[newbeemini]

All i can say is ouch!! At least you alive Lolance remember a car is replaceable you are not! Although i must say looking at the photo the car doesnt look too bad although the bulk of the damage is probably on the left hand side.

Goes to show how tough these cars are, for example a had a bump in mine recently due to some black ice. I was lucky though i bumped into a hedge and at first i thought i would need a new bumper but thanks to the reformable bumpers on these cars it popped back into shape with only two little scratches that polised out. Thats why i am avoiding B roads as much as possible until these conditions improve.

Still hope you have a happy christmas mate.

[R99]

Sorry to hear about your accident. I hope you get back on the road as soon as possible.

As others have said, the main thing is that your ok.

James.

[femstar]

wow that is pretty serious L, but as said already at least you are ok., you have to give the car a surname - "Roland". New car as well! I had similar and ended up with rear wheels on the crash barrier, can be very dangerous when one gets a bit to relaxed and in a powerful car.
However you and I won't ever make that mistake again, take care matey.

[big-kev]

Quote: Originally Posted by deanquartermaine (original)

A similar thing happened to me a month or so ago.



Word or warning if you replace the run-flat MAKE SURE you tell Direct Line our else they will invalidate your insurance Direct Line are one of the strictest insurance companies around for undeclared mods.

This is what worries me most about owning a convertible.....just imagine if it was a soft top!!!

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by big-kev (original)

This is what worries me most about owning a convertible.....just imagine if it was a soft top!!!

They (cabriolets) do have the roll-bars and the framework & shell is strengthened and they also have larger seat airbags , but still! , looking at that pic , and there are quite a few rolled MINIs out there , it's not the worst that I've seen .

[Fin]

Quote: Originally Posted by big-kev (original)

This is what worries me most about owning a convertible.....just imagine if it was a soft top!!!

Just wear a helmet

[Shaun]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lolance (original)

No-one else was involved in this accident and there is no-one else to blame but me.

Thats a very impressive comment and quite rare these days.

There is a certain skill to driving and it can go a bit pear shaped from time to time. I binned a Mini years ago missed three lamp posts and a fence. I only bent a wheel and a radius arm and dented my pride, it taught me a lesson though.

Hope you get it all sorted and dont lose your enthusiasm for motoring or perhaps a tiny bit less enthusiasm would help ? All the best... Shaun

[jamesbeaumont]

Quote: Originally Posted by DaFlake (original)

Sorry to hear about it but I am glad that you are ok.

I do have a few questions; what is your beef with run-flats? IMHO, you exceeded the limits of the vehicle and tires so I doubt that regular tires would have helped any better as you would have just pushed it harder. I constantly hear the complaints about them, but I have driven on both and find that the RF's actually seem to feel a lot more solid on the road.

I am just curious. Also, were these winter tires or were they summers? I cold weather summers lose traction at 7 C because they start to harden. Winter tires are designed to stay softer at cooler temps. So, if you had improper tires on the car it could have contributed to your loss of traction.

Just my thoughts, but like I said, I am sad for your loss and happy that you are OK.

I have to disagree, the runflats really do have issues...I have them on my cooper and I often find the car drifiting horribly wide on corners where standard vauxhall astras, golfs and the like have cruised round without loss of grip. They are quite progressive though thank god but mine are being binned asap. However obviously its not just the tyres fault, to go that wide is some missjudgement and its heart breaking to see, hope you get everything sorted lolance

[DaFlake]

Quote: Originally Posted by jamesbeaumont (original)

I have to disagree, the runflats really do have issues...I have them on my cooper and I often find the car drifiting horribly wide on corners where standard vauxhall astras, golfs and the like have cruised round without loss of grip. They are quite progressive though thank god but mine are being binned asap. However obviously its not just the tyres fault, to go that wide is some missjudgement and its heart breaking to see, hope you get everything sorted lolance

Oddly I find it the opposite. I find the ride rough but they hold the road much better due to the stiffer sidewalls. Normal tires actually flex rolling under the pressure in a corner. If you are going so fast that you are losing traction, then you are pushing the car to hard for the suspension and the conditions of the road. We are not talking about tracks here, we are talking about what should be "normal" driving.

That being said, my comment was for the OP as he rated the runflats as part of the cause of the accident and was not designed to start a debate in this thread. We can start another thread about that.

[wiz]

Glad that you guys are OK.

[Lolance]

Hey guys, many thanks for all the help, support and advice you've all given me!
I only hope peeps will read this and learn from my mistakes. If anything should deter people from having crashes, I've got a Matiz for a hire car. This you definitely don't speed round corners with And it makes the rattles in the Mini silent in comparison!

It was towards Sutton Bonington, near Notts. But the location shouldn't really matter, any corner in these weather conditions with a tool (such as myself ) will make a very messy crash.

I haven't got any beef with run-flats, they have their place in the world! But reading other threads and googling the matter has lead me to believe that conventional tyres have certain benefits over run-flats, such as cost and traction. The run-flats would be great on the motorway but as soon as the year begins, I will be looking for some new tyres, getting myself some squirty foam and a compressor (I don't know what a compressor is for, just going on what everyone else is saying they have, research needed!!) and joining either the AA/RAC (research needed here too )

Another question tho guys, I hit a concrete post on my left front side. The lights have gone into the bay and the bonnet/bumpers have deformed. I landed on my side too.
All this and none of my airbags went off?? Should this be expected??

Everyone is telling me about horror stories now and I consider myself still very lucky.

Dean, your crash looks unbelievable. Hope you and your passenger were ok! I'm not sure I want to know what happened...!

