Bumper Cars

On the way to work today, I found myself in the midst of a traffic accident (my own). I looked away for a second to turn on my heat, and when I looked up, I was a foot away from the back end of a Toyota RAV SUV. I slammed on the brakes, but the pavement was wet, so I slid right into it.

We got out of our cars and I asked how she was. She had a sore neck from the sudden impact. Her car appeared to be no worse for the wear. My car had a totally messed up bumper, a sliced-through license plate and a bent hood.

I called my husband, who came down to the site of the accident to make sure I was alright. I called the police. The officer asked the other driver if we needed a report. She said, “Yes, just to document what happened”.

I asked her several times about her neck and she said she was going to let it ride and see how it goes. She made a point of saying, “I’m not going to screw you..” I said, “I’m not worried about that… I’m just worried about you.”

I got a ticket for following too close (way too close, I guess) and have an opportunity to go to traffic school to get rid of the ticket. It would help me at work. They don’t like tickets there.

My husband decided to immediately take the car into the collision shop. The insurance company blessed the repairs. The collision shop is all set to repair. It’s good to get it done and over with.

Part of me wonders about the lady whose vehicle I hit. I mean, when you screw up, it’s nice not to hurt other people in the process.

On the other hand, it could have been a lot worse. We passed another accident where an ambulance had been called. 😦 Also, I’m grateful my daughter was not in the car at the time. I guess there is a bright side.