That b*@&% hit my truck!!
I had a friend over for the evening, he left around 10pm, bf called around 11:15pm to say his racing games were over, and I was finishing up some diskettes so I left around midnight to go see him as we were planning a morning bike ride and it would be easier just to stay over his place.
But as I was driving through the parking lot I happened to see movement to my right front and glanced over to see this little white Nissan Ultima backing out. I thought, "What the... hello? I'm right behind you!" Then she kept backing out! It all seemed like slow motion but it must have happened so fast, my thoughts were all jumbled, I'm thinking, "What the F*@(? Why are they STILL backing out? They're not supposed to do that, they're supposed to stop, they can't keep backing out, I'm right behin--" *smack* DAMMIT!! So much for my assertion that they can't do that...
So I'm like, ripping mad, and I stop Dante, and park him right there, and after two seconds of collecting myself time I get out, and she's already out of her vehicle, and I'm already muttering to myself, great, just great, this sucks, three months old and he's already been in an accident. I walk around the truck to the passenger's side and there's this huge splotchy short streak of white all over the bottom of Dante's half-door. And a rather noticeable dent. (Of course my innards are screaming but I held my cool while my legs were shaking out from under me and I was trying to think of what to do.) So I open that side and grab all my information out of the glove compartment or whatever and my gas mileage book because I'd written down everything you're supposed to do in an accident in the back of it. So while she's writing down information for us, I start calling police (that IS what you're /supposed/ to do, according to my book) and she's like, "What are you doing?" I tell her and she starts getting all hissy and is like, "Look, I've got a little daughter in the car, she's very tired, she needs to go to bed, can't we just exchange information?" I protest, and she keeps at me about it, so I say, "Okay, fine, one second, I'm calling someone else." So I call bf, explain the situation, and he agrees I SHOULD call police, it sounds to him like she's being unreasonable and I should protect myself no matter what she's saying. So I apologize to her and say I really do feel I need to call them and I do so while she's still arguing that it'll take them an hour to get there and we'll be there another hour and her daughter's tired and... it dawned on me she had a DAUGHTER in the car and I'm sitting there thinking omg is she all right but I figured she must be otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation and WTF? That bi*#( hit my baby!! Who the he** does she think she is, telling me what I should or shouldn't do when she's the one who backed into my baby?! She HURT him!! And she's a mother of all things!! And while we waited for police and I was still checking the book to make sure we got everything covered, she went over to her car and her girl was crying about being tired and she says, "Please don't do this, we can't leave yet, we've been in an accident." I heard the girl mumble something about "Why aren't the police here?" and she replies, "They've been called." (almost as if the girl's used to this sort of thing?)
In the meantime, bf said he'd come over. So I was waiting for him AND the police. And this big white vehicle pulls in, stops in front of me, and finally turns around. I figure I'm in the way (I tend to drive near the middle of the road in this parking lot so I can see kids running around vehicles better, which makes this even worse - she STILL hit me with all that space!!) so I get back in the truck and move Dante into a very close parking space. I get out and this other woman, apparently a friend or relative of the woman who hit me, comes over and seems all irritated and mad and says, "Oh, are you supposed to move a vehicle from the scene of an accident?" I'm like, "If you're in the way you are, so long as it's safe to do so." She laughs and says, "At MIDNIGHT? Who the h$%# is gonna be in a parking lot at midnight?" I look at her, getting really really irritated, and say, "Us and that big white truck that was just trying to get through here." What a fu*(#^% moron, you know? Then the police showed up. HE was very nice and calm, just asked the facts (funny how the other driver was so nice to HIM) and he asks for our licenses, registration, insurance, etc. and you know, the whole thing was over in like a half-hour, it didn't take forever, the police were very quick about getting there and filling out the report. It could have been over even sooner if they'd just let me call police in the first place instead of arguing with me about how simple it'll be to fix the door (actually, both doors, as I found out when the cop shined his light on the truck - there's TWO dents, one smaller one on the passenger door and a larger, much more obvious one on the half-door).
Stupid people, I was really right in what I did, I know I was. The cop thought it might be between a grand to a grand and a half of damage, and I know that you ARE supposed to report that much damage to police. If it were a little bumper scrape I may NOT have called 'cause I could have just used touch up paint but a freakin' white smudge with a dent in it? I don't THINK so...
