It sounds much more dramatic than it really was. I was turning left, and someone else was going straight. That whole ~5 second time period is kind of a blur to me. I don’t know if I had a green arrow and they ran the light, or maybe their lights weren’t on (this was last night after dark), or maybe I really did just idiotically turn left in front of someone! It’s hard to imagine that after 20-some years of driving with no boneheaded moves like that that I’d suddenly make one, but I guess it’s possible.
My insurance is taking responsibility, though, and fortunately, I do have towing and rental car reimbursement, so whew, those things make this kind of thing much less stressful. The $1,000 deductible is a big owie, though. Crap!
My ten-year-old was with me, and wasn’t hurt, and I wasn’t either. The other people, man and wife, weren’t hurt, either, and their car wasn’t disabled but mine was. They even gave us a ride home! They were very nice and understanding. I was a little shaken up, it was getting late, and my car wasn’t drivable, so I left it in an empty lot, where it’s now getting ready to be picked up by the towtruck, who I have to meet, if they would hurry up and get here with the rental.
My son was quite shaken up- it being his first real accident. He’s been needing to talk and talk and talk about it, I guess to process it, and hopefully will get over it soon with minimal residual trauma. I’m not saying the accident was his fault or anything, but the boy just never ever shuts up, and I’ve a strong suspicion that this time his chatterboxing distracted me just enough. Sigh. Oh well. At least we’re safe.
Seriously though, very seriously, glad to hear everyone involved is okay.
Not much more to say than that except maybe pay more attention when you drive? I don’t know the specifics and it seems neither do you, so I just am glad everyone is uninjured.
Thanks! I was starting to think my little car crash thread was going to sink into oblivion- I was going to console myself with the explanation that you were all were just stunned speechless haha.
As for paying attention, ah, yes, good idea. :smack:
The good part is I’m now temporarily cruising in a Mustang, the likes of which I’ll surely never afford!
Yoinks. Glad to hear everyone is OK. I have a chatterbox 7-year-old that sounds a lot like your 10-year-old, and have often thought that it’s a miracle he hasn’t caused me to have an accident merely by virtue of never shutting up.
I feel you on the Mustang. MrWhatsit and I rented a car once to do a cross-country road trip, and they were out of the economy car we reserved, so we got a free upgrade to a Mustang. That was so sweet.
Yup- new rule in our car… no extraneous talking! The studies on cellphones do show that it’s really not the holding of the phone that causes accidents- it’s the distraction of the conversations! So from now on, peace and quiet while I’m driving, which is all I’ve ever wanted, anyway.
