugs were several more times anyway. They made her do some field sobriety and a breathalyzer test (0 reading) while a tow truck arrived and took her car away. She had called her fiance (lives about 30 miles away) who finally arrived and took her home, no citations were given.
Here's the kick her when down:
She went to the tow yard the next day to get her car and (she thought) have a new windshield installed. When she told the lot operator she was there for her car, the lot operator told her it was unlikely she was going anywhere with it since it was going to be declared a "total"! (an about 6 year old Chevy sedan in previously excellent condition) This totally baffled my niece since she hadn't hit anything but snow, until she saw her car. The FD hadn't just removed the windshield glass as she had thought in all her confusion but had used the JOL to cut through the door and windshield post and across the top behind the windshield header!!! When she checked the only other damage was a broken off passenger mirror and a couple small dents in the passenger door from landing on the broken off mirror, The driver's door altho mangled still opened and closed. WTF!!!! were they thinking????
End of rant, thanks for listening.

 

AX, I understand your need to rant, wish I could think of something to say but nothing but WOW comes to mind. Hidden injuries and field sobriety test do not go hand in hand. (Walks off shaking head).

 

Now wait till you hear how much you will get for the totaled car! You won't be able to buy anything near as good condition for the money. I have come upon several accidents just after they occurred, usually a couple motorists helping the passengers a a couple more directing traffic. As soon as emergency services shows up freeway gets shut down and the whole thing turns into a giant mess.

 

This happens a lot . One time I was called to an accident where a truck had rear ended a car at a stop light . The driver of the car was out and walking around when I got there . The fire department had the driver get back into his car . As both vehicles where drivable , I asked both drivers to pull into a parking lot to clear the road , A very congested 4 lane . The firemen refused and ended up cutting the roof off the car to get the driver , that was walking around earlier , on a back board . I have many stories of fire and police messing up simple situations .

 

I have come upon several accidents just after they occurred, usually a couple motorists helping the passengers a a couple more directing traffic. As soon as emergency services shows up freeway gets shut down and the whole thing turns into a giant mess.[/quote]


I agree the cutting the car open was way out of line.

On the Rimrock's statement, I will say as one of the people that has to stand on the ice-covered roadway at a crash scene, I guarantee you that I will shut down a lane if the car is anywhere near it. Come stand with me on a fog line, on ice, at a crash with the other idiots doing 55 mph (on ice) 2-3 feet away from you while taking pictures with their phones. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I have had too many people nearly hit me to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sorry for your niece's bad experiences, but at least she came out OK. Cars can be replaced, people not so much.

 

Not to mention the huge jump in her already high (single under 25) insurance rates for next 3+ years. If she has one of the "discount" insurers, they'll cancel at the next renewal, forcing her into the risk pool where she won't be able to get collision coverage.

 

AX, this is what lawyers are for!

It's comical to see a routine fender bender with a pumper truck, even in some cases a ladder truck, responding to the scene here. Plus of course the rolling hospital-on-wheels they call an ambulance nowadays. I couldn't figure why until I heard that they bill the insurance companies for all the equipment that responds. It's interesting to watch old TV shows from the 60's where the ambulance is a Suburban or even a station wagon with a raised roof, and compare it to the 8-ton F-650's with 10-ft-high boxes they buy around here.

 

I agree the cutting the car open was way out of line.

On the Rimrock's statement, I will say as one of the people that has to stand on the ice-covered roadway at a crash scene, I guarantee you that I will shut down a lane if the car is anywhere near it. Come stand with me on a fog line, on ice, at a crash with the other idiots doing 55 mph (on ice) 2-3 feet away from you while taking pictures with their phones. Sorry for the inconvenience, but I have had too many people nearly hit me to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sorry for your niece's bad experiences, but at least she came out OK. Cars can be replaced, people not so much.[/QUOTE]

I agree with you on shutting down the road when conditions warrant however in these cases it was minor fender benders on the shoulder with 3 lanes of traffic shut down.

That being said I respect what they do and am glad to know they are there if I ever need them.

 

I had a similar experience years ago when I lived in Buffalo with a totally different and logical outcome:
We were returning from a hunting trip in my van. I hit an icy spot and spun sliding into a farmer's front yard. As the van stopped it did a slow roll onto it's side in the snow. My brother, who was in the passenger seat, rolled down his window, stuck his feet out and grabbing the top of the door, stood up and the van rolled back onto it's wheels. The farmer who's yard we ended up in brought out his tractor and pulled us back onto the road. I gave him a 20.00 for his help and we drove on our merry way.

 

I feel the pain your niece must be experiencing. Not to your thread but........ An accident related story about my wife's grandparents many years ago. They had just left our house, about a quarter mile away tried to cross a four lane highway and pulled into a live traffic lane. They were broadsided, no one hurt, minor damage to their car. I arrived on scene about same time highway patrol did. Soon after the tow truck arrived and positioned to tow the car. I quickly sized up the scene and got in and backed the car far off the road and danger. This is while the rescue teams were setting flares. After I had done this the highway patrol and tow truck driver both got their pants in a wad, saying the car had to be towed. I grabbed the front fender where it had been pushed in against the wheel and pulled the fender out where the car could be steered. By time the LEO had written grandpa a ticket and had a second look at the car, he agreed I could drive them home. I drove them back to our place where they spent the night. Next day they drove the car home, had it fixed a few days later.
It is a shame your niece was not more pro active.

 

Ross, she can't sue, the PD and the FD (volunteer co.) are shielded from suits for their actions.

Ray, yes, that would have been a major help, had she kept her composure and just just crawled out the door window, or insisted they just open the door to let her out it would have ended better, but she was frightened and confused by the newness of the experience and concerned about being responsible for having an accident, she became emotional instead. My brother (other uncle) lives just a couple miles from the site, has a 4WD truck and his race car trailer, but when asked why she didn't call him, she said she didn't want to wake him at 1 AM.

 

I see another aspect of this all the time. The EMT's in my area have the medical helicopters on speed dial, and they don't hesitate at all to use them. Now given, I live in a very remote area, and we don't exactly have big trauma centers in the little hospitals around here, but I've seen many people get "choppered out" for very trivial injuries. I've literally seen people get sent by helicopter to the big trauma centers, and then they're discharged from the hospital a couple hours later with a small laceration, bump on the knee, etc. etc. It also scares the literal hell out of them and their families. There's nothing wrong at all with being cautious and pro-active about possible hidden underlying injuries, but those patients are NOT happy at all when they get the 5-figure bill from the helicopter service on top of those massive trauma center bills.

 

That is great that she is ok, everyone has hit black ice in the north east and knows how quick things can get out of control. That fact she got out ok is the big win here.
I completely understand how she was not able to rationalize the situation, I bet she was scared more than bruised.
It is a shame they cut the car open, doesnt make sense to me, sounds like volunteers who never get to use the jaws of life and wanted to get to use it.

 

I read about a similar single accident that happend in the northern parts of Sweden a cold winter night.

An older couple spun the car and ended up in the snow bank, the elderly couple got out of the car and was standing beside the road (not much traffic at all up there at that time) when a taxidriver stop with his brand new car. Let the couple in in the backseat to let them warm up untill the tow truck and police came to help them out. It turned out that the FD also arrived and by then the elderly couple complained abit about neck pain. It ended up with the fire department cut of the whole roof of a car that was brand new and hadnīt been involved in the accident.

The taxidriver then got a hell off a job to get the insurancemoney from his own company because jada jada jada....... eventually after several months he got a new car....

So ......life is a bitch sometimes

 

...And those people will be quick to tell you they are professionals, and they know what they are doing.......
Stan. ....