The first words out of my mouth were @^%#&!@#! %#*$&#^@ #%@&@&#. You can imagine how I felt. Five years in to owning the X and all it had on it was a dent where my brother in law’s elbow landed (why he was skateboarding in the garage is beyond me) and a small patch of yellow from when I hit one of the barracades at my last job. Otherwise, the body was flawless. I had just dropped Grace off at her day care (I picked her up from school and we went to McD’s where she had 6 chicken nuggets and some apple slices) and was preparing to turn right on to 41 north bound headed back to work.
There was a car behind me, neither of us were moving (as I couldn’t go anywhere due to oncoming traffic) when all of a sudden WHAM (or whack or smash or a combination of all three for all I know). My beloved Xterra was jolted forward a bit and I knew in an instant what had happened. I could also tell with out looking that whatever had hit me was worse off than I was (its a perk to driving an SUV with a trailer hitch on it). I moved the car foward and out of the turn lane and I parked it, got out to look at the damage and I was right. You can see from the photos what I mean. He asked if I were ok and immediately said that he wasn’t paying attention and his foot slipped off the break.
Now, while I appreciate the honesty, I was taught that you NEVER admit the accident was your fault. No matter what. Especially to the other driver or to the police officer. However, he was nice enough (probably in his early 20’s) and offered to call the police (another not smart move on his part). Something else I learned at an early age was to try and avoid the police report if possible (at least if you were at fault) as not only would it affect your insurance but then you have it on your record as well. Anyways, he called the police and they finally showed up. The office asked for License and Insurance (both of which I had readily available for him) and the other driver only had his insurance (now you see why calling the popo was a bad idea?). The other driver’s father showed up and reassured me that they had good coverage and it would be taken care of (which I thought again was nice).
We waited for what had to be 20 minutes as the officer wrote up the report and returned to hand my license and insurance card back. I can pick the report up in three to five working days, which means that with the weekend and then thanksgiving, I can expect it the monday after thanksgiving if I’m lucky. As I got back in the car and prepared to pull away, I could see the cop’s face as he talked to the other driver. I believe he was in the process of writing a ticket either for following to closely or driving with out his license. Either way, I bet it wasn’t good.
I’d been waiting for an accident to happen at that intersection (I’m there no less than three times a day five days a week) as its a fairly heavy traffic area with out a stop light (its across a four lane highway). However, I’d always imagined it would be someone coming north bound hitting my car as I sat in the middle waiting to turn south. While the damage is actually minimal (I had to remove the dented plastic piece to keep it from rubbing on the tire) I’m glad it occurred without the girls in the car. If anything had happened to them, I’d have been seriously pissed. I’ve been looking at getting a new bumper for the X ever since I got her, one where I can mount the spare tire on it behind the rear window, now might be the best time for that.
mcangeli
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November 16th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
I’m pretty sure that I got the encryption cracked on your first words at the time of the accident… It was almost cosmic, how quickly the appropriate stream of words came to mind as I read it.
The important part is that nobody got hurt, the girls weren’t involved, and the bonus is that insurance will get the car patched up. The police report will serve in the county’s stats record to show that they might need a light in the intersection, or some other option.
I can think of five or six intersections I see daily/weekly that really should be considered closely as far as safety goes.
Yeah, might be an opportune time for a little upgrade for the Xterra.
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November 16th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
Sorry to hear about the accident.
Glad you are ok and that the girls were not with you.
I also hate that corner when I have to pick Grace and Emma up. I said to dad recently when we passed that corner that they really need a light there.
Give my love to one and all
MOM
November 16th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
I have had this happen while taking my kids to day care in my mini-van. i have 4 kids so the waiting thing was a big pain. Good thing no-one hurt, and this will teach that young driver to pay more attention.
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November 16th, 2007 at 11:50 pm
I know how you feel. I’m only on my second vehicle. When I totaled my first car (accident not my fault) we knew the guy who was working with it and opted to have it fixed (so he marked it as just under) instead of taking the money and getting something else. I had my Camry for 5 years and I finally got sick of it. My dad bought my almost-step-mom a 2005 Corolla last year. She’s no longer my almost-step-mom, and the car is no longer hers
It’s mine! It’s all shiny and deep red and I adore it–and I’m waiting for someone to smash into it. I just know it’ll happen.
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November 28th, 2007 at 12:31 am
One of the first things I learned as well, if it can be settled between the drivers than do it. Even when you’re not at fault, a claim is still made, you still need to pay the deductible (depending on your policy) and despite what your agent will assure you, it DOES go on your file and CAN affect your policy price.
I’m glad to hear that you’re okay though and that no serious damage was done to your vehicle or you and your own.
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November 28th, 2007 at 12:04 pm
Yea, all is well. The car has been at the body shop since last tuesday. Apparently they’re waiting on the insurance adjuster to come out and take a look…. I was hoping that I’d have it back by the time we got back from the trip… but no joy.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
That’s another thing that really gets me, the amount of time it takes for an agent to get out there to the shop, get the estimate, and plug it into their system. It’s ridiculous. Something that could have been fixed in a day or two instead has to sit in a shop, so it doesn’t get touched, waiting for a jerk in a suit to take a look.
Can you tell I don’t care much for insurance agencies?
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