Tail spin out!! Boxster S.

[Guest]

Hi,
I would appreciate a little advice regarding an accident I incurred last friday travelling back from Newcastle upon Tyne to Chester. I elected to use the M6 for a change of scenery and cut through Warrington to avoid the mess of the Thelwall viaduct. Arrived at junction 11 of the M56 and stopped at the lights. Got green and accelerated into the left turn onto the slip road and ZAP! the tail swung out right no traction on the wheels! I struggled to get opposite lock slightly corrected and then go into another slip out to the left this time with the car heading for the outside lane barrier,no traction, no braking I hit the barrier and continue to slew around facing up the slip road back the way I came and stop! No airbags! and I truly was not going fast . My wife was very upset as it looked like we may have gone over onto the Motorway if the barrier had not stopped us! I surveyed the mess ( It was!) and saw a need for two new wings bonnet front and rear (yes dented!) bumpers radiator etc! The weather was wet and I can only think that the road surface was extra greasy/oily or something to have caused such a sudden loss of traction admittedly aided by some power to the rear wheels. However, the police officer who helped me move the car of the carriageway said there was an accident there ( on the junction) just two hours earlier! I have owned this car for six months now and have been round some bends without any problems and it really grips. I have driven for some 37 years and this is the first incident of this type for me. I hate myself at the moment as I am not a nut and find it difficult when people say it was an " accident" I drive within my limits and read the road pretty well although this has me beat.
Is there any point in exploring the road surface issues regarding oil/grease etc.
and just what is the air bag deployment operation is it speed related?
Sorry for the length of this but I honestly am mystified. tia.
Stuart.

 

[Guest]

I would definately persue the fact that there was an accident there less than 2 hours ago.

If there was any residue of deisel or anything on the road, and they failed to clean it, then surely they are negligent for failing to place warning signs and/or sand etc.

It sounds to me like there could have been something like oil/Diesel there.

Ask the police what measures were taken to ensure that the road was safe, and ask if any report was made to state this.

 

[Guest]

I' m sorry to hear of your misfortune.

I would tell the insurance company about the circumstances and leave them to chase up the police to find out details. They are probably more likely to get info than you, especially since they hate paying out money so will look for any way to reduce their liability. They may be able to get the details of the previous incident from the other insurance companies.
That' s what you pay them for, so I would leave them to worry about it.

The front airbags are triggered during a frontal collision of " sufficient force" . Similarly for the side one closest to the impact. A rear collision will not trigger any.
If you weer spinning, then perhaps none of the impacts were hard enough or in the right direction.

I' m not sure if this will help, but for what it' s worth :
I had a similar unexpected spinning incident in an MR2 8 years ago, coming off a roundabout (I wrote it off). The surface changed from one type of tarmac to another just before the wheels were straight, the second one had much less grip and in the wet and salty conditions (December weather) I lost it and hit a lamp post - hard. In the gloom the change was not obvious. I saw a police car escorting an ambulance do the same thing at another roundabout a couple of years ago, so at least I am not the only one.
I suffered a somewhat severe jolt to my confidence having never had any incident at all before that, and played it over and over in my head for weeks, but I did get over it (eventually).
It would seem that you have mitigating circumstances, although it may be hard to prove, but that makes it no less of a shock.
In my case I could not fathom what had happened, but eventually realised, and was forced to concede that I had made an error. I didn' t accept that it was just an accident, but it made me a better driver.
I also had the additional pleasure of waiting 28 days to see if the police were going to prosecute me for something, since they thought I must have been driving dangerously, carelessly, or just plain speeding. (I was doing none of them.)
They recorded it as " lost control of the vehicle" which I found hard to admit to.
I additionally sympathise, since I too had someone else in the car at the time, and that makes it worse.

No matter how careful you are, I think there are times when the truly unforeseen occurs. Oil or diesel are not always obvious. In the wet I try tio drive with a greater safety margin.

Rgds, Stuart.

 

[JCB..]

You have answered your own questions regarding the reason for the spin.

Undoubtably it was an oily surface coupled with 250+ HP going through the rear wide wheels. In those conditions and with any more than mild acceleration these cars will let go and you have to be very very alert to catch it. Fortunately my experience of oil on a wet surface was at Castle Combe when a 911 dropped it' s sump on the track. One second the car was straight and then instantly sideways!

I' m not sure about the level of cooperation you may expect from the police about the state of the road following an earlier accident as they are supposed to leave the scene safe for other road users.

