Then I saw it happening. I always look in my rear view mirror when traffic slows down or stops, as I like to be prepared for the unexpected, and this time it actually happened. The car behind me, a 2001 Ford Escape XLT, didn\u2019t slow down and rammed into the bug\u2019s rear end at quite a fantastic speed. I was holding my foot on the brake, and in hindsight I probably could have softened my blow by letting the car move forward and whacking the guy in front of me. Instead, my neck took the brute of the force with some strong whiplash.<\/p>\n
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The woman\u2019s air bag went off, and she was disoriented with a cut lip. My neck was sore, but I otherwise was fine. At least so far, as this just happened this morning, and my body might take some time to feel the effects of the accident. The woman’s car doesn\u2019t have too much damage, but the bug didn\u2019t fare so well in the impact.<\/p>\n
The bug wouldn\u2019t move; the ignition was disabled and the throttle wasn\u2019t working. I also couldn’t move the shifter \u2014 something was really messed up with the transmission. It is actually good that the car\u2019s power source was disabled on impact. I have one of the main contactors to the controller hooked up to an inertia switch. The inertia switch is a simple little device that on impact will provide a hole in the 12v circuit to cut power. I discovered it works a few years ago when I hit a major pothole on Highway 17 and got stuck on the side of the road for a few minutes before I realized what happened and reset it. It worked great in this case; it immediately cut power to one of the two main contactors and starved the controller from having high voltage power. It requires a physical reset by pushing in on a button, but it is located in the rear trunk motor compartment and I couldn\u2019t get it open. I also wouldn\u2019t want to reset it until I made sure that the electrical paths were all sane and not shorting out on anything like the body frame. Conversions usually keep the high voltage pack isolated from the chassis. Normally a car\u2019s 12v system will have the 12v ground hooked up to the body of a car, but that isn\u2019t safe to do with the high voltage pack.<\/p>\n
At first I couldn\u2019t push the car off the freeway and thought the transmission was locked completely, but I realized I had put the e-brake on before I got out of the car to see how the lady behind me was doing.<\/p>\n
Of course, I called 911, and the cops came within minutes. They were very friendly and I was happy to have them around to help make things feel a little safer. Luckily the traffic was bad, and not moving too fast to present an extra dangerous situation.<\/p>\n
I had AAA tow the car to my house, and now I\u2019ll have to deal with the other person\u2019s insurance to get the car fixed. What happens depends on the extent of the damage, and I\u2019m not planning on doing the work myself. The transmission is spewing out oil on the ground\u2026so that means something bad happened inside it. The motor was probably impacted and pushed the tranny forward and broke stuff inside it. I have a feeling that the tranny and motor are damaged, and possibly the controller. I won\u2019t know until I take the bumper off, and I am not going to touch the car until a claims adjuster first takes a look at it.<\/p>\n
The rear engine deck lid is destroyed; there is a hole it from pushing the release hatch through the metal. I\u2019ll need a \u201cnew\u201d one from a salvage vehicle\u2026which might be hard to come by. Matching the paint is going to be impossible, since I did a custom job on it\u2026which means the car probably will need to be repainted. The bumper is wrecked\u2026the rear panels are damaged and need straightening, and the light is destroyed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The car managed to remain whole and without major damage until today. That is from 1969 until 2016. Forty-seven years. Almost half a century, and then this happens to me. I blame distracted drivers looking on their cell phones. Don\u2019t do it!<\/p>\n
I\u2019m quite sad. I have a strong attachment to this car, as I know every little part on it.<\/p>\n
PS: I\u2019m okay.<\/p>\n
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