Date:         Tue, 7 Nov 1995 23:18:06 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Claralw@aol.com
Subject:      HANG UP AND DRIVE



hello 
   and thanks to everyone who sent me nice notes

yup - on Saturday evening just before 7:00, I was driving home and as I
turned (left) into my driveway this lady wailed into me pretty damn hard.  I
live on a main rural road, and people drive 60 mph in front of my house,
  there is a speed limit sign I use as a driveway marker that says 45, up
from 40 as you go out from town.   So she tried to pass me and plowed right
into the drivers door of my 61 bus (that I ramble on about sometimes).  I was
knocked unconcious and woke up sitting in the road.  (no, 61 buses didn't
come with seat belts,   I must have hit my head on the door or something)   I
scooted off the road onto the grass,  and then someone drove by and ran over
my glasses.  At least it wasn't me.
   Well, I got a new  pair of glasses, and I've got a couple bumps on my
head, and I'm sore all over.   I've just been sitting around for a few days,
taking hot baths.   and boy, does my butt hurt!  but nothings broken.  Whew

      The poor bus is fixable.  She needs a drivers door, it doesn't shut
anymore,  a dogleg,  and the hump under the seat was pushed in and needs to
be straightened out.  The bus' suspension was directly hit, too, and the cap
that covers the front wheel nuts and bearing disappeared.  Unfortunately
something in there is munched, trailing arm(s)?,king/link pins?, the rim is
toast.  Oh and the front bumper was pulled forwards as she scraped off the
left of the bus.  This redirected the bus to the right (east), where it drove
into a ditch and hit a fencepost with the right side headlight, too, and
scratched up the aluminium trim on the front right nose, and right door on
the bushes and barbed wire.   The muffler was munched too, from driving into
the ditch.
         Her 91 white mazda bounced off  my bus into the ditch on the west
side of the road, and hit a telephone pole.  she was fine.   I didn't go look
at her car, my head hurt,  I went to the hospital to get it checked out.

It cost $95 to get a tow truck to come tow the bus out of the ditch, across
the street into my driveway.  Doesn't that seem excessive?

   So now my boyfriend and I have the 69 bug and the 54 barndoor to drive.
 So I guess the 54 really will be a daily driver now.  I don't like to drive
it in the rain, as the wipers are really slow,  and it needs paint.   For
those of you elsewhere, Western Washington is very soggy.   There are lots of
mushrooms growing here.  They would happily grow in the roof gutter of a bus.
 Cars rust out from leaky window seals, not from salt.  Anyway,  I wanted to
get the 66 running so we'd have a workbus  BEFORE doing the rocker rust
repair on the 61.  I guess we'll switch the motor over to the 66 to get it
running ASAP,  and then do all the bodywork on the 61 at  one time, and put
in a new headliner and all new window seals.   I'm think about getting it
repainted green instead of sealing wax red,   I think that sea foam green is
lovely.   It'll be too nice to drive, ack, I dream on.....   I hope the
insurance company comes through and pays for my bills etc.

   So be warned, even if you are a careful driver and keep your bus /car in
well maintained condition,  there's a lot of people out there who don't pay
attention.  So please drive conciously,   and don't be in too much of a hurry
to be safe.