Rear-ended by a 100MPH drunk driver

Vette2Lucid

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Location
Chandler, AZ
Cars
Air Touring
My daughter was with me as we were driving a steady 68MPH down Loop 101 in Chandler, in the right lane, and at 5:41PM, my rearview mirror was filled with speeding car less than a half-second before impact. The other driver stopped with us, AZ DPS came, and a witness returned to the scene to tell us the other car had been weaving across lanes and came all the way over from the HOV lane to come in right behind us right before impact. So no wonder I had no opportunity to react. The other driver appeared to be okay otherwise. My back is a little sore but not too bad... we'll see how it feels in the next couple of days. My daughter says she feels okay but owing to her having a medical condition where impacts could lead to fatal consequences, we got her checked out by the ER and things look okay. Thank God.

I am immensely grateful that this happened in our Lucid. I don't think we would have fared as well in our other, lighter vehicles. The other vehicle was clearly unsafe to drive after the impact-- the hood flew up, the front of the car was hanging down, and multiple fluids were streaming out of it. The Lucid came away looking far better than I had expected. The trunk looks a little misaligned, the taillight is cracked and now says "UCID" (must be Christmas-- "Noel"?) but is functional, the bumper cover has a few cracks and the bumper itself took quite a hit, the trunk looks like it may be scuffed, and the back cover to the driver's seat popped off. That's all I could see on first inspection. It's possible there could be more-- but what's important is how well the vehicle protected its occupants. Excellent job, Lucid. I am grateful to all the people who built this car and to the brilliant engineers who designed it to take this kind of impact.

Assuming my daughter remains okay, I am grateful that we were there to take the hit. We may have saved someone else's life by taking this drunk driver off the road. He was arrested on the spot. I pray that he will learn from his experience.
 
So sorry to hear, but thank goodness you and your daughter are safe! 🤯 🙏
 
We were rear ended as well on a freeway, and thankfully everyone in the car is safe. Lucid is an amazingly safe and well built vehicle. Just safety is worth it for the price.
 
So sorry to hear about this. Glad that you and your daughter are OK. Grateful that Lucid built a vehicle that kept you both safe.
 
So sorry this happened, but I’m glad you and your daughter are safe and not hurt.
 
I'm sorry to hear this.
Glad to hear you and your daughter are ok.
Hope there will be no residual effects from the accident.
 
Hoping your daughter is fine and am glad you're ok. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents on the 101. Speed limit is 65 but if you aren't doing 80, you'll get run over. Even up north in the construction area, with the speed limit of 55, typical speed is 75-80. I think AZ could fund their pension with speeding fines.
 
My daughter was with me as we were driving a steady 68MPH down Loop 101 in Chandler, in the right lane, and at 5:41PM, my rearview mirror was filled with speeding car less than a half-second before impact. The other driver stopped with us, AZ DPS came, and a witness returned to the scene to tell us the other car had been weaving across lanes and came all the way over from the HOV lane to come in right behind us right before impact. So no wonder I had no opportunity to react. The other driver appeared to be okay otherwise. My back is a little sore but not too bad... we'll see how it feels in the next couple of days. My daughter says she feels okay but owing to her having a medical condition where impacts could lead to fatal consequences, we got her checked out by the ER and things look okay. Thank God.

I am immensely grateful that this happened in our Lucid. I don't think we would have fared as well in our other, lighter vehicles. The other vehicle was clearly unsafe to drive after the impact-- the hood flew up, the front of the car was hanging down, and multiple fluids were streaming out of it. The Lucid came away looking far better than I had expected. The trunk looks a little misaligned, the taillight is cracked and now says "UCID" (must be Christmas-- "Noel"?) but is functional, the bumper cover has a few cracks and the bumper itself took quite a hit, the trunk looks like it may be scuffed, and the back cover to the driver's seat popped off. That's all I could see on first inspection. It's possible there could be more-- but what's important is how well the vehicle protected its occupants. Excellent job, Lucid. I am grateful to all the people who built this car and to the brilliant engineers who designed it to take this kind of impact.

Assuming my daughter remains okay, I am grateful that we were there to take the hit. We may have saved someone else's life by taking this drunk driver off the road. He was arrested on the spot. I pray that he will learn from his experience.
Wow. The Lucid certainly did its job. I have a friend who hit a black ice spot in his Porsche 911 and he said it saved his life. The car was totaled and he immediately went out and bought another. If your car is totaled, I assume you will do likewise with your Lucid.

Did the trooper arrest the other driver or at least cite him? Did the other driver have insurance? I am going to be going down the 101 that way in a little while. There are some crazy drivers on that road (speed limit 65, cops don't ticket until 10 miles over; I usually set my cruise control for 9 miles over but when I do, it seems 3/4 of the drivers pass me. Going 85 or 90 in a Lucid is one thing; doing the same speed in a Nissan Sentra (or similar) is scary.
 
I'm so happy to hear that you and your daughter only sustained minor injuries. Hopefully, you will both be back to 100% very quickly!

Your experience is distressingly familiar in the Phoenix metro area. Extremely aggressive high-speed driving has become commonplace here in recent years, as enforcement seems to be almost non-existent. I cannot recall the last time I saw a Highway Patrol vehicle on the freeways. It's to the point where you can be driving 10 MPH above the speed limit in the far right lane, and feel like you are seriously impeding traffic, as cars are careening lane to lane at breakneck speeds. That behavior has now transitioned to many surface streets, with the added risks of running red lights and making illegal turns. We narrowly missed a high speed rear end collision a couple days ago, as a car swung behind us to go around a car to our left. How he managed to miss both cars is beyond me.

