I really CAN feel your pain! Some years back I had just purchased a very nice 63 split window w/powerglide. Had it only a day when I became first in line (on a curved merge approach to a major highway) at a "yield" sign, with my brakelights on, waiting for a chance to scoot into heavy traffic. Thought I saw an opening and started to move, but then decided there wasn't enough space and stopped. The gal in the car behind me assumed I was off & running when my brake lights went out, so she gunned it and THEN looked over her shoulder at the traffic... yep, she ran right up over my tail and came to rest in the middle of my rear deck. But, I had to admit (only to myself, of course) that it was partly my fault.
PS: years later, I was on the other end of the same sort of accident. I had just rented a car at JFK airport (NY) and drove over to the freeway ramp, still on JFK property. A car in front of me was accelerating, well-down the long on-ramp to the busy freeway, and I was accelerating maybe 6 car lengths behind him when I looked over my shoulder to check the freeway traffic, then turned my head back to see the car ahead much too close and rapidly slowing, with NO brake lights. I couldn't avoid him. The occupants of the other car, another rental, had just arrived on a flight from Paris and spoke no English, but I surmised that the driver wasn't used to automatic, forgot and tried to downshift it into 3rd like a standard tranny, hitting "PARK". Their damage wasn't too bad so they continued on to Montreal after we waited an hour for a cop to come to take the accident report... I then had to take mine back to Hertz and trade it for another, sheepishly (and amazingly, they GAVE me another!).
