Ok, so this really sucks...
I was driving home from work the other day, and got into an accident on 35. I am ok physically, but I'm still recovering emotionally. "It wasn't my fault." "It wasn't my fault." "There's nothing I could have done differently." "There's no way I could have known." ... I keep telling myself, hoping it'll 'stick.' ...
So, there's this dump truck in the second-from-left lane going like 40mph. Right behind it is a little brown pick-up truck. It was a small truck, like a Ford Ranger, but not a Ford. I figure there's something going on with the dump truck (a reason why it's going SO slow in the middle of a major highway), and that the pick-up truck is with it. Like, when wide loads have a truck behind them as a buffer or something.. You know? They're like, together, both going slow. Anyways...
I'm in the left lane, going 60 or so, whatever the speed limit is there. As I go to pass the mini truck and dump truck, the mini truck pulls over in front of me. I mean, like, a foot in front of me. No blinker. No hand signaling. Nothing. Just woosh! and it's over in front of me going SIGNIFICANTLY slower than I am. I honk (those that have ridden with me before know I honked!) and slam on the brakes. I was on the brake for about a half a second or less before I went slamming into the back of him. And I mean HARD.
(Let me be clear: I was not passing him in the sense that I was switching lanes and going around him. I was in my lane going the speed limit. He was in his, not going the speed limit.)
I also believe that, then, the car behind me hit me.
I hit him while I'm still honking, and nothing happens. I mean, he doesn't even pause, he just takes off! I am sitting kinda on the shoulder, but mostly in the lane of traffic (because the shoulder is like 1.5 feet right there). Then the car behind me goes around and keeps right on going too!
I'm so shocked that 1. he cut me off like that, 2. that he took off, and 3. that I've actually been in an accident on 35, that I freak out and call 9-1-1. --All the while I'm watching in my rear view mirror as cars coming around the bend swerve around me because I'm blocking their lane. The operator asks if I'm ok and if my vehicle is drivable. I say that I feel fine, but that my car must not be drivable because I can't go forward. Then something (I'm not sure what) prompts me to look down at the shifter. I'm in neutral! I hit him so hard that everything is everywhere, I'm in neutral, and he takes off!? I tell the operator that I can make it to the next exit.
It takes me forever (because it's high traffic time) to cross all those lanes of traffic and make it to the next exit. The 9-1-1 operator was amazing because I certainly was a complete mess. I pull off and park in a convenience store parking lot and she tells me that someone will be on the way to talk with me. --After I asked if I even needed to talk to someone since nobody else stayed around. She repeated she was sending someone.
I call Seth. Hysterical. All I can think is that I totaled my car, and this is seriously not in our budget right now. And that he'll somehow think it's my fault or think I'm a bad driver or that other people will. He bails on a meeting he was about to go into, and drives to me. My hero!
The cop arrives, and he's GREAT. I mean really, he's amazing. I couldn't have asked for someone better. I'm still sobbing at this point, and he's patient as I spit out the story between breaths and tears. After hearing my full story, he looks at the damage and says "Huh. So, totally his fault, huh." And I then muttered something about it being partially my fault if I hit him. (I had heard that.) He says "Well, he didn't leave you much choice, did he?"
Mr. Cop asks for my license (still GA because my picture is like the best license picture EVER). He doesn't flinch. He asks if there's a more local address for me, and I give him our house address. He also said NOTHING about my expired GA license plate. Nothing. I mean, surely that should have been a ticket on my part. (Though, for the record, it has had a TX inspection, I just haven't made it to the plate office.) After doing whatever they do while the sit in their car for awhile, he comes back and hands me my insurance and license. He asks if I was wearing my seat belt, and talks me through the 'charges:' the guy made something like an "illegal lane deviation" --basically cutting me off without using a blinker, and therefore causing me to run into him, and then he didn't stay, which is a "leaving the scene of an accident." (side note: the cop said he might not have had a license and probably didn't have insurance, which is likely why he took off)
So, this unknown man has two tickets waiting for him. (I say unknown because I didn't get his plate number. I don't even remember there being one. I remembered everything about the truck and the driver, but without the plate, that's not enough to find someone. Boo.) It's essentially being filed as a uninsured motorist, hit and run something or other.
Seth arrives, gives me a big hug, and has a chat with the cop. He says he's so glad to see I'm not hurt, but that he had expected me to be given how hard I was crying when I called. (I apparently needed a good catalyst for some cathartic-ness, and this served that purpose.) He tells me there's nothing I could have done, and not to worry about it or the car. He sends me home and he heads back to work to get his things (which he had left there since he left in such a hurry).
I took my car in yesterday to get it checked out, and there is ZERO engine damage. Praise God! The body damage is fairly minor given how hard I believe I hit him, but will only run us about $1500. (All I can say is "Built Ford Tough.") I seriously thought I'd totaled my car.
Looking at the pictures now, I can't believe I thought that given how little the damage is, but thank God I didn't! We're still trying to decide if we want to file with our insurance (switching from GA to TX makes everything go up so significantly already that anything to make it worse is even more undesirable.)
And I am feeling better, but still hating the fact that I injured my car. I love my car. It hurts me to think about/look at the damage. But, the more driving I have done since then, the more I re-imagine the situation and there's no doubt that I couldn't have done anything differently. But still, my back and wrists are feeling back to normal, and I'm still working on my head.
LESSON: Don't assume they'll stay. Always get as much of the plate number as you can.