And the whole attitude from both of those women... when I told them I asked police their opinion and they said it sounded like they should come down one said, "Of course they're gonna say that! They need something to do!!" Which totally went against the whole, "Oh, we're gonna have to wait an hour for them to get here" concept because if they're so bored why not come right down? Huh? And they were acting as if it were my fault even though the driver said she knew it was hers. AND when we were talking to police and he told her that because she was backing up it was automatically her fault, she asked if she was going to get a ticket!! Of course he said no, but I began realizing she probably /really/ didn't want police involved, not just because it was midnight. I was just horrified to think that this woman had a little kid with her. And it was dawning on me that she really was being disagreeable because a) I should call police for this sort of thing and b) it shouldn't take THAT long and c) granted Dante's black and it was late but her windows were heavily tinted (bf noticed this) and SHE backed into ME!! how the heck can you back into something so much bigger than you?! and d) what if I were a short ways before her and she backed out faster than she had and I didn't stop in time and hit HER passenger side door, where her daughter could have been?!
Gosh, you know, these things all were running through my mind, and finally bf got there as police were wrapping it all up and he was soooooooo reassuring, and finally he's like "You better get over there, it looks like he's almost done." We just walked around the parking lot for a while after everyone left, and I was still shaking and didn't know how much of it was the cold and how much was the continuing effect of being so scared and angry. I feel kinda bad, too, I mean, my very first reaction was anger, and I never even thought to ask if she was all right, but then again I also knew it wasn't that bad because we were going like 5mph if that and /I/ was all right, the sensation of her hitting me was only a slight vibration, like, what was that? I'm just glad I was in Dante and not some little rinky dink car. I'm sure his size probably had a lot to do with how much she was able to move him, and despite the damage to the doors he held up well and both doors latch fine. It really is minor damage compared to what could have happened if he'd been out on a highway in a pileup or something or if she were backing up any faster or if I was pulling out any faster. Speed definitely affects things, thank GOD we were in the parking lot and not elsewhere.
Still, my baby's been in his first accident (me too) and I feel horrible, like, what if I'd left just a little sooner, or a little later, just a couple seconds!! I know it's not my fault but I still feel bad. Of course, as bf said, "You know, Dante's probably thinking, 'What was that? Is that all you can dish out? I'm a TRUCK!!'" If that's the worst thing that happens to him, I guess I'm lucky. Then he pointed out all the other dents in so many of the other cars and trucks in the 'lot. Shit happens, is all.
But the weirdest thing, which I recalled while I was telling bf later what happened, is that I never saw her tail lights or backing lights on. Her car had been parked so that there was a space between her and a truck, and it seems to me that I should have seen her backing lights from the point I was passing that truck to the point I got to her, and I never did. I do recall seeing someone's tail lights at that point, but not backing lights. Usually I give right of way to people who are backing, in case they do NOT stop for me, it's automatic instinct. So I wonder if there was something wrong with those lights, I mean, it was dark out, I should have seen them. That's why I kept wondering why I didn't do something different, even if I didn't see her ahead of time mentally, I should have seen her on some level and my brain would have been processing quicker than it did. But truthfully, it's possible she started backing out as I was out of view of those lights, too, since they'd have been a bit lower than that side of the truck. And since she hit the middle-rear of the truck, it stands to reason I was either going too fast or she backed out a bit quickly and suddenly. Maybe her daughter distracted her. Who knows. I would certainly be upset if I were her, but I'd also feel horrible knowing I was at fault in hitting a brand new truck in the middle of the night when I should have been watching where I was going! Even if I did less damage than a thimble would have!! Her bumper was dented in a bit - it had a little black streak on it - DANTE'S PAINT!! waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!
Evil woman. She HIT my BABY!! *inward crying*
But no one was hurt, and even Dante and the other vehicle weren't heavily damaged, so here ends this rant.
~nv
But as I was driving through the parking lot I happened to see movement to my right front and glanced over to see this little white Nissan Ultima backing out. I thought, "What the... hello? I'm right behind you!" Then she kept backing out! It all seemed like slow motion but it must have happened so fast, my thoughts were all jumbled, I'm thinking, "What the F*@(? Why are they STILL backing out? They're not supposed to do that, they're supposed to stop, they can't keep backing out, I'm right behin--" *smack* DAMMIT!! So much for my assertion that they can't do that...
