I've been in 5 auto accidents since I started driving. Yep, 5 accidents in 13 years. Not all of them were my fault, and I wasn't even driving for one of them.
The first was soon after I started driving. It was rainy and slick, I was going down a hill, the person in front of me stopped short and I rear-ended him. Fortunately, he was driving one of those heavy metal 70's cars that didn't even feel the impact. My car (Terry, for those of you who remember when we named our cars) had quite a bit of front end damage.
The second was in Red (the red station wagon that first belonged to Jessie) while visiting Jenny K in Connecticut where she was interning during her Sophomore or Junior year in college. The driveway to her apartment building was in the middle of a hill. Cars parked on the side of the road obscured my view of the top of the hill. Although I inched out bit by bit, I made the mistake of finally thinking it was ok to go and just pulled the rest of the way out to make my left hand turn. Another car hit me on the driver's side, and Red was toast. Mommy and Daddy had to come get me.
The third was in my Pontiac Grand Am, which I never named. I was trying to decide if I should go straight or make a left to get home. Same old routine or different route? I spontaneously decided to make a left without checking oncoming traffic. Ooops. My rear passenger door was mangled.
The fourth was with Miguel in his car. He was driving. I was a passenger. He was looking at this guy who was carrying two car doors (he was near an autobody shop) and reminiscing about when his brothers were young and would steal bikes, escorting two bikes at a time. He didn't realize the woman up ahead was stopped for a train signal and he rear-ended her. I got part of the blame for that for not yelling "Stop!" But, he used to like to stop late to scare me, so I didn't think anything of it until we were in her rear-end.
The last was not my fault at all. On an icy morning, the woman in front of me saw cops up ahead and slammed on her breaks. She started sliding. I had to slam on my breaks to avoid her. I started sliding. The monster van behind me had to slam on his breaks. He started sliding. I managed to avoid the woman ahead of me, mostly, just dinging the drivers side of her rear bumber a bit--just a little paint transferrence. But the van behind me slammed into me, totally destroying my rear end. The insurance company totaled my car, meaning it wasn't worth repairing. So, they paid off my loan and gave me market value for the car. I bought it back for a couple of hundred dollars and had it repaired with the rest of what they had given me. It's still running today. It's my Mazda MX-6.
So, how many accidents have you been in? Driver or Passenger? Your fault or someone elses?
As it turns out, I have an accident about once every three years. I'm about due, but now that I have Angie in the car, I don't take chances like I used to. Apparently, Daddy was recently on the highway at the same time I was. He was driving behind someone who was going too slow for him, so he went around them. It turns out it was me. I used to do a minimum of 65 on any highway, regardless of the speed limit, and about 35 or 40 on any road. Now, I obey the traffic laws. . .when Angie's in the car. Otherwise, I'm my normal self!
7 comments:
I've not been in any, but my car was in two. In the lot at our last house, the lady next door came home, the wind caught the door of her two-door as she got out, and put a huge dent in the passenger door. Her insurance paid for it. The second time, the same car, still not a month old, we were backing out of our space in the walmart lot, I was almost through with my turn, nearly clear of the van next to me, when the lady across the way backed straight out into me. Dented and scratched the drivers side just behind the rear wheel. Her insurance paid for most of it, but I couldn't convince her company that it was not my fault at all. They assigned me 30% blame and I had to pay $200 for the repair.
Okay, so I was in the second one.
Let's see...
Right before I moved to Florida, a woman ran into me, pushing me into the car in front of me. Not at all my fault.
In Florida, Paul and I were going to a funeral on a rainy night. The person behind us did not stop fast enough and skid into us. No damage to the car.
In Pennsylvania, on Christmas day, we were on our way to Linda's house. There was some snow drift on the highway, and we slid into the guard rail. No one was hurt. Paul was driving.
Summary: I was driving in one, Paul in two. Never was an accident my fault.
So apparently I'm the most careless driver in the family!
Maybe among your sisters, but if brothes-in-law count, Ive got you beat by a few. CARS: 7 (broken down by cars), '79 cougar, run off the road by a county snow plow on christmas day 1986 and a parking lot misshap with a toyota wagon in the same year, the wagon lost / '67 galaxy convertable, 1988 altercation with Monksville resivoir, I didnt know they had started flooding the monksville res. and saw the water on the road way too late, my car lost that one./ '79 280zx, summer of 1989, I was hit by a taxi getting onto the Brooklyn bridge leaving Manhattan, and caught up to him on the Manhattan bridge leaving Manhattan, a LONG chase, / '84 camaro, RT. 208 in Fairlawn, spring of 1990, a "gentleman" decided to stop in the fast lane in front of Nabisco to make a left turn. I hit him at about 50mph, suprisingly, the car lived until a night in the winter of 1990 when someone fell asleep on 202 in oakland and hit me head on./ '84 Saab, summer 1991, Rt.3 in Clifton, I was racing another car ( ok, I know, I was bad) and he hit me and sent me head-on into the divider at about 80mph. The nose of the car was destroyed but from the windshield back it was perfect, all the doors opened and closed and it didnt even break the windshield, the car was a TANK. highly recomended to the safety concious out there.// MOTORCYCLES: 2( '79 kawasaki kz900, hit a patch of dew in summer of '86 dropped it with no one else invloved. october of '87 a woman ran a stop sign in Palasade Park, I hit her in the back door at about 50mph, totaling the bike, her brand new malibu wagon, my friend on the back of the bike ( the Pal Park chief of police's daughter ) and I were banged up pretty badly, by far the worst accident Ive had. I havent had anyone on the back of a bike since, to much risk. // TRUCKS: '82 Western Star (18 wheeler), Rt72 in Montana 1987, I hit a misplaced cow. long but good story , ask sometime if youd like the details. / '99 International tow truck (30000# rolloff)2004, I was responding to a bad accident on rt 80, I was on 287n in Parsippany,driving up the shoulder as the traffic was stopped due to the accident I was responding to, A man in a pick up didnt hear the air horn or see the flashing lights. I spun him off onto the grass, tearing the side of the pick-up open in the process.no one was hurt and fixing my truck involved scraping a bit of his paint off my bumper bolt, winner, tow truck.? and finally, ' 2005 international tow truck, in Union , 2005, The car in front of me stopped, and I didnt, my fault for not paying attention, again, no one was hurt ( only 5 or 10 mph).
Sorry if this rambled on but its 3am and Im a bit sleepy ( this is also my excuse if there are any spelling or punctuation infractions I didnt catch).
yeah but Sam ou where driving when they used horse drawn carriages. I've driven thru buildings in a tank on fire...hehehehe.. so the question i really had was how many of you have had tickets/moving violations in the past 5 years. I haven't have any in over 10...But jen ... ok ask her your self.. who says moms don't speed along....in a van no less
Hey! I was driving the station wagon at the time!
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