Idiots Who Cause Car Accidents and Block Traffic Cost You $18 Million A Year
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: transportation
On the ride to work the other day, I was treated to an all-too-familiar sight around these parts: the aftermath of an automobile accident. This time it was sedan vs. sedan. Not too much damage to either car, and certainly not enough to disable the vehicles. But for some inexplicable reason, both drivers decided that the proper thing to do immediately following the accident was to leave their cars in the middle of busy travel lanes.
Okay, perhaps it’s not so inexplicable. It seems that many drivers have been taught by their parents, driving schools, and insurance companies not to move their vehicles following an accident until police arrive. That’s because the folks from CSI: Miami are going to show up at the scene of your accident and use fancy chemicals and green lasers to determine exactly who is at fault. And if you move your vehicle after the accident—even an inch!—then David Caruso is going to put on his sunglasses in a dramatic fashion and say something like, “There’s nothing more we can do here, Detective.”
I’m here to tell you that keeping your car in the middle of traffic following an accident is wrong, dangerous, and possibly illegal. If you don’t believe me, perhaps you’ll believe these intimidating bullet points:
- It’s wrong. Assuming the police even bother to investigate your accident, they can normally determine all of the information they need from two things: the damage to the vehicles, and the testimony of the drivers and passengers. Even if one party of a two-car collision completely lies to the investigating officers, they’re usually keen enough to weed out the lies and piece together what really happened. Another reason leaving your car in the middle of traffic is wrong: all you’re doing is inconveniencing hundreds, possibly thousands of other drivers. Even if you’re not the one at fault, that’s just a jackass kind of thing to do.
- It’s dangerous. When you block travel lanes with your accident-involved vehicle, you disrupt the normal flow of traffic. And when you disrupt the normal flow of traffic for commuters who are used to the same driving pattern each day, you’re dramatically increasing the probability of more accidents, possibly one that’ll turn you into a pancake while you’re busy yelling at the other driver.
- It’s possibly illegal. At any other time, stopping your car in the middle of travel lanes would be illegal. Any police officer in his or her right mind would ticket you, tow you, or just plain old arrest you. Does being involved in an accident make it any more legal to park in the center lane of your local expressway if you can help it? I don’t think so. Unfortunately law enforcement doesn’t seem to punish this sort of behavior, possibly because it’s been ingrained in them as well.
So if you’re a driver involved in an automobile accident, what should you do to prevent yourself from doing something wrong, dangerous, and possibly illegal? Simple: move your freaking car out of traffic if you can. The only reasons you shouldn’t move your car out of traffic following an accident is (a) your car won’t move, or (b) someone in, near, or under your car is seriously injured.
Got it? Good. Time for a pop quiz!
Question: You were just gently rear ended at a traffic light, and now your car is sitting across three travel lanes. The other vehicle shows no significant damage and has pulled out of traffic. You’re not bleeding or dying or anything, and your vehicle is still operational. What should you do?
- A. Keep your vehicle in the middle of three busy traffic lanes until the police arrive which they’re not going to since nobody is injured and neither car needs towing, get out of your car, dodge traffic, yell at the other driver for 10 or 20 minutes, exchange insurance information, walk back into traffic, take 79 pictures of the damage to your vehicle with your digital camera, call your spouse from your cell phone and complain for another 15 minutes, and then continue driving to work.
- B. Get the hell out of traffic you dumbass. I don’t care about what you do after that.
If you answered A, then congratulations on disproving the theory of human evolution.
You might be wondering where I got the “idiots blocking traffic costs you $18 million a year” figure, so allow me to explain. Back in college, I had an internship with the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT). When I wasn’t busy designing sky highways for flying cars, I was fortunate enough to be invited on tours of interesting facilities like the area below the Baltimore Inner Harbor Tunnel, the place where they make street signs, and the top-secret facility where MDOT can view 30 bajillion cameras placed on highways around the state.
That last tour was the most interesting because the guide explained that the state and local police asked for permission a while back to monitor these video feeds MDOT had installed all over the place. MDOT said sure, but only if the police promised to work harder to move accident-involved vehicles from travel lanes. The police agreed, and now one of their top priorities when showing up at the scene of an accident is getting cars out of traffic and then investigating what happened.
