So, in my latest ISM (Incredibly Stupid Move), I rear-ended a Ford Escape with
my '95 this morning. I need any opinions on things I might need to get
checked out.
We were sitting stopped at a red light. I looked down for a second to change
the radio or something, and for some reason thought the light had turned green
and we were taking off. I stepped on the gas. He didn't. I'm not sure
exactly what faked me out or how I didn't notice he wasn't moving, other than
having my head where the sun doesn't shine. But, what happened, happened.
I wasn't going very fast, fortunately. We got out and looked at his bumper,
but couldn't see any damage whatsoever. I thought I found a scratch, but he
said that was already there. We couldn't even tell where the impact had been
until I noticed that the water on my license plate frame had printed "Murray,
Utah" backwards on his bumper. He wiped it off. He's going to go have his
vehicle inspected to make sure there's no damage (keeping all appendages
crossed).
My bumper didn't fare quite so well. It put a pretty good dent in it. I'll
try to get some pics on the weekend. The damage seems to be contained to the
metal part of the bumper. The plastic air dam is still in tact. The homebrew
tow hooks are still straight, as far as I can see with a visual inspection. I
looked under the hood and can't see any evidence of anything being out of
place.
I didn't hit him all that hard, certainly no worse than things I've done on
the trails. But, I'm wondering if there's anything else I should check myself
or have checked out for me. It rides and drives fine. At one point I thought
the engine was transmitting some extra noise and vibration, but I'm not sure
if it's really there or if my paranoia is just playing tricks on me. I
haven't climbed underneath yet to see if I might have knocked any exhaust
pipes loose or anything.
I'm just glad it didn't trip the airbag, that's all I would have needed.
Anyway, thanks in advance for any words of wisdom (even if it's just "don't
drive stupid"... apparently I need to hear it).
-- Jason Bleazard http://drazaelb.blogspot.com Burlington, Ontario his: '95 Dakota Sport 4x4, 3.9 V6, 5spd, Reg. Cab, white hers: '01 Dakota Sport 4x4, 4.7 V8, Auto, Quad Cab, black
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