Saturday, May 24, 2008

I think I'm in Love

I am reverse-challenged. I have only had accidents in reverse. And I have had some incredible-reverse-accidents. I started small and gained momentum:
  • backing into the mailbox and wiping out my sideview mirror: cost $75
  • backing into a parked truck looking for my SIL's dog that I was puppysitting: cost $435 (plus dog vet bill that was hit by [another] car but survived $700)
  • backing into a wrought iron bench and wiping out side panel and bumper: cost $1000
  • backing into parents' car that was parked in my driveway: cost $4000+
Apparently, backing into things is a woman's favorite thing to do. (OK I'm sure men do it, too, but in my experience women do it more. Yes I am guilty of my very own stereo-typing that I complained of earlier. Sigh...) My friend backed into a parked truck at the end of my driveway -the truck was there when she pulled in, so it wasn't a surprise। My former boss backed into the pillar in the parking garage - where she parks every single day. Another female friend backed into the mailbox of a neighbor after picking up kids from a birthday party. My SIL ripped off her sideview mirror backing out of her garage. You get the idea...

NOW my (and females everywhere) problem: SOLVED!!! A car that has NO REVERSE. You just turn the passenger/driver part of the car around and whamo - you are now in forward again.

See here

I am truly and totally in love....

10 comments:

DF said...

There is a camera that can be mounted in the back of your car to view what is happening when in reverse. It is standard in some really high end cars and on most motor homes. It can be added.

Other things that could help are back up sensors that mount in the rear bumper. Through a speaker, these give an audible alarm as things get closer to the rear bumper.

The easiest thing to do is to let some more time go by, thereby letting Sh and Au get their DL's (should be happening soon) and let them back the car out of the garage.

Neat car though

Lisa Wheeler Milton said...

My sister scraped a car at the school parking lot last week...registering her oldest for kindergarten.

Way to make a good impression. She was horrified.

I'll have to let her know there is hope for her future.

Don Mills Diva said...

That is awesome.
I soooo need one of those!

The Girl Next Door said...

DF: Yes, my little car has the sensors in the rear bumper and have saved me a couple times. A camera in my dashboard would just cause me to run into something else while looking at the camera. I have found that patience works wonders for avoiding reverse-motion incidents. Sigh, if only I had an endless supply of that!

Carol P. said...

Out here in Oregon, they explicitly tell you to walk behind your car before you back up. I think it's even on the driver's test as a recommended best practice....

No, I don't always do it.

I agree with DF's suggestion to let Au and SH practice backing the car out of the garage once they get permits...

Suzanne said...

I Love this.
I TOO have backed into stuff...part of life.

The Girl Next Door said...

CAROL: Your comment seems to think that I back into things that are "hidden" behind my car. No, I prefer to back into great big objects that are clearly visible. Somehow I get into the car and my memory goes blank and I forget they are there. Like when I backed into my parents' car in my own driveway. I knew it was there. hard to miss. Yet I plowed into it anyway. This morning while parking in my garage, I am happy to report that my sensor beepers saved me from another near miss - a small cone that didn't belong in the middle of the parking space. never mind that I drive right past it and should've seen it clearly before trying to back into that spot....

Persnickety Ticker said...

That car was wicked-cool! I have been drooling over the Smart Car lately, but it seems I now have a new dream to follow...thanks for sharing!

JO said...

Hey Girl Next Door....my sis in law has you beat...she is the only person I know who hit a big yellow school bus...and told the police officer "I didn't see it".

Oh wait...we are talking about backing huh..that would be one of my OTHER sis in laws, who applied her brakes at the wrong moment when exiting a parking lot, and realized she had nosed out into oncoming traffic. She slammed her car into reverse - narrowly avoiding a car behind her (who was quick on the uptake and was able to safely back away from my SIL's silly driving). After pulling out and turning right, she stopped at a stop light - realized she was too far into the intersection - slammed her car into reverse (again without looking), and this time slammed into the car behind her. Oh...and it was the same car she "almost" hit in the parking lot just 30 seconds earlier. So.....I am just sayin....

Carol P. said...

Ask JO about sitting in the back of the Pinto wagon (pre seatbelt days!) as our mother backed directly out into the street, right into the new neighbors directly across the street. Neighbors whom we had not yet met, no less (so extreeeeeemely new neighbors). Did my charming younger sister utter a single peep as she watched this unfold at under 5MPH? Nosiree!