It may make me sound like an old curmudgeon, but I wonder how much the entertainment industry contributes to the problem. Action films routinely show drivers doing insane things on the road, and yet they somehow manage to navigate through traffic without incident. I think some people are so dumb as to think that emulating that behavior would not be that risky.

No wonder our accident and insurance rates have shot through the roof!
 
Wow. The Lucid certainly did its job. I have a friend who hit a black ice spot in his Porsche 911 and he said it saved his life. The car was totaled and he immediately went out and bought another. If your car is totaled, I assume you will do likewise with your Lucid.

Did the trooper arrest the other driver or at least cite him? Did the other driver have insurance? I am going to be going down the 101 that way in a little while. There are some crazy drivers on that road (speed limit 65, cops don't ticket until 10 miles over; I usually set my cruise control for 9 miles over but when I do, it seems 3/4 of the drivers pass me. Going 85 or 90 in a Lucid is one thing; doing the same speed in a Nissan Sentra (or similar) is scary.
Yes, driving on the 101 can be taxing.
Interesting you mentioned Sentra. My observation has been similar in that the more aggressive drivers seem to be in compact cars. But trucks, and SUVs here are pretty fast, too.
 
Glad everyone is okay - make sure to stay engaged with your doctors as some issues don’t show up right away. Cars can always be replaced - happy the Lucid did its main job of protecting you.
 
Hoping your daughter is fine and am glad you're ok. I'm surprised there aren't more accidents on the 101. Speed limit is 65 but if you aren't doing 80, you'll get run over. Even up north in the construction area, with the speed limit of 55, typical speed is 75-80. I think AZ could fund their pension with speeding fines.
We need more traffic cops, unfortunately, AZ public voted against speed cameras on highways...we need more speed cameras all over the valley, you have people doing 70mph in a 40-50mph zone...
 
Wow. The Lucid certainly did its job. I have a friend who hit a black ice spot in his Porsche 911 and he said it saved his life. The car was totaled and he immediately went out and bought another. If your car is totaled, I assume you will do likewise with your Lucid.

Did the trooper arrest the other driver or at least cite him? Did the other driver have insurance? I am going to be going down the 101 that way in a little while. There are some crazy drivers on that road (speed limit 65, cops don't ticket until 10 miles over; I usually set my cruise control for 9 miles over but when I do, it seems 3/4 of the drivers pass me. Going 85 or 90 in a Lucid is one thing; doing the same speed in a Nissan Sentra (or similar) is scary.
First, thank you to the community for your concern.
Yes, the other driver was arrested and additionally charged with endangerment and criminal damage. Up until the collision, the driving experience last night was surprisingly mellow. Lighter traffic than usual, and I was driving at about the pace of traffic. But I will agree with you-- not just on the 101 but the 202 and the 60 as well, it seems typical that the average speed of traffic is 15 over the limit (right on, @skywaterbanjo ), and not rare to see some driver standing out from the herd. Thursday night it was an M3 on the 60 showing off his lane-changing skills. Two weeks ago on the 101 it was a pair of motorcycles doing 150MPH. A month before that, a Dodge Durango Hellcat showing off how quickly it can get to 100 on a surface street.
@Buffalo Bob , it was a Nissan: a seventh-generation (2009-2014) Maxima. But to the driver's credit, he remained on scene and cooperative. On my bicycle, I have three times been the victim of a hit-and-run, so I know well what that feels like.
I feel better this morning than I did yesterday, and my daughter seems to be no worse. But please pray for her. I still worry whether something more could be going on that she's not even aware of yet. It is also entirely possible our Lucid saved her life.
Speaking of our Lucid... upon inspection this morning I do see that both trunk panels took impact but fared fairly well. The rear quarterpanels have minor fold marks too. But the bumper was clearly the star of the show, taking the vast majority of the impact. If it were to be totaled, you bet I'd stay in the Lucid family. For one, for this community. For two, out of gratitude to the Lucid team. And three, I still aspire to be building their cars someday. The question is, which model? First decision criteria, I have to call out @Bobby , who noted in another thread how important it is to him to have a happy wife. You're a good man. If another model has a seat that my wife can get along with better than our current one, that would be a major decision factor. Next would be drivability for the family-- the Pure's lower power and its silent driving, not to mention its efficiency, would be major selling points. Or I could take a pause and wait for the Gravity to offer a Touring model with a metal roof. But I have no idea what the road ahead looks like for our car in the next few weeks. I'll let you know as things develop.
 
@Vette2Lucid, I just saw your post this morning. I'm so glad everyone made it through safely and is on their way to recovery.
 
I just saw your post as well. I’m so relieved to hear that you are ok and we all definitely will be keeping your daughter in our thoughts. Glad to know the Lucid performed so well and the confidence inspires you to stay in the family.

Indeed, a lack of adequate police presence is not conducive to order and safety given by the examples of all the reckless driving you mentioned.
 
Man I’m so glad you guys are all okay. The one impact I had in my Lucid made me certain I’m not buying another car unless it’s just as safe. That sounds like it could have ended extremely poorly.

I’m so so happy you’re okay. There are far worse things than a software glitch, and this really helps put things in perspective.

I have nothing to add. I’m just really glad you’re okay.
 
Glad everyone is doing OK. Good thing you were going at speed, as the impact was more closer to 30mph. If you had been stationary (stopped in traffic), it would have been horrific!! Hopefully the other driver has GOOD insurance. Don't let them screw you over!!
 
Really glad to hear you and your daughter are ok. The Air is indeed a "tank" in an accident, which I can unfortunately verify.
 
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