Car Loses Control in Columbia Heights

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by Prince Of Petworth December 5, 2013 at 8:37 am 41 Comments

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Thanks to a reader for sending from the 1100 block of Girard St, NW:

“Three cars damaged
Road blocked by police car I in front yard
Spoke to lady who said she lost control of her car”

Anonymous

Those Fiats, you can park eem anywhere!
Anonymous

Wow, how does something like this happen in the absence of icy conditions??
- Anonymous
  
  drunk driving. epileptic fit. road head.
- zach
  
  I’d say most likely they mistook the gas pedal for the brake.
- Emilie504
  
  The traffic guy on the radio said the mixture of fallen leaves and moisture made the roads slippery, in an icey way. So maybe that’s what happened.
  - Anonymous
    
    Wow crazy. The person would have to be going pretty fast to get that far onto the sidewalk though. It’s a good thing no one was seriously injured…
Jon

How the heck did she get that far into the yard? Was she doing 90 mph?
Gee

A better headline would be “Driver loses control of car in Columbia Heights”. For a moment, I thought you meant it was one of those self-driving cars.
- Prince Of Petworth
  
  I believe people are capable of figuring it out. I also don’t give a shit about grammar.
  - Anonymous
    
    It’s not about grammar. Words matter. This is about acknowledging that the culture of “it’s ok, this happens with cars and we need to accept both the personal and property damage that comes along with automobiles.” Saying a person did this. And a person should be responsible for this. And a person should be punished for this is a good step in changing that culture and saving lives.
    - Sergeant
      
      Lighten up, Francis.
      .
      I think the vast majority of us figured out what the headline meant.
    - justinbc
      
      Changing the culture? What the hell are you talking about?
      - Anonymous
        
        here’s a start:
        http://fixthetoaster.wordpress.com/2012/11/08/the-way-we-talk-about-car-crashes/
      - Anon
        
        Hahaha, seriously. I was thinking the exact same thing.
      - HaileUnlikely
        
        There is half a point here. Yes, many crashes involve drivers purposely doing very irresponsible things. But another large number involve simple errors that all the motivation and good intentions in the world can’t prevent a fallible human from making. Even if a crash is mainly the fault of the driver, blaming and demonizing the driver isn’t necessarily the most effective way to prevent future crashes. Research shows that framing crashes as squarely the fault of the driver also reduces people’s support or demand for safer transportation infrastructure.
      - justinbc
        
        Unless you’re driving a 1908 Model T I think it’s pretty safe to assume that most people go in with the assumption that in any random incident the driver is at fault, and not some crazy malfunctioning automobile, until proven otherwise.
      - Anonymous
        
        There was that problem with Toyotas a couple of years ago.
      - Jack5
        
        Because we can obviously tell that the driver was totally at fault by looking at this picture on our computer screen over the Internet… 20 Years in Jail determined by the Car Hater’s Association of America (CHAA).
      - justinbc
        
        “There was that problem with Toyotas a couple of years ago.”
        ————–
        Right, which would fall under the “under proven otherwise” category. And even still, a few incidences where that was the case do not nearly compare to the thousands of Toyota drivers who do stupid things of their own accord.
    - BikeGIRL
      
      +1,000,000
      
      This is a thing people in traffic safety are actually talking about and trying to change.
      
      https://www.aaafoundation.org/safety-culture
      - textdoc
        
        Hmm… that page and campaign don’t seem to be about traffic safety language, but instead about addressing the disconnect between what people think others should do and what they themselves do:
        “Most people understand the risks of distraction, drowsiness, impaired driving, and other risky behaviors – and they condemn others for being risky – but they refuse to apply what they know to their own behavior.”
    - Anonymous
      
      Do you want a refund?? Go read another blog
  - Anonymous
    
    *Like*
  - Gee
    
    Next time there is a shooting, I look forward to a headline “Gun shoots man” then.
    - Prince Of Petworth
      
      And I’ll look forward to that semantic debate. It’s really why I love running this blog. Words are like velvet to me. And I take velvet very very seriously.
      - Anonymous
        
        hahahahaha.
      - The Internet
        
        It’s serious business, Mr. PoP.
      - AE
        
        Yay PoP!
  - Emilie504
    
    “I also don’t give a shit about grammar.” I love you.
    - Emilie504
      
      in a non creepy, I love what you said kind of way ;)
    - Sean
      
      I love you. But in the opposite kind of way that Emilie loves you. (i.e. in a very, very creepy way)
  - Anonymous
    
    “I don’t give a shit about grammar” is an interesting philosophy for someone supporting himself by writing.
    - gotryit
      
      It is if you think we’re reading this for the poetic flow of his posts. Or, if you think we’re reading this to get good local neighborhood info, and don’t care about the floweriness of his words, then it doesn’t matter. Perspective?
      - Anonymous 10:44
        
        Word choice (floweriness) and grammar are totally different things. I just think it’s interesting that someone who writes for a living doesn’t care about grammar, which is what makes writing clear and accurate (and is what I expect from an info-oriented blog like this).
      - Prince Of Petworth
        
        I don’t think of myself as one who writes for a living. I take photos, connect people and share information for a living. Amazingly for over 7 years! But I appreciate your concern.
      - justinbc
        
        God forbid you miss the space in “hot dog”.
Anonymous

who needs a curb cut.
Anonymous

Fiat-sco!
- textdoc
  
  Good one. :)
EH

This was two doors down from my house this morning. It kind of looked like the Fiat had been travelling West – uphill on Girard Street. I believe that car was even parked in that direction earlier at the end of the street. On the other side of the street was a green SUV that looked like it had been travelling East – downhill. I tend to think that was the car that lost control – there was a woman talking to the police near that car. Sitting on the curb next to the Fiat was a confused looking guy. I’m not sure how the Fiat managed to maneuver precisely between two parked cars into the front yard. Crazy stuff.
Nathan

Legal texting while driving in DC crash? Maybe!?? (unless of course the police pull you for running a red light and as they walk up you’re texting, “OMG- like a policeman is standing, like, right at my window”- then they’ll write you a cell phone ticket).

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