Why did MDOT want those vehicles out of the way so badly? As the tour guide explained, cars that stop in travel lanes following minor accidents cause commuters to lose hundreds of millions of hours of productivity each year. That costs the state of Maryland a lot of tax money, and that tax money is how MDOT is funded.
At the end of the tour, I asked just how much these stupid drivers are costing me each year.
The tour guide responded, “If it weren’t for idiots stopping in traffic after every fender bender, you’d be making $18 million more each year.”
I gasped, “$18 million a year? Can you prove that?”
He replied, “Sure! Just as soon as everyone stops blocking half the road every time they get side-swiped, your salary will jump to $18 million a year.”
I laughed and said, “But that’s never going to happen.”
“Then I guess I can never be proven wrong,” he said with a smile.
So the next time you see a stupid driver stopped in the middle of traffic after getting tapped on the bumper, send them a bill for $18 million. Or just flip them off, which can be just as satisfying.
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26 Responses »
1.
Mrs. Micah
November 28th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Can I bill the gapers too? Because even if they move to the side of the road, you still have to deal with people who slow down and gawk.
2.
Pinyo
November 28th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
I had a similar experience once and nearly slammed into the two stopped cars in the middle lane. That would have been disastrous at over 50 mph. The thing that made it worse was the fact that it was at night and half of their lights were damaged in the accident. They were barely visible.
But the guy that topped the stupid list for me was the guy in an SUV who missed exit 54B on 4 lane southbound I-95. He decided to slam on the brakes in front of me and made a U-turn to get to the exit. I had to stop to avoid hitting him. The only thing I could think of was imagining a semi slamming into my car at 70 mph. That could have been deadly.
3.
Clever Dude
November 28th, 2007 at 10:26 pm
Unfortunately, I learned that flipping someone off isn’t very gratifying, especially with your wife charging you 50 cents for pseudo-swearing.
4.
Okie
November 29th, 2007 at 8:52 am
In Oklahoma it is a state law that if you have a car accident then you must move your car (push it etc.) out of the traffic flow if at all possible considering the damage to the car and yourself. If you do not move your car you will get ticketed or tossed into jail.
Good law.
5.
beloml
November 29th, 2007 at 11:15 am
Texas has a similar law.
6.
Downtown Houston
November 29th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Living in Houston Texas, we have a law to move the cars, but not everyone follows it. We have a LOT of traffic in Houston. Sure would be helpful to get a better system in place to stop the rubber necking!
7.
Fiscal Musings
December 6th, 2007 at 9:23 am
I don’t understand the onlooker thing. Everyone is already pissed off about traffic being backed up, yet when they get up to the original problem, the become the problem. A traffic accident is nothing new… if you’re that interested in them, the web is full of pictures… not interested?… that’s what I thought.
8.
LC
December 28th, 2007 at 8:52 am
I agree that it is annoying for people to block traffic, so when I was in an accident (someone sped around a corner and hit me), I pulled off the road to a nearby parking lot, but the other vehicle stayed put. The police cited me for running a stop sign, which I didn’t do, and put me at fault for the damage to both vehicles because they couldn’t see the cars in the lcoation where they hit. Therefore, I won’t pull off the next time that happens. There really isn’t a good solution.
9.
honda civic
April 10th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
That’s a good thing to do LC. Once you’re in a road trouble, you should really think of not causing hassles to other motorists as well.
10.
bmw 540i
April 22nd, 2008 at 12:45 am
good god man. $18 million a year?
for traffic accidents?
god i love my car but not that much.
11.
Bug Off Your Ride With Aesthetics
April 25th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
“Assuming the police even bother to investigate your accident, they can normally determine all of the information they need from two things: the damage to the vehicles, and the testimony of the drivers and passengers.” >> I definitely agree to this. Trust the cops. They got brains too so don’t leave your car in the middle of the street and cause trouble to other people. Have some consideration.
12.
