Mazda3Club.com : The Original Mazda3 Forum

Me and my friend decided to go up to the mountains and hang out there for a little bit. So instead of going our usual way, we took some road that we'd only gone up once before. We were driving happily along enjoying the curves and then towards us come 2-3 SUVs ALL with their high-beams on. So as I squint and try to see where I'm going I suddenly see the road going to my side and me going towards a road sign and some rocks. Of course I turned the steering wheel but that didn't do much... I slammed the brakes and plowed right out of the turn into the rocks. As a result, the right side of my front bumper is just FUCKED up, there's a big dent and it's badly scratched. Needless to say I was pissed OFF! My friend tells me "Oh god, there goes your front end." I'm like "Nah, it's not that bad." I got out of the car to assess the damages and surely, it wasn't THAT bad. The damage was almost mostly cosmetic, but I noticed my fog lights had turned off. I felt under the dented part of the bumper and that was where some wires were running. No biggie, I can replace a wire or a fuse... Long story made short... my fog lights turned on by themselves as I was going home...

I'm glad the airbags didn't open and that I didn't fuck up my drivetrain at all. The scary part is, my car managed to move a 60+ lbs rock about 2 feet out of it's place. I'm lucky that rock was there to stop me. Behind the rocks there was a street sign and some trees. I can only imagine the damage if I'd hit the trees.

What pisses me off is that:
1) There was NO sign about that turn anywhere. The road sign that I nearly hit said "No Parking Any Time". My friend and I looked back on the road and there was no sign to notify drivers of the hairpin turn.
2) The IDIOTS who had their high-beams on and didn't have the common sense to turn them off when they noticed a car coming towards them.
3) One of these idiots actually had the nerve of coming up to me to ask me if I was OK.

I figured when it comes down to it, I'm the only one to blame, so I have no hopes of getting insurance money from anyone (including my insurance). I'll either buy a WW front bumper or just drive around with the ugly dent.

Moral of the story: Slow down on twisty roads that you don't know. Slow down A LOT! If I'd been going about 20 mph slower than I was I would have either made the turn or just stopped in place... Get ABS for your car. If I'd had ABS I would have most likely stopped before I hit the rock.

P.S. If you live around the Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Mountain View area in Silicon Valley and you see a silver Pro with a fucked right side, wave at me and shed a tear for your brother :)