June 06, 2006 - 1:09 PM

Smashy Crashy

Damn. It. Damn damn damn. My car insurance rates just went down 20% for the period beginning today. It's below $900 now, because I got a discount for being a "good driver" with no accidents and no moving violations. Well, you can flush that down the toilet, since I hit a car yesterday.

Don't worry, the only damage is going to be to my pocketbook. And my car. The other driver's fender was scratched up, but not dented; and we both walked away without physical injuries. But my car, well, the front passenger side bumper is all crunched up, the light is smashed, the hood is displaced, and the wheel well is crumpled so that it rubs on the tire, rendering the car undriveable. The engine is fine, thank jeebus, so it runs.

Accidents are never nice things, but there were a few bright spots about this one. First, it was a low-speed, relatively low-impact collision. We were stopped in front of the driveway to a parking lot whose entrance was only large enough to allow one car through. She was waiting to turn in while a few cars exited- her brake lights went off and she rolled forward a little as I saw the last car roll out, and I thought she was going in, so I released my brake. It was too late for me to react when i saw her brake lights turn back on and another car begin exiting; I tried to swerve to avoid contact, to no avail. Bonk-kerunch.

She was shook up and kept repeating "no no no no", partly in shock and partly as if to say "this is NOT happening." It seemed like at any moment, she could snap and just unload on me; I apologized and tried to remain calm and rational and agreeable so that a situation didn't develop. Luckily for us, the parking lot she was turning into was for the BWM dealership where she works, which is attached to the same autobody repair shop where I've had my car fixed in the past. What a coincidence! What luck!

We parked our cars in the lot, examined the damage, exchanged information. She walked into her office to make copies of our licenses and insurance cards, saying hi to everyone and, in an exasperated tone, telling them that I had just hit her. Apparently, she'd been having a bad day, and this was just the sour cherry on top. She wasn't hysterical or bitchy, but there was obvious tension and accusation. Fortunately, this abated when we went to the autobody office, explained the situation, and had the estimator (they know each other, so at first, it felt like they were going to gang up on me, but that too disappeared) look at the cars. He went over what would probably happen, and assured her that, even though her rear bumper would probably have to be replaced (a costly enterprise since her BMW SUV has expensive sensors attached to it), she would not have to pay anything, and her insurance costs would not rise. The fault was entirely mine, and it would be my side of the insurance that would cover any repairs (we both have Progressive Insurance).

I think most of her anger and annoyance came from her worries about costs for repairs to her car, which she's leasing, as well as rate increases for her insurance; when she realized that the damage was light and that she would not have to pay for anything, her emotions ratcheted down to just an unhappy "well, this sucks" level. After I'd filled out the repair papers and placed the claim with my insurance company over the phone, I went back to her office and apologized again.

Now I'm driving a rental from Enterprise, a Pontiac G6, and thank god I have rental coverage. I opted to get the $12/day insurance from Enterprise for the car, but other than that, my insurance coverage pays for the rental, up to a maximum of $900. Let's hope that I'm not renting the car for more than 30 days.

So, everything was taken care of. I talked to the local Progressive rep, and she set up the rental claim with Enterprise, and she's checking out the car to do an estimate on repair costs today. She's also going to talk with the other woman, to get her story and see what needs to be done with her car. I've got my replacement car. But I still feel this unease, like I've left something undone. Some sort of nagging business that's gonna rear its ugly head, but when I think about it, I did all the things that needed to be done. I guess this uncertain knot in my stomach won't go away until I have my car back in my hands, fixed and pretty again.

Now Listening To : Michael Kamen- Band of Brothers soundtrack
Random Thought : This thing sent ripples through the rest of my week. We'll get into that next.

What I Just Wrote Before - What I'm About to Write

The Five Most Recent Entries

Here's a hand-picked playlist of 40-plus songs for you to listen to: