Saturday, October 20, 2007
My First Car Accident
Well, it's official, I've now been in a car accident. Almost two weeks ago I was on my way to work trying to make a left hand turn onto a VERY busy street. Did I mention my view was blocked to oncoming traffic to both my right and my left? Well, it was. There was a man to my left who hastily waved me to go through (a typical gesture at this intersection since it's often busy) so I hastily went forward to make my left turn. Unfortunately, there was a car going straight coming from my left, he swerved to miss me, but I ended up hitting the side of his car with the front of mine. Oh, but it's not over yet. My first instinct was to get out of the intersection. So, what do I do? I back up - unfortunately before I looked behind me to see if anyone was there. The guy who waved me through ended up trying to go behind me to get around the accident...well, he didn't get around the accident...instead he became a part of the accident. I backed into him. At this point, you can throw your head back and laugh out loud...because it's a perfectly natural instinct after hearing this crazy tale. I wish it were just a tale, but it really happened. It was counted as two accidents, my fault. Which means I've got to dish out two deductibles in order to get both my front and back bumper fixed. Ouch! Thankfully I have an emergency fund so I can cover the cost.I have learned a lesson or two from this whole episode. The first being don't trust anyone when they're waiving you through. It's better to wait until you can see traffic for yourself. I also learned if you waive someone through and there's an accident as a result, you can be held liable by the insurance agent. So, lesson number two: don't waive anyone through...it will most likely get both you and them in trouble. So, back to driving 101 at the age of 25. Fun times.
Jamie at 9:24 PM
