Man, I feel like I got hit by a Mack truck…
…because I did. Well, my car did anyway. Here’s the short version of what happened. Merging onto the highway; stop (mostly stop) and go traffic. Huge line of cars on the onramp. As I approach the lane, I see a big Mack truck. It looks like it stops to let me in. I edge my car forward into the lane a titch. Meanwhile, a silver pickup truck flies up the right shoulder like a bat out of hell and slams on its brakes in front of the cars ahead of me. While I’m paying attention to that fiasco, out of the corner of my eye I see the semi creeping up, right next to me. I had enough time to slam on my horn, but he didn’t stop. Just carved right through my front fender and side mirror.
Outstanding. So if you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, that’s what I’ve been up to.
The insurance company gave me a car to rent while mine is getting fixed. It’s a 2006 Chrysler Sebrig with 2,416 miles on it and it’s such a piece of garbage I’m going to devote a whole new post to how bad it sucks. Well, I’ll be fair and mention its good point too. (Only found one so far.) I get to drive it until my car is fixed, NEXT friday. Yay.
October 15th, 2005 at 10:35 am
Glad you’re okay. [Waiting-for-repair rentals always seem to suck.]
October 15th, 2005 at 11:13 am
So - this is the time when you learn whether or not you’ve got a good insurance company. What’s your take so far?
(Glad you’re ok. Hope there’s no whiplash…)
October 15th, 2005 at 5:07 pm
Did you get pictures?
October 15th, 2005 at 9:48 pm
Geof: If I had to drive a Chrysler, why couldn’t it have been an old K-car they had lying around somewhere, instead of this brand new car that’s going to show every scratch. It’s funny, because with 2 thousand miles on it, it already has a whole mass of scratches on the rear bumper, and a dent. I had the guy mark that down on the sheet during the walkthrough.
Also, it’s not like I live in a low crime neighborhood. During the drive home on Friday, the dude on the radio news I was listening to was talking about a shooting that took place Thursday night six blocks from my house. So I’m not very comfortable leaving it parked on the street. In fact, I’m not very comfortable advertising that it’s at my house by pulling it in and out of my garage. And, it barely fits in my garage, and when it’s in the garage, Peggy’s car barely fits alongside it; we’ve taken to parking Peggy’s car out on the street.
Amy: I think I do, they were pretty up-front with me about how my rates were going to go up but they didn’t act like jerks or anything. They’re paying to fix everything (minus my deductible). And I mean everything: right down to putting a new “Forester” sticker on the door that they have to repaint because… I have no idea why they have to repaint the door, the door was completely undamaged. As was the mud guard, the door trim, and about 12 other things they said they were going to fix that had nothing to do with the accident. For all that, I’m surprised that the overall cost is less than 1,400 dollars.
And no whiplash: my car was absolutely stationary at the time. The semi had this chrome thing sticking out that just carved off a slice of my fender like a knife through a pat of butter. Didn’t even feel it.
Keir: Of course I got pictures. Haven’t transferred them off the camera yet though.