I was driving home from work the other day, and got into an accident on 35. I am ok physically, but I'm still recovering emotionally. "It wasn't my fault." "It wasn't my fault." "There's nothing I could have done differently." "There's no way I could have known." ... I keep telling myself, hoping it'll 'stick.' ...
So, there's this dump truck in the second-from-left lane going like 40mph. Right behind it is a little brown pick-up truck. It was a small truck, like a Ford Ranger, but not a Ford. I figure there's something going on with the dump truck (a reason why it's going SO slow in the middle of a major highway), and that the pick-up truck is with it. Like, when wide loads have a truck behind them as a buffer or something.. You know? They're like, together, both going slow. Anyways...
I'm in the left lane, going 60 or so, whatever the speed limit is there. As I go to pass the mini truck and dump truck, the mini truck pulls over in front of me. I mean, like, a foot in front of me. No blinker. No hand signaling. Nothing. Just woosh! and it's over in front of me going SIGNIFICANTLY slower than I am. I honk (those that have ridden with me before know I honked!) and slam on the brakes. I was on the brake for about a half a second or less before I went slamming into the back of him. And I mean HARD.
(Let me be clear: I was not passing him in the sense that I was switching lanes and going around him. I was in my lane going the speed limit. He was in his, not going the speed limit.)
I also believe that, then, the car behind me hit me.
I hit him while I'm still honking, and nothing happens. I mean, he doesn't even pause, he just takes off! I am sitting kinda on the shoulder, but mostly in the lane of traffic (because the shoulder is like 1.5 feet right there). Then the car behind me goes around and keeps right on going too!
I'm so shocked that 1. he cut me off like that, 2. that he took off, and 3. that I've actually been in an accident on 35, that I freak out and call 9-1-1. --All the while I'm watching in my rear view mirror as cars coming around the bend swerve around me because I'm blocking their lane. The operator asks if I'm ok and if my vehicle is drivable. I say that I feel fine, but that my car must not be drivable because I can't go forward. Then something (I'm not sure what) prompts me to look down at the shifter. I'm in neutral! I hit him so hard that everything is everywhere, I'm in neutral, and he takes off!? I tell the operator that I can make it to the next exit.
It takes me forever (because it's high traffic time) to cross all those lanes of traffic and make it to the next exit. The 9-1-1 operator was amazing because I certainly was a complete mess. I pull off and park in a convenience store parking lot and she tells me that someone will be on the way to talk with me. --After I asked if I even needed to talk to someone since nobody else stayed around. She repeated she was sending someone.
I call Seth. Hysterical. All I can think is that I totaled my car, and this is seriously not in our budget right now. And that he'll somehow think it's my fault or think I'm a bad driver or that other people will. He bails on a meeting he was about to go into, and drives to me. My hero!
The cop arrives, and he's GREAT. I mean really, he's amazing. I couldn't have asked for someone better. I'm still sobbing at this point, and he's patient as I spit out the story between breaths and tears. After hearing my full story, he looks at the damage and says "Huh. So, totally his fault, huh." And I then muttered something about it being partially my fault if I hit him. (I had heard that.) He says "Well, he didn't leave you much choice, did he?"
Mr. Cop asks for my license (still GA because my picture is like the best license picture EVER). He doesn't flinch. He asks if there's a more local address for me, and I give him our house address. He also said NOTHING about my expired GA license plate. Nothing. I mean, surely that should have been a ticket on my part. (Though, for the record, it has had a TX inspection, I just haven't made it to the plate office.) After doing whatever they do while the sit in their car for awhile, he comes back and hands me my insurance and license. He asks if I was wearing my seat belt, and talks me through the 'charges:' the guy made something like an "illegal lane deviation" --basically cutting me off without using a blinker, and therefore causing me to run into him, and then he didn't stay, which is a "leaving the scene of an accident." (side note: the cop said he might not have had a license and probably didn't have insurance, which is likely why he took off)
So, this unknown man has two tickets waiting for him. (I say unknown because I didn't get his plate number. I don't even remember there being one. I remembered everything about the truck and the driver, but without the plate, that's not enough to find someone. Boo.) It's essentially being filed as a uninsured motorist, hit and run something or other.
Seth arrives, gives me a big hug, and has a chat with the cop. He says he's so glad to see I'm not hurt, but that he had expected me to be given how hard I was crying when I called. (I apparently needed a good catalyst for some cathartic-ness, and this served that purpose.) He tells me there's nothing I could have done, and not to worry about it or the car. He sends me home and he heads back to work to get his things (which he had left there since he left in such a hurry).
I took my car in yesterday to get it checked out, and there is ZERO engine damage. Praise God! The body damage is fairly minor given how hard I believe I hit him, but will only run us about $1500. (All I can say is "Built Ford Tough.") I seriously thought I'd totaled my car.
Looking at the pictures now, I can't believe I thought that given how little the damage is, but thank God I didn't! We're still trying to decide if we want to file with our insurance (switching from GA to TX makes everything go up so significantly already that anything to make it worse is even more undesirable.)
And I am feeling better, but still hating the fact that I injured my car. I love my car. It hurts me to think about/look at the damage. But, the more driving I have done since then, the more I re-imagine the situation and there's no doubt that I couldn't have done anything differently. But still, my back and wrists are feeling back to normal, and I'm still working on my head.
LESSON: Don't assume they'll stay. Always get as much of the plate number as you can.
I took several shots, but this best shows the bent hood along with the other damage.
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