EBC brakes blog
April 29th, 2008 at 6:07 am
18 million? That’s just so big…
These idiots should really be taught with some lessons.
13.
Auto Parts
April 29th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
18 million? Tsk! Where’s our concern and discipline peeps? Get your cars out of the way.
14.
Oregon Accident Lawyer
June 14th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I love your writing style!
I suggest they take a photo with their cell phone and get out of the way! If someone is rear ended why do you even need to stay put to prove the fault. There are very few accidents where fault is an issue even and half the time the police don’t even need to be called if it is easy to tell who done it and no one is injured much. The insurance companies just go by what the drivers say, so unless there is an immediate dispute with not much good evidence and someone is SEVERELY injuryed then pull to the right.
15.
oprina
April 24th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
As far as avoiding traffic jams is concerned, an increase in sports are the way to go in order to shake our dependence on cars. For example, skateboarding is a recent phenomenon but one that has taken society by storm. Since its invention, skateboarding has spread throughout the world, and there are skaters in most countries of the world, on every continent (except perhaps Antarctica). You can find more stuff on http://skateboards.eu/ including the use of skateboards as an effective means of urban transportation.
16.
Travel Guide
May 13th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I hope people will think about this, imagine 18 million. This should be stop! I suggest if you are encountering problems in the road, please do not give problems to other motorist.
17.
Tap Dance Instructors
May 17th, 2009 at 10:24 pm
18 million is a huge number. People should realize this. I recommend to create a campaign to stop this things. Let us save people from the road.
18.
payday advance online
May 18th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
I knock on wood everyday and again right now, when i think about never being in a car accident. I am always worried about someone hitting me and my car getting wrecked or myself getting injured.
19.
Long board skateboard shop Australia
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:26 pm
As far as avoiding traffic jams is concerned, an increase in sports are the way to go in order to shake our dependence on cars. For example, skateboarding is a recent phenomenon but one that has taken society by storm. Since its invention, skateboarding has spread throughout the world, and there are skaters in most countries of the world, on every continent (except perhaps Antarctica). You can find more stuff on http://skateboards.eu/ including the use of skateboards as an effective means of urban transportation.
20.
oprina tiberiu
May 24th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Today, one of the greatest marvels of our advances in information technology is the ability to connect to the Internet without slow dial-up connections, cumbersome modems, and the inconvenience of cables . Wireless technology has enabled the users of all kinds of devices–desktop and laptop computers, Personal Digital Assistants, cell phones with Internet connectivity–to get online wherever they are within range of an available network. Visit http://WiMAXWireless.com, for a complete guide to wireless technologies!
21.
miami limousine
June 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Miami are going to show up at the scene of your accident and use fancy chemicals and green lasers to determine exactly who is at fault. And if you move your vehicle after the accident—even an inch!—then David Caruso is going to put on his sunglasses in a dramatic fashion and say something like, “There’s nothing more we can do here, Detective.”
22.
http://2O.com
June 21st, 2009 at 5:50 am
The invention of the World Wide Web was one of the greatest technological advances in human history. It has enabled people to access information, transmit data, and communicate with each other faster and with greater ease than ever before. For a complete guide to Web 2.0 visit http://2o.com .
23.
2009 Nursing Board Exam Result
July 12th, 2009 at 9:48 am
I agree with you man! idiots must not acquired driving license…
24.
Pete
January 8th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Amen, brother!
I nearly hit two SUV’s with no visible damage. The drivers left the vehicles blocking 1 1/2 lans of a two lane road, both were talking on cell phones in the middle of the same road, and neither had the hazards on. It was snowy and icy. Somehow, I was able to manuever around them without ending up in the ditch.
Thank God there was no on-coming traffic! I wanted to call 911 and complain, but I thought it would be a waste of resources. On second thought, I should have because other drives would have come across into the same hazard. Idiots!
25.
Adam
February 8th, 2010 at 7:50 pm
This is true a lot of idiots do cause accidents I can’t stand it. Someone mentioned skateboarding as one of those idiot things that causes accidents. I made a web site about learning how to skateboard the right way maybe this will help! How to skateboard for beginners who travel in urban areas!
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