My 1st Accident

On Friday afternoon I faced one of my fears, although not by choice.  I was involved in my first car accident.  Everyone knows it is an icy, snow bank filled treacherous mess around here but until now I have avoided trouble.  On Friday afternoon I was driving South after work.  It happened fast.  I was thinking, "Oh there is Target up ahead.  Maybe I will stop because I need some face wash.  Hey!  That car just pulled out right in front of me!  I don't think I can stop!  I'm not going to be able to stop in time!  I'm sliding!!! I'm going to hit the car!"  I could feel the irrititating grinding sound of anti lock brakes as I pumped the petal, trying to break my skid.  I hit the side of the car with the front end of my passenger side then slid along the side of it and we both went careening across the north bound lane until the wall of snow created by the plow stopped us.

 The other driver was a nice young guy who immediately took responsibility for the accident.  He said he couldn't see around a huge snowbank when he was trying to make a left turn and thought he was clear to go.  It is a serious problem lately because of the excessive snow. I have mostly quit making left turns at high traffic intersections around here since the blizzard last weekend unless there is a stoplight. It is usually faster to just drive around the block instead of inching out and craning your neck to try to see if anyone is coming. 

The other driver called the police and we waited nervously on the street while the rush hour traffic passed by and stared at us.  Many people slowed down to make sure we were alright (which seemed obvious since we were standing there without injury but it was nice anyway).  The response seemed slower than it should have been, but we had assured the person on the phone that there were no injuries so I guess it wasn't an urgent matter (there were several other accidents and rollovers that afternoon and evening).

The first responders to arrive were three firefighters in a firetruck.  We both felt embarassed because that kind of assistance wasn't necessary...we just needed someone to tell us what we should do next.  They also seemed mildly annoyed to have rushed to a scene only to find two uninjured people standing there next to their fender bender.  A police officer showed up soon after and the fire department went on their way.  He called tow trucks for us, checked our records and gave us forms to fill out for insurance.  When the tow trucks came and extracted the cars we saw that mine was in worse shape!  Poor Fusion!   

 It looks like a T-Rex took a big chomp out of it. 

 I'm not sure how much damage was done because the accident happened on Friday afternoon/evening so I should hear more tomorrow.  Andrea came and we followed the tow truck to the body shop and looked at the car and took some pictures.  There happened to be two black Fusions back there so I just started taking pictures of the first one I saw.  The damage to that one didn't look as bad as I remembered so I was surprised  When we were turning around in the lot I saw my real Fusion, complete bite mark!  I'm glad no one saw me taking pictures of that other car.  Kind of creepy...

 The side is dented and scratched as well.  Insurance is such a wonderful thing when you need it! 

Everyone of course asked if I am OK and also if the other driver is...the answer is yes.  Our airbags didn't deploy and I don't remember the impact being especially hard (although it must have been.  I knew it was coming so I really braced myself.  The other driver was fine to, but he said he felt more of a hit because it happened on his drivers side. 

I hear people bitching all the time and saying things like "everyone is driving so slow...why does everyone forget how to drive in winter...just because there is snow doesn't mean you have to drive 5 mph..." it never ends...everyone loves to complain about how bad everyone else drives.  Well, I was going about 15 mph on a street where the speed limit is usually, I believe, 35 or 40 mph.  I was driving the same speed as everyone else was.  If I had been driving 40 mph I don't want to think about what might have happened to that other driver.  And if the traffic in the other lane that we slid across had been going that fast we could have been in pretty bad shape.  So, everyone who thinks other people are driving too slow should just be glad. 

For the time being, I have a rental car paid for by insurance (it could be awhile before my car is ready.  The body shop said they were very busy).  It is (GASP) a Nissan!  Ugh!  Haha.  Acutally, I have to admit that it is very nice.  The model I have is the Nissan equivalent of a Fusion so it feels pretty comfortable.  I have had Fords for so long, though, that all the controls are foreign to me.  I almost had to look in the manual to find out how to turn on the headlights!