I had a bit of unplanned excitement
while driving back to work from the hardware store today… Not good excitement...
As I approached an intersection, the car ahead stopped, for
a green light?… after having ceased forward motion, turned on her left turn
signal… but made no effort to enter the empty left turn lane to his/her left…
just stopped… Green light not heeded…
I had some space, so slowed, then stopped back a ways
looking for a chance to move right into the other lane… mentally I was cursing
the stupid person… she/he was going to cost me a green light… maybe a bit more… traffic on the right, so no chance to move
over… so I slow, then stop… the car behind stops short… I suspect confused
about why I am stopping… likely she can’t
see the car ahead… Then the sound of a car stopping in panic.. Sliding…
a crash, “Bang, Crunch” then more noise, the “BANG” as I get hit… Crap flies… stuff off the front seat… off the
back seat… S@#% (aka manure) flies…
Car ahead (aka the “stupid person”) jack rabbits… takes off.. one might assumed panicked
by the noise…
Take a deep breath…
turn off the car… get out (check mirrors... is it safe) then check the
lady behind, and the guy behind her..
all ok… and head for the side street…
We are all ok… all cars move under own power… We park on the side street… we get out… check
if we are all all right, no blood, no gore… we are all good… (Likely tomorrow we will be sore… but we are
ok now…)
We blunder about… we take pictures with cameras and phones…
hand each other business cards and insurance cards and driver’s licenses… we
take notes… we trade phone numbers and such… everyone is nice… no one yells… we
are civil… We compare stories… We don't blame each other (but the poor guy in the third car and his insurance company will likely take the hit...)
I notice anti freeze under the “last” car… I go to retrieve
my gallon of water… emergency water… you
never know when you might need a couple of gallons of water… It is cut open (in
the crash) and nearly empty… this is funny rather than a bad thing…the Jeep has a hose out interior... water, even the 99 cents a gallon water, now lost, don't matter...
For me, the best part (best as in no body was hurt... so its only bent metal) is the tread marks on the hood of the
middle car… and the hole in the bumper…
The tread marks are from Klinger's spare tire... the hole from the trailer hitch... or in this case the carrier for a clevis that was in the receiver, the clevis having been stolen while in Death Valley... The tread marks are Panamint Mountains dirt... acquired during the recent trip (reported on this blog) to Death Valley... dust is an acquired taste... but Klinger has acquired such a taste... and passed said dust onto the poor blue Toyota...
Klinger didn't take much damage... her bumper was bent in about 1/8” on the left side… there is a
wrinkle in the sheet metal beyond… the bumper
cover is warped a bit and scared… my “Don’t follow me, You won’t make it”
bumper sticker, a gift from a friend, is torn… but Klinger the Jeep won the
battle…
So now, there will be phone calls… I get to have discussions with insurance investigators,
insurance claim agents… they may want to record conversations… I don’t need a new project, but don’t have a
choice… I don’t need this…I am in pretty good shape… I didn’t cause it… I am the victim… and a witness… eventually I
will get to decide what to do about Klinger’s bumper…
If the bumper ends up being replaced, I will probably do an
aftermarket bumper… something beyond common jeep… likely less expensive than “official”
jeep…
A new, time consuming adventure… I think I will take another
dose of Ibuprofen and ask the daughter to rub my neck…My neck hurts... what did you expect.
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