Forgive me; this is not science education related. But it’s a pretty big deal to me. My 17-year-old daughter is alive and unharmed.
Yesterday she flipped the car. A deer dashed in front of her. She swerved and went off the dirt road. She smacked into a dirt mound and flipped the car. Not rolled, but flipped the car like it was doing a somersault. A total of five teens were in the car. They were all wearing seat belts. Not a single scratch on any 
of them.
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My daughter is a stubborn girl, which exasperates me to no end. But this time her stubborness was a good thing. Her friends told me that she has a rule for all passengers in a car with her: seatbelts. Good girl.
I’m now in the market for a new car. Needs to be under $20,000 and good on gas. Any suggestions?
Brandon, I can’t help you with car advice, but what a relief that no one was hurt!
A close one! My solution to the new car problem is to keep my old one. That’s obviously not an option in your case.
Whew!! Did you advise her to hit the deer next time?!
I’m so glad she’s OK … I can’t even imagine. Sigh.
I’m not looking forward to the time when my son starts driving – I’m already nervous enough.
Wow – I’m so glad to hear that there were no injuries, Brandon. I’ve shown this to my own 13 year old daughter, and I can only hope that when it’s her time to drive, she’ll have the same good sense shown by your own daughter. Again, I’m glad that no one was hurt.
I would disagree with you one one point, however. This is indeed science related; a good demonstration of applied physics and the results of properly used safety restraints.
I am so glad to hear she is ok. To many accidents these days with teenagers not wearing their seat belts and suffering mightily because as a result.
As to the car. If it was me, I would buy another of whatever that car is….
Glad she’s okay.
2004 Toyota Matrix. Once the tow truck guy flipped it back over he got in and started it right up! He backed it a little to get it into a better position for his truck to grab it. We were all shocked. Of course, the body is banged all to hell and the windows are smashed. But it still ran.
I priced cars today and, unfortunately, today’s Matrixs are priced a little out of my range.
I’m glad the outcome was positive. I would wager that that is a group of five who will always buckle up in the future.
As for a car, I am loving my Honda Fit. Base price $15k, out the door at $17k. I am consistently getting 35-37 mpg with minor hypermiling techniques. Seating is comfortable even in the back for a big guy such as moi, the clever seat-folding configurations actually allow fairly large items to be carried and it has multiple air-bag systems that led to a good safety rating even if it is a small car.
In fact, yesterday, my wife and I threw our new kayaks into our cars (yes, she has a Fit, too) for the short drive down to the Wekiva.
Anyway, again, glad the accident wasn’t worse (I assume the deer ran off with a good story to tell his buddies).
Second the Honda Fit. I got the Sport version and the paddle shifters help with controlling the mpg.
Holy crap Brandon! I bet you were shaking when you saw the car! I know you and all the parents of the kids involved will be hugging their children extra often and long for the next long while! I am so happy for you that all turned out so well – and I’ll be nagging my kids about their seatbelts (though I think they all use them all the time anyway).
Glad all turned out for the best,a well built car with modern safty aids can cut down the chances of injury.Well done for your daughter to insist on seat belts!!! I could help with finding a vehicle but it would have to be a Ford.
Thank the stars she’s okay and everyone else. I had to go through the same thing with my now wife – no seatbelt, no move.
What about a Prius? Here in NJ they’re advertised at 21K before any gov’t rebates.
And – hit the deer, please be clear that is a joke. I hit one with my Colorado on my way to work one morning (Yes NJ does have natural wildlife). I head to work pre-dawn with the sun rising on the commute and the darn thing came right out of the sun. Even with the pick-up I did over $3k damage to the truck as well as screwing over my nerves for a while.
Wow. I’m really happy that your daughter made it out of such a crash unharmed. That was definitely a close call.
Yikes! Glad to hear everyone is alright.
As for cars- have a used Acura which is awesome. I know most Acura/Hondas are good for gas mileage.