The airbags are triggered by rapid de-acceleration so it probably is not unusual for them not to deploy.

 

[Guest]

Hi again,
and thanks for your replies.
Stuart, I appreciate your comments and gain a lot of from your points about coming to terms with the situation and indeed the " shock" factor for that is for me the most difficult part to swallow[]
I could get into a never ending pursuit of the road surface issues and I rightly shoulder the reality of the bhp at wheels mixed with oil/water etc its the shock (and hurt pride) thats difficult. I will of course provide the insurance company with the info about the police officers comments, who were really good with the situation, they never mentioned anything about prosecution etc so I hope I dont get any other nasty surprises! My next job is to get over the cost of the damage and see if I can live with a previously " pranged" vehicle[] I will be wondering about the effect on its resale value now although I am not anxious to part with it just yet! One slight benefit is that I was in the process of updating the lights to " 03" spec and have done the side repeaters and tail lights and I understand the repair shop will fit the clear headlights for me[8|]
Thanks again.
Stuart.

 

[Guest]

Stuart

I have no real answers or suggestions as to why your accident happened, but living in the Daresbury area, i wish i had a pound for every accident i' ve seen on that motorway island, including an articulated lorry full of Ford parts on its side. The traffic island at Daresbury where you can turn for Runcorn is smaller but just as bad.

Stevew - 2001 Seal Grey Boxster ' S'

 

[Tony Daniel]

I think they must grit the road' s with WD40 in Warrington, I nearly wrote off my 944 cab a few years back, coming out of the Gemini business park heading towards the M6. I did three complete spins before managing to stop, only then did I notice 2 other cars ' parked' up a grass embankment!

 

[Helen Goff]

Maybe we should start a Boxster display team[][]

 

[Helen Goff]

Tony did you come out of the spins unscathed?

 

[Tony Daniel]

I got away with just a dented pride, more out of luck then my driving ability.

 

[Howard Davis]

Stuart, may I ask if your Boxster S is fitted with PSM. I had a very similar experience with slightly less damage in Feb this year, it was a dealer loan car that did not have PSM. I have been wondering ever since whether PSM would have saved me( and the car). There is no doubt in my mind that I accelarated too hard for the road conditions even though I wasnt going " fast" but in 2nd out of a roundabout in near freezing conditions was just too much. My own Boxter S has psm and I hope that this will prevent me pranging my car under similar circumstances.
Howard

 

[Grant]

Sorry to hear about your accident, could happen to anyone if oil had been spilt on the road. The thing to remember is we all make mistakes & not kick yourself so hard. Organising the repair is obviously stressfull, but in a few months time once it is all done you will soon forget the hassle & love the car again, it is a great car. The Boxter being mid-engined is even harder to catch, once it slides, than a 911 !! As I said we all make mistakes & hopefully learn from them,just don' t keep kicking yourself it won' t help, most importantly nobody was hurt. Once it is fully finished, it will probably handle better than most other Boxter' s as they will have to fully check out the geometry etc. Post a picture of your gleeming new beast once it returns.

 

[Guest]

Hi folks,
Thanks for your replies.
Howard, No I dont have the psm and can only wonder how it may have reacted in my last " incident" [8|]
Grant, I hope I can post a picture some time soon although this last hassel is more than flesh and blood can stand[X(]
I will keep the group posted although I really dont like to remind myself (or others) too much about the crunch but value any of your views etc.
Stuart.

 

[Guest]

Is it normal for repairs to take such an extraordinarily large amount of time?

I have just one car, so should it be seriously damaged, I would have a bit of an issue.
Getting a replacement car for a few days or a week is pretty normal, but 3 months or more? Can you do this?

 

[Guest]

Stuart,

" Is it normal for repairs to take such an extraordinarily large amount of time?"

I would certainly hope not but I really was not able to press them and I still dont have my car back,God knows what they would have done if I got stroppy !
I actually could have had a replacement vehicle from the insurers but I felt it would not be necessary to hike the insurance claim any greater than it needed to be - - so much for honesty[&o]
Stuart.

 

[Guest]

I felt it would not be necessary to hike the insurance claim any greater than it needed to be - - so much for honesty

The problem is that the insurance companies don' t share your compulsions about costs when it comes to insurance renewal time!
Sorry to hear about your accident. Hope that everything is resolved to your satisfaction.

 

[JCB..]

My car was in the Swindon Porsche approved bodyshop for 7 weeks for a new door and rear quarter panel.

JCB..