I got rear ended a couple of weeks ago.
I was in my car, on the way to work. Traffic was backed up on the bridge over the highway, so I was literally at a standstill, watching the red tail lights on the cars below.
Then it happened. BANG!
My reading glasses, which had remained perched on the top of my head from my morning perusal of the newspaper before I left the house, were suddenly on the floor, and my heart was racing a million miles an hour. It took more than a couple of deep breaths to settle myself enough to get out and survey the damage.
The poor lady who hit me was in worse shape than I was. She knew full well that she was entirely at fault. We were both glad that it wasn’t “that serious”. Damage to her giant Jeep was essentially non-existent, and on first viewing, it didn’t seem that my car was that bad. So we traded insurance information and both drove off to our respective destinations. For her, that meant trying to get to her workplace before the striking teachers set up their picket lines. For me, it meant hurrying into a series of meetings I was now late for, and a flight later in the day to Montreal – neither of which helped the blood pressure any.
Just before I left for the airport, I took a proper look and realized that without that Jeep attached to my car there was a huge crack across the whole width of the back bumper. Clearly there was more damage than we’d thought. So once back in the province a few days later, it was off to the Collision Reporting Centre we both went, to ensure all the paperwork was in place to run this through insurance.
I was lucky. The collision could have been a lot worse than it was. The other driver was already going fairly slowly, and as a result there was no whiplash or other physical repercussions. My car was drivable, and my schedule was crazy so it took a week or so before I could get the estimate written up and approved by my insurance company. It took another few days for parts to be ordered. On Friday, I traded my car for a bright white SUV.
The last time I had an accident (and yes, I know that means my insurance premiums are about to go up!), I wasn’t even in the car. I was parked on the street and someone backed out of a driveway into the driver’s side doors. Some days, I wish we had better public transportation so getting around could be easier.
It’s remarkable how fast you get used to some of the nicer extras in new cars though. This week, having to find my key and insert it into the ignition – something I’ve had to do since I was 16 until I bought this new car 18 months ago – feels like a real inconvenience. First world problems, I guess. At least the loaner still has a backup camera!
Today I got the bad news. It was even worse than we thought. Once the bumper came off at the collision repair shop, they found hidden damage to the rear body that means more metal and plastic need to be replaced than originally anticipated. Ugh.
So I guess I’m stuck with the shiny white SUV for a while longer than I expected!
