Public Apology: I Totalled My 2011 E93 M3

[TTG]

Glad you are ok and I hope it is not your parents who made you write an apology

On a side note, I am really glad that you are ok as a friend of mine lost his life in a very similar situation but the pole came down on his E46 Conv....

You can always get a new car.....

[SchnellM3]

I feel your pain! Its not easy to take a loss like that but at the same time its a testament to how safe and well engineered these cars are for this type of circumstance. The fact that you were able to walk away with is the most important part, the car can be replaced!

[Foodle]

Originally Posted by username11

I think the self-flagellation is excessive and unwarranted.

Really? OP's lucky he did not kill himself or someone else, like this ...

Originally Posted by TTG

On a side note, I am really glad that you are ok as a friend of mine lost his life in a very similar situation but the pole came down on his E46 Conv....

It seems like a perfect time for some serious reflection about how he approaches driving. He's obviously taking this incident very seriously (as he should) and hopefully will change his habits, rather than revert back to being a boy racer in 6 months.

[GIdriver]

I'm glad you are fine. Don't beat up yourself so bad, however you should use this as a learning experience. You have been given a second chance, be smarter on the road from now on. It is just a car, the important thing is that you are ok and no one else got hurt. The fact that you walked from this accident is a testament of how safe these cars are. BMW all the way!!!

[radiognome]

Glad you walked without a scratch. As many people have said - car is just a car. Even M3 =) Though a very nice one.
A father of a friend of mine with 50+ years of driving experience said to me after my last year red light accident: "On average drivers get into problems by their own mistakes every 100,000 miles they drive". Not an excuse, but a reminder that we are just humans, and make mistakes.

[tibra1]

Just walked away from a total loss wreck 2 months ago....so I feel your pain..in the end its just money and you live to drive something better..glad your ok..GL

[///M Rakete]

His insurance will have to pay for the pole and the costs associated.

OP - Did you get cited?

[F82_SID]

Hey man dont feel too bad. As long as you learn from your mistakes and make every effort not to repeat them in the future then you are good. Some lessons are just hard to learn unless you go through it yourself. I know that I have learned to valuable lessons the hard way in my past two bimmers.

Lesson1: "Thou shall not street race" Soon after I first got my 335i I was coerced into a street race during the middle of the day. Long story short, I was busted racing doing 108 in a 45. It was a 24 point ticket and the DA wanted to impound my car and lock me up for a year. That really scared the shit out of me. I ended up with 8 points on my license and a suspended license for 6 months. Ever since that day, I never ever street race any more.

Lesson2: "Thou shall always leave traction control on unless at the track". After having my new M3 for only 6 months I decided to turn the traction control off to have some fun in the rain. After drifting around every wet corner I could find and trying to show off for a girl, I ended up spinning right into a giant curb at around 40 mph. 15 thousand dollars and 3 months later, im still not exactly sure my car is 100%.

[ZRODDICK]

Glad your okay!!

[LateBraking]

Malibu area canyons eh? I've witnessed quite a few things in canyon roads here and there. Flipped cars, cars on fire, cars that fell off mountains and ended up in the lakes/reservoirs below the road, head-on collisions between lane-crossers....

So hey, at least you're alive, uninjured, and lived to tell the tale. I doubt anyone needs to tell you to keep it safe from here on out, and if the need for speed bites you in the future, then hey, there are cheaper alternatives. Adams in Riverside is a good one, it's like $20.00 to track your car for 30 minutes. At 45 seconds a lap, it's a tiny track, sure, but hey, it's cheap.

And remember, K.R.O.P.S.

[FrankiE90]

Latigo Canyon Rd.
curvy as f'k.

any crash u can walk away from is a good crash.
wasn't your time to go - u almost parted with your
life. That's gonna be on your mind for awhile.

I lost a good friend to the canyons - almost lost 2.
-was devastated by the news and parted away from
any kind of modified sport compact car soon after. Drove an SUV
for over a decade before get'n into a bmw. I told myself,
when gett'n a BMW, i would
only do cosmetic mods but at some point you start to remember
why you love to drive.

Take how ever long you need to figure things out.
A sports car will always be there for you to run.
Close calls are the eye openers.

[saamfou]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, I can give just a bit more info right now. Someone pointed out that I should be careful about the details and I have been so far for the same reason.

You guys may say "it is just a car" and I agree with you. Hell, I used to even think that if even the worst happened "it's just me" and not anyone else who would suffer because I would just be that careful. The reason I take this experience as seriously as I am is because I never really thought about about how many people I was letting down other than myself as a result of the driving decisions I would make. Regardless of what the details were or any excuses I can make, at the end of the day I strongly believe that there is always a certain amount of blame to be had for getting into a situation beyond one's ability or control in the first place. I always thought that the only one who has to deal with the consequences of any risks I did take would be my sole self. This loss was probably the greatest that I have ever experienced and it forced me to think about the aforementioned people and groups that, while maybe not directly, are still affected by what I seemingly do to myself.

To see my car in the condition it was in and how many people were affected just that night in what was a really a BEST CASE SCENARIO put a lot of things in perspective for me.

I am not a teenager or a punk kid. No one made me write anything. I figured that this would be the best place to get this off my chest and ultimately this forum is the most appropriate audience for this semi-anonymous apology. I appreciate quality and intelligence and this experience just showed me I haven't been acting in accordance with those values at the end of the day. Too many people work too hard to provide the luxuries I enjoy whether it is the car I drive, the road beneath my wheels, or the electricity coming into the home that I knocked out. That is really what this was about for me. Now I need to figure out how to take this healthy passion and energy for driving and direct it for good. So far the things I've read in response are a great help.

I look forward to sharing more details later for those that are interested but now isnt the time.

[Nition]

This might be out of topic, but did you have the M-button on? Or was TC completely off? It seems like the car would not have let something like this happen if you had left the electronics on.

[captainaudio]

Originally Posted by Nition

This might be out of topic, but did you have the M-button on? Or was TC completely off? It seems like the car would not have let something like this happen if you had left the electronics on.

Electronics can help but they can not repeal the laws of physics.

CA

[saamfou]

I don't want this thread to be about the "what happened" just yet but at the end of it me (and the computer) ran out of room for corrections to be made.

I would love to analyze this later though once the dust settles...

[Raz335]

That'll buff right out.



Surprised no one said that yet. Either way, glad you're ok and admitted your mistake. Stay safe out there!

[Mike van D]

Glad you made it through it alright. Hope all works out for you in the end.

[avex8]

nice....

[nlpamg]

oh man. sorry to see and hear that. glad you're ok.

just wondering, did you turn off DSC?

[Nition]

Originally Posted by captainaudio

Electronics can help but they can not repeal the laws of physics.

CA

Yes, but electronics can help tremendously when entering a corner at excessive speeds. I know for a fact that M-mode has saved me on more than one occasion on the track.

And to the OP, I am very sorry for the loss of your car. Don't be too hard on yourself. It could very well have happened to any of us. After all, M3 drivers have the reputation of being very "aggressive" drivers on the street. But please keep in mind that there is always that chance that you could run into someone and possibly kill a person. You don't have to drive like a grandma, but understand the limits of your car. Forget the past and move on, hopefully into another M3

[M3guyCA]

Dang that sucks...

[tibra1]

The electronics alert you to incorrect input causing the drivers normal reaction to release the throttle and due to the cars understeer tendency will allow driver to quickly correct the movement...its when limits are exceeded and oversteer situation happens that most drivers are in trouble and only the most competent can maintain composer to recover.

Pedal off..modest brake and steer into the skid..