Known reasons for Ferrari accidents?

So the car just swerved to the left sending you over the median?

 

You were going straight and then the wheels just veered left? Odd.

 

You need to check for a loose nut behind the steering wheel ... that's usually where the problem lies

G

 

ASR is a *safety* feature, why would you disable it .. esp in light of the fact that you clearly put yourself in a position of "running out of talent". You're lucky that your faux-pas did not result in any substantial injuries.

The most likely cause for any car experiencing any kind of veering to the right/left on hard acceleration without ASR is that one of the rear tires had more traction than the other. In your case, it sounds like the left-rear was struggling for traction, whereas the right-rear gripped better and therefore started the rotation to the left. Had ASR been active, the system would've noticed the left rear slipping and made adjustments so that grip could be achieved. The front tires are not really involved in the dynamics of this accident, other than your inability to react quick enough and feed in a little counter-steering to stop the rotation.

 

You had best hope your jurisdiction is not on a comparative negligence basis! You may find you will have little standing upon which to depend for recovery in litigation.

And you should know your insurance company may bleed off the info from your car's computer to see what was going on just before the accident!

As I am sure you learned, a Ferrari can bite!

Save that activity for Fords and Chevys!

 

The Prosecution would like to request that BritBlaster be dismissed from the jury pool...

 

Truer words were never spoken. Amazing how people think they can drive but they really don't understand the dynamics of auto handling.

Once I was in a special traffic school for "habitual traffic abusers". You can only be sent there by the judge; Yes, 20 and over the top. Anyway, To get there you had to be doing pretty crazy stuff; I had 15 moving violations in 12 months.

The instructor asked 'You slam on the brakes and lock the wheels. You turn the steering wheel to the right. What direction does the car go?' This is pretty basic stuff but I was the only one out of 25 students that knew what would happen.

Truthfully that was pretty scary. There are people driving wild and they have no clue what they are doing or what will happen. That gets them and other dead. Hopefully others doesn't include me.

 

I think the prosecution would be delighted with the performance of my civil duty, although the defense might not be so elated

Funnily enough I served on a jury last year for a case involving a meth-head who, whilst high and speeding (with a bald-tire thrown in for good measure), lost control and went for an excursion into the lanes normally reserverd for oncoming traffic and was charged with 2 counts of felony vehicular assault for injuries sustained by her passengers.

 

As BritBlaster indicated above, it's due to one tire having more traction than the other. That's what ASR is for, to correct difference in road grip, etc. Having it turned off, leaves you (the driver) to compensate, not the computer.

Some years back in my 355, I jumped in the car to run across town to Jack-in-the-box for breakfast. It was early morning, so the roads were just ever so slightly damp. Anyway, I got down to the bottom of the hill and accelerated just a bit too hard while making a right hand turn on the main road. The back end started to spin and push me to the right - into parked cars. Luckily, there were 3 or 4 empty spaces. The driver's side wheel must have gotten better traction and was pushing me over, while the right side tire was spinning. Anyway, if I had held the accelerator down, it would have run me right off the road up onto the sidewalk and/or into the cars that were parked a little further down. The 355 didn't have ASR, so it was up to you to be on your toes all the time. I eased off the gas enough to get the car back under control and steered gently to the left (back on the road).

Here is a video on youtube of what happens when you loose control of the 360 and don't get off the gas - the back of the car does the steering for you and unless you let up on the accelerator (slowly enough to not unbalance the car in the process), then the car will take whatever path it finds traction on pretty much. In those cases, either you take action and counter steer and/or let up on the gas, or you are just along for the ride. Probably very similar to what happened to you I'm guessing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfTSvkcKRy8

If you are thinking you will go to court and somehow show that Ferrari and the 360 were the cause of the accident, I doubt you'll get very far.

Ray

 

hehe.. No, I meant if JJP360 tried to sue Ferrari If the state prosecuted him, then of course they'll be calling ya

Ray

 

I think the comments here are dead on and Britblaster could serve on my jury.

I'd prefer he testify as an expert witness, though.

Cig1's statement of the "loose nut behind the wheel" is is very appropriate as is the statement of BritBlaster's of "running out of talent".

JJP, I would suggest before you publically introduce any further info on this matter that you seek the advice of counsel.

You might be surprised how the events turn here as you can definitely expect to be sued by the occupants of that VW you T-boned!

 

Sorry to hear about your accident. You have to be very careful with Ferraris, especially driving fast, etc. They have a lot of power.

Anyway, just be glad nobody was killed. Most likely the driver of the VW will sue you (if they have any brains) and the city/state will cite you for some sort of points on your license. Most likely for reckless driving, speed contest and reckless driving. That will probably be enough points to lose your license for a bit or at least some serious fines.

Do you have the car or was it towed to the yard?

Ray

 

+1 - JJP - that's good advice from Greg. Shut up until you find a good lawyer. If you aren't careful, anything you say on this forum could be introduced in court and/or insurance matters.

Ray

 

My guess it this was it was and similar to the youtube video. I'm not exactly sure why the front wheels were so ineffective in correcting the rear end coming around? In the youtube vid I can see that when he got on the grass any turning had little effect. Good luck getting that one sorted out.

 

If you buy a Ferrari you need to understand Oversteer! and opposite lock (counter steer) because that would have saved alot of trouble in this case.

 

Sorry for your misfortune. The answer to your question is you (are the problem), not front tires (locking). Your entire post suggests a desire to be rescued and excused from responsibility. By sheer luck you didn't kill someone. I don't know how old you are but you obviously had access to more money than intelligence. When the courts are through, I hope you stop asking to be excused and face the fact you endangered yourself and others. Best

 

ummm... your front wheels didn't lock... its impossible... utterly and physicaly impossible... there is absolutley no correlation between accerlarting quickly and the front brakes locking... ESPECIALLY with the ASR off!

 

was there a rise in the pavement to cause the rear wheels to slightly lift and break traction? I have had this happen a few times under hard acceleration.

 

I'm very sorry to hear this happened Justus but at least you're okay. Are you going to get it fixed or are you going to buy a new Ferrari? I hope this doesn't stop you from being a Ferrari owner in the future. Once you get things settled, you need to come out with us and do a track event.
The number one rule is that you never drag race in a Ferrari. They just aren't made for that.

There are several others in your area that have had accidents in Ferraris. I think you should contact some of those guys and ask for advice. PM me if you need to.

I'm sure this is obvious but DO NOT let the person you hit know who your family is. They are already going to see dollar signs because you were driving a Ferrari, you don't want to give them anymore of a reason to try to sue you.

 

lol... We don't have a point system in Texas.

 

Justus driving with the ASR off NOT A GOOD IDEA.....Do you think maybe the reason for the ASR IS TO KEEP YOU AND EVERYONE AROUND YOU SAFE FROM TRACTION ISSUES!!!! Why be so stupid and and endanger others????? The ASR needs to stay on in your case everytime you drive.....Glad you live in Texas we dont need any clowns like this in Jersey....Glad to hear the people involved were not hurt......Justus-Texas mike hope they sue the SH$# out of you to teach you some manners!!!! Your lucky the guy in Bug you T-boned didnt feed you your teeth I would HAVE!!!!BEN

 

Everone screws up. Sometimes it's fatal. Learn from it. Also learn to drive.

 

I'm confused why you put my name in that sentence. Care to explain...?

 

Go to the track my friend. Much safer and cheaper to take a trip to the gravel while you are figuring these things out. Hope it all works out for you