XC hit badly

[VolvoStew]

Well…, my beautiful brand new loaded ‘07 XC70 with 1500 miles got creamed the other day. I was turning at a green light when a car from the left ran his red light. I saw it in plenty of time and stopped normally (not abruptly) to let the idiot pass safely. I proceeded to go and as I’m making my right hand turn, this other idiot in a full size HD pickup with snow plow and loaded with bags of what looked like cement, rams me in the rear with his plow at an approximate 45 degree angle - VERY HARD. He then proceeds to flee the scene and blows past me. I quickly got my composure and chased him almost a mile with headlights flashing and horn blaring. Dweeb puts two and two together and realizes I have him with vehicle make, model & plate number. He pulls over and tries to deny there is any significant damage to my car (he never had a chance to see the back of my car cause he fled). Cop shows up, does his report, finds dweeb 100% at fault and sends me on my way. Daughter and I are feeling very sore from the impact and head to the hospital where they document cervical spine trauma. We’re alive, but sore.

Visible car damage:
- Bumper badly damaged
- Tailgate badly damaged
- Frame in front of bumper pushed in

I took the car to the dealer and they said so far they see the alignment is off (which they re-set). They said until the back is dismantled and inspected, they won’t know what else is damaged.

Questions:

What underlying damage should I look for that may not be visible to the naked eye?

Even after the alignment, the car seems squirrelly and has a significant vibration above 30mph. After the body was torqued to the left from being hit on an angle, could there be damage to the suspension that may not be visible? There is this anomaly that happens now and then where, after I stop, the body seems to settle with a bouncy feeling, like un-sprung weight letting loose.

Something odd happens with the radio: As I have the car in drive, and rolling forward, the radio intermittently cuts out and I hear this slow beeping of (I think) the rear park sensors. I thought maybe water got down in the bumper causing a short. I told the service guy this but he said it wouldn’t be the sensors if the car was in drive as they are deactivated and no current is on the wires. Is that true? If so, what else could it be?

The transmission seems to shift funny at times like it is trying to find the right gear. This is mostly in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. I was accelerating (slowly) and traveling about 5mph when hit. If the transmission was in the process of shifting when hit, could this damage something in there?

If they pull the rear structure in front of the bumper back to where it should be, is that crumple zone now compromised and not as safe for future accidents as it was when new?

Well, as you can imagine, I’m bummed. But my biggest concern is my daughter. I hope she isn’t plagued with life-long back and neck problems. That can happen from these rear-end impacts. The car is expendable.

I truly wish there was a system or a way to STOP people from tailgating. Every day I drive, at some point I’m tailgated. EVERYDAY.

[Mink]

My sympathies, and relief that you and your daughter are OK.

I have a question for you. Is there any other car on the road (other than a military vehicle!) that you would rather have been in?

Can't help with the mechanical stuff, but I'd suggest your daughter (and you) get yourselves checked out by a good chiropractor, after you've been given the all-clear by an orthopaedic surgeon. Take your X-rays with you. In my experience chiropractors (the good ones anyway) work at a more subtle level than (most) allopaths, and can treat issues which would otherwise return to haunt you later in life. Whiplash is a good example.

Good luck!

[JRL]

Answered on SS

[VolvoStew]

My sympathies, and relief that you and your daughter are OK.

I have a question for you. Is there any other car on the road (other than a military vehicle!) that you would rather have been in?

Can't help with the mechanical stuff, but I'd suggest your daughter (and you) get yourselves checked out by a good chiropractor, after you've been given the all-clear by an orthopaedic surgeon. Take your X-rays with you. In my experience chiropractors (the good ones anyway) work at a more subtle level than (most) allopaths, and can treat issues which would otherwise return to haunt you later in life. Whiplash is a good example.

Good luck!

Mink:

Thanks. Yes, we are both being followed by the docs. They've sent me to PT starting Monday and my daughter had a MRI this afternoon. She was twisted sideways in her seat at the time of impact, so I think she might have gotten it pretty bad. Her head got wrenched sideways. I'm preying nothing is seriously wrong with her neck. They told us that a vertebra could be fractured which may not show up on the x-ray they did in the ED. We’ll know soon.

On military vehicles… It’s funny you mention that. Since the accident, I’ve been eyeballing the occasional Hummer when I see them go by. I once drove my client’s full size original Hummer (not H2) and that was some big rig. It probably would have done his plow truck some damage.

[wgriswold]

I had a whiplash injury twenty years ago when I was rear ended by huge early 1970's Cadillac. My neck hurt, especially if I touched my chin to my shoulder. My MD said it would go away in a year or two and sent me on my way. I went to a Chiropractor and he saw me the twenty times that my insurance allowed. At each visit I had a neck massage, heat treatment, ultrasound treatment and a neck manipulation that I hated. As long as I saw him the pain was gone. He recommended that I continue treatments for the rest of my life. I wasn't going to sign up for that and quit going. The pain came back and gradually decreased over the next year and then was gone.

I think that the effective parts of his treatment were the first three and these can be duplicated by Physical Therapy. I am a great advocate of PT. It has completely eliminated by chronic back pain. That and the great Volvo seats!

So, hang in there and even if the pain persists that does not mean that it is a life sentence.

[dicks volvo]

Concerns about soft tissue damage are always a concern, early diagnosis and treatment are a must. Document everything on a daily basis , set it up in a letter to your lawyer, not a personal diary.
Keep track too of the damage and reactions to your vehicle, and best to take it to the same dealer to get a consistent record of work done.

As for Tailgaters, Young Drivers teaches several methods of avoidance recommending principally to always have an escape route and two to continuously monitor the traffic around you. Intersections account for >85% of all accidents.
When stopped you are always watching the rear view mirror for vehicles on the move, and having the escape route planned. When moving you are always 2 seconds behind the vehicle in front of you, and if someone tailgates create more distance, add 2 seconds for every type of occurance, snow or tailgaters.
In this instance you did avoid the one instance but got slammed on the other..preventable? maybe.. but you had major distractions, if the other driver used the 2 second rule and paid attention going through the intersection, he would have seen you and avoided.

Good luck with the healing and repair work.

[Jake529]

Your car is toast. My 94 Volvo got hit by a Jetta while it was in park. He hit the car at about 30mph. You couldn't tell how bad it was till they put it on the frame machine. They pulled it and said it was fine. Yea right. First drive on the highway, I went over a little dip in the road and the windshield cracked like a gun shot. That was it, traded it in far away from home. YES I KNOW THAT WAS BAD, but I was pissed and it was 2003.......

Jake