Guys, I'm afraid I'll shortly be leaving this forum, I no longer have a Ferrari and have lost a great deal of my enthusiasm for the marque I'm writing this posting as a cautionary tale... On May 8th in Guildford I had an accident in my 456GT. I remember nothing, the last thing being walking down the road towards the car, but somehow it seems I lost control of the beast ten minutes later and it ended up impaled on some railings. Thankfully, no other cars were involved. Fortunately for me, the accident took place close to a fire station, and a fire crew got to the scene very quickly and cut me out of the car. At the time I was bleeding from both femoral arteries, so it's only their prompt action which saved my life. I've just got home from hospital in Tooting, having been there for five weeks. I won't go into great and gory detail, but my injuries are life changing. The car is a write-off, the insurance assessor told my partner they couldn't believe the driver survived and certainly couldn't believe he got away with legs. Sadly only one of my legs did actually survive the accident. The Police think the collision happened at about 40-50mph, which leaves me embittered about the way the car performed. In hospital, one of the nurses said to me "If you hadn't been driving such an expensive car, do you think you would have survived?". Sadly, I think the opposite is the case - the £170K (new) 456 simply crumpled up like cardboard, I doubt a £20K Saab would have done the same. Incidently, we've now bought a new Saab 93, which has a 5-star safety rating and six air bags! Anyway, I'm not writing this to taint anyone's F-car ownership but because I think it's important to remind ourselves we're not invulnerable in that tin box. And whilst F-car's are undoubtedly wonderful on many levels, they certainly ain't built for crashing, so please go carefully out there. Best wishes to everyone I've chatted with in the past, if you'd like to keep in touch my email address is [email protected]. Cheers, Dan
Dan, I'm so sorry to hear your tale of woe, and I sincerely hope you manage to maintain some quality of life given your life changing event. If you still wish to stay involved, there is a passenger seat in may car if you ever want it, and you will always be welcome on Fchat. Good luck, Stig
Dan, I hope you come back to check your replies- I'm sure no doubt there will be more. I'm really sorry to hear what happened, and can only say thank God you survived. I hope time and support from family and friends will help you come to terms with your injuries. As you say, it is events like these which must make us all treat our driving with the total care it deserves. Best regards Robert.
Sobering stuff indeed Dan. Thankfully you're still here to tell the tale, which is the most important thing. I hope things work out well for the future, chin up.
I'm terribly sorry to read this news. The car is unimportant. It certainly can't have been an easy 5 weeks, but it will get better. I empathize with you and hope you are able to make full use of the wonderful advancements in prosthetics.
Dan, I know exactly what you mean about the Ferraris being not strong on impact. I crash my 348 GTS two years ago on the M11 doing 30 mph. I hit the rear of a Ford focus. The whole front end of the 348 was gone including the windscreen pillar. I hope you recover and remember life goes on. I know becuase I nearly lost my Dad in a car crash 15 years ago. His lost control of his BMW M series at 150 MPH and hit the central barrier while in Germany. His best friend who served with my dad in vietnam died and my dad is left paralysed from the chest down. Same paralysis as Frank Williams in F1. We never know what around the corner. My dad always says to live each day of my life to the fullist.... Take care Dan...
Dan very sorry to hear of your accident,hope all goes well in the future for you, All the best Dan Dale.
Gutted to hear the news Dan. Hope you recover both physically and emotionally as soon as possible. When ever I drive my fathers 456 one of the things I love is the sense of being in such a sturdy powerful car. The powerful thing is right but not it seems the sturdiness. It will certainly make me think when I next take it out.
Get well soon. I think it does show that the only place to really enjoy these cars is outside the cities or on the track. Dan they do say that if you fall of the horse you have to get straight back on. I share the Stigs sentiments about the spare passenger seat!
Dan this is absolutely terrible and I'm so sorry to hear what's happened to you It seems like just yesterday we were chatting via PM about the car when you first got it and how excited you were and how you were looking to drive it as often as you could. To hell with the car mate. At the end of the day it's only a car which is replaceable but you're not. Thank god you survived the crash. As you say, it probably saved your life being near a Fire station. I'm so sorry to hear about your leg. For you to say your injuries are life changing is an understatement but with the support of your family and friends and with the right mental attitude, absolutely anything is possible so don't let it stop you from doing anything and everything you want to do. I really wish you all the best mate, and sincerely hope that your injuries heal soon.
This is terrible!!! I join all your mates in wishing you the best...take it one day at a time, as it comes.... Best wishes from the colonies, please continue to let us know how you are doing...........
very sorry to hear that. Please do not forget, even though your life changed, you can still drink beer, watch tv, listen to music etc. I know at the moment the only thing you can think about is the things you miss, but after a while, please think about the things you still can do. Those will give you strength, and I bet you will need that. Good luck, and I will definately keep your story in mind when I ever buy a Ferrari, or maybe not.
Dan, I am deeply sorry you have been unlucky enough to go through this terrible experience. We are all at risk on the roads everyday and take this for granted, this is a sobbering reminder to many indeed. I hope you will be able to make use of some pretty impressive modern technology in terms of prosthetics and get your life back on track. A challenge that you can be very proud indeed of conquering. Ade
Dan at least you were lucky and got to live another day (hopefully years) hope you have a speedy recovery
Dan Your events bring home the stark realality to us all "we are only Human" and even tho we think we are invisable "we are not". Anything at all I can do m8, just ask. All the best with your recovery and the future... Kind Regards Joe
Dan, I am very sorry to read about your accident, we have never met but we are all part of one big club. I know that I speak for everyone on this site when I say that with or without a Ferrari you will always be welcome here. If there is anything we can do to help in your recovery you only have to ask. I wish you and your family a speedy recovery and good fortune for the future. Best Wishes. Phil.
Very sorry to hear of your accident Dan. Like everyone, my very best wishes for a speedy recovery, and please do look on the positive side. Hope to see you still visiting us here; as has been said we are all one close community no matter what. Geoff
Dan, I know this is no comfort, but same thing happened to me on a motorcycle long time ago. I lost functionality of one arm, and that changed my life forever. Better, worst, I cannot say. I lost my job, my partner and many other things. I found a fantastic wife, another work and different experiences. I still ride motorcycles, even if it took a while to learn again (mainly to modify controls...). So never say never. You will make it and, one way or another, you will find your way out of it. All the best Eugenio
Hi Dan Very unfortunate circumstances. Try and stay in touch with the folks on the board , good bunch of people always willing to try and help out wherever possible. All the best James
Dan, I'm terribly sorry to hear about this. Best of luck as you continue to recover, and never give up hope... Thank you for taking the time and courage to post on FerrariChat. Your message serves as an important reminder to all of us.