Let's get some more pictures up to help people realise the importance of safe driving.

[Lolance]

ps. yes I know it's Christmas Day, but everyone in my house doesn't get up til noon at the earliest!

Hope you all have a wicked day getting merry and overeating!

[deanquartermaine]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lolance (original)

Dean, your crash looks unbelievable. Hope you and your passenger were ok! I'm not sure I want to know what happened...!

Yeah it was an unbelievable experiance, didn't look as bad on it's roof. I was VERY VERY lucky to walk away from that completly unharmed.

Thank god I didn't have a passenger, cause let me tell you they would be dead if I had.

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by Lolance (original)

Another question tho guys, I hit a concrete post on my left front side. The lights have gone into the bay and the bonnet/bumpers have deformed. I landed on my side too.
All this and none of my airbags went off?? Should this be expected?? .

I see a lot of MINIs (and other cars) accident damaged but basically it depends where the cars have been hit and how they have been hit whether the airbags go off or not, ie. you can get some that have been hit very slightly right on the end of the chassis leg and the shock will travel through the chassis and set the airbags off with only minimal damage, and others mainly rolled ones that are absolutely devastated and no airbags have been deployed at all , I believe this to because the damage is absorbed by the car as it crashes and not actually getting a shock through the chassis (more like going down a very bumpy road, If they where set to sensitive they would be deployed every time you hit a bump ) plus in your case you ended up on grass / mud and on roads like you where on, there are not normally any curbs which normally set the airbags off just before they roll, and can actually cause a roll .

Saying that, I do know of a couple of people who actually hit pot-holes hard with the rear wheel that set the seat airbags off while driving down the road (as the impact sensor for the seat airbags is under the rear seat just behind the driver / passenger where the rear suspension mounts to the chassis) .

Plus on the MINIs (R50s, R52s, R53s), they do have a large amount of plastic on the front (the front panel) which takes the impact 1st, yours was a new model R56, which has only just started filtering down in to the salvage side of things (so I haven't come across many of these yet, although I have seen a few , and I know that they are totally diferent, from the ones that I have seen ).

Quote: Originally Posted by Lolance (original)

Let's get some more pictures up to help people realise the importance of safe driving.

Unfortunately although I come across this sort of thing on a daily baisis, I'm not one for taking / keeping photographs, so I can't really help on that front (you get immune to it, I may have some though ) .

[David King]

Why dont you sign up to do an advanced motoring course? Ive just signed up to start doing my RoSPA, they say its all about making a progressive and safe drive etc etc. Cost me about £15 to join and you get free observed drives and then all you have to do is pay for your test.

Plus your insurance premiums will reduce a fair amount.

[Fin]

Quote: Originally Posted by davidking (original)

Why dont you sign up to do an advanced motoring course? Ive just signed up to start doing my RoSPA, they say its all about making a progressive and safe drive etc etc. Cost me about £15 to join and you get free observed drives and then all you have to do is pay for your test.

Plus your insurance premiums will reduce a fair amount.

That is interesting. Do have a rough idea of the percentage saving on your premium and/or a list of insurance companies who recognise the course?

[ALD0]

Glad both occupents ok, thats pretty harsh damage to your MINI

[Deanliv]

See my pics,It had just started to rain after 2 weeks of sunshine, I Left the motorway whilst going round a very large light bend to join another motorway. Went into an uncontrolable sidewards skid, just missing the back end of an artic lorry up an embankment and into a lamppost. I was travelling at between 70-80MPH, which is probably too fast for the bend. Two days later the road was re surfaced!! But i do believe the run flat tyres played a part in the accident as well as possibly the ATC.

1. The run flat tyres appear to have no give in the sidewalls, therefore when travelling round bends there is no flexibility.

2. As i entered a sidewards skid the rear of the car stepped out of line, computers picked it up, braking each wheel to try and keep me straight but resulted in sending me further into the skid a i was travelling round a bend and not in a stright line.

The result was all 4 tyres with no grip sliding across 2 lanes of traffic with no control. The fact my legs are so long I had to have my eat right back is the reason Im still alive today otherwise theres no doubt about it the roof would of crushed my head.

BIG KEV my views are the same as yours regarding convertables, I will never have one, there is no protection there whatsoever. This accident proved to me the roof and the windscreen alone plays a vital part in the strengh of your car.

I now drive my new mini with more caution especially to weather and speed, road conditions, road surface etc , I now realise you can be here one minute gone the next and speed isnt everything, If it takes me an extra 10 mins to get to work, so be it. I am alos going to sign up to do the advanced driving test and a skid pan test as i still feel if i was in that situation again I wouldnt be able to control the machine.

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deanliv (original)

See my pics, Left the motorway whilst going round a large bend to join another motorway. Went into an uncontrolable sidewards skid, just missing the back end of an artic lorry up an embankment and into a lamppost. I was travelling at between 70-80MPH. Two days later the road was re surfaced!! But i do believe the run flat tyres played a part in the accident as well as possibly the ATC.

1. The run flat tyres appear to have no give in the sidewalls, therefore when travelling round bends there is no flexibility.

2. As i entered a sidewards skid the rear of the car stepped out of line, computers picked it up, braking each wheel to try and keep me straight but resulted in sending me further into the skid a i was travelling round a bend and not in a stright line.

The result was all 4 tyres with no grip sliding across 2 lanes of traffic with no control.

(thank god for the swear filter) Wow, that is some accident!! How on earth did you come out of that one!!

[deanquartermaine]

that is bad, really bad. How the hell you got out of there god only knows.