So I'm like, ripping mad, and I stop Dante, and park him right there, and after two seconds of collecting myself time I get out, and she's already out of her vehicle, and I'm already muttering to myself, great, just great, this sucks, three months old and he's already been in an accident. I walk around the truck to the passenger's side and there's this huge splotchy short streak of white all over the bottom of Dante's half-door. And a rather noticeable dent. (Of course my innards are screaming but I held my cool while my legs were shaking out from under me and I was trying to think of what to do.) So I open that side and grab all my information out of the glove compartment or whatever and my gas mileage book because I'd written down everything you're supposed to do in an accident in the back of it. So while she's writing down information for us, I start calling police (that IS what you're /supposed/ to do, according to my book) and she's like, "What are you doing?" I tell her and she starts getting all hissy and is like, "Look, I've got a little daughter in the car, she's very tired, she needs to go to bed, can't we just exchange information?" I protest, and she keeps at me about it, so I say, "Okay, fine, one second, I'm calling someone else." So I call bf, explain the situation, and he agrees I SHOULD call police, it sounds to him like she's being unreasonable and I should protect myself no matter what she's saying. So I apologize to her and say I really do feel I need to call them and I do so while she's still arguing that it'll take them an hour to get there and we'll be there another hour and her daughter's tired and... it dawned on me she had a DAUGHTER in the car and I'm sitting there thinking omg is she all right but I figured she must be otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation and WTF? That bi*#( hit my baby!! Who the he** does she think she is, telling me what I should or shouldn't do when she's the one who backed into my baby?! She HURT him!! And she's a mother of all things!! And while we waited for police and I was still checking the book to make sure we got everything covered, she went over to her car and her girl was crying about being tired and she says, "Please don't do this, we can't leave yet, we've been in an accident." I heard the girl mumble something about "Why aren't the police here?" and she replies, "They've been called." (almost as if the girl's used to this sort of thing?)
In the meantime, bf said he'd come over. So I was waiting for him AND the police. And this big white vehicle pulls in, stops in front of me, and finally turns around. I figure I'm in the way (I tend to drive near the middle of the road in this parking lot so I can see kids running around vehicles better, which makes this even worse - she STILL hit me with all that space!!) so I get back in the truck and move Dante into a very close parking space. I get out and this other woman, apparently a friend or relative of the woman who hit me, comes over and seems all irritated and mad and says, "Oh, are you supposed to move a vehicle from the scene of an accident?" I'm like, "If you're in the way you are, so long as it's safe to do so." She laughs and says, "At MIDNIGHT? Who the h$%# is gonna be in a parking lot at midnight?" I look at her, getting really really irritated, and say, "Us and that big white truck that was just trying to get through here." What a fu*(#^% moron, you know? Then the police showed up. HE was very nice and calm, just asked the facts (funny how the other driver was so nice to HIM) and he asks for our licenses, registration, insurance, etc. and you know, the whole thing was over in like a half-hour, it didn't take forever, the police were very quick about getting there and filling out the report. It could have been over even sooner if they'd just let me call police in the first place instead of arguing with me about how simple it'll be to fix the door (actually, both doors, as I found out when the cop shined his light on the truck - there's TWO dents, one smaller one on the passenger door and a larger, much more obvious one on the half-door).
Stupid people, I was really right in what I did, I know I was. The cop thought it might be between a grand to a grand and a half of damage, and I know that you ARE supposed to report that much damage to police. If it were a little bumper scrape I may NOT have called 'cause I could have just used touch up paint but a freakin' white smudge with a dent in it? I don't THINK so...
And the whole attitude from both of those women... when I told them I asked police their opinion and they said it sounded like they should come down one said, "Of course they're gonna say that! They need something to do!!" Which totally went against the whole, "Oh, we're gonna have to wait an hour for them to get here" concept because if they're so bored why not come right down? Huh? And they were acting as if it were my fault even though the driver said she knew it was hers. AND when we were talking to police and he told her that because she was backing up it was automatically her fault, she asked if she was going to get a ticket!! Of course he said no, but I began realizing she probably /really/ didn't want police involved, not just because it was midnight. I was just horrified to think that this woman had a little kid with her. And it was dawning on me that she really was being disagreeable because a) I should call police for this sort of thing and b) it shouldn't take THAT long and c) granted Dante's black and it was late but her windows were heavily tinted (bf noticed this) and SHE backed into ME!! how the heck can you back into something so much bigger than you?! and d) what if I were a short ways before her and she backed out faster than she had and I didn't stop in time and hit HER passenger side door, where her daughter could have been?!
Gosh, you know, these things all were running through my mind, and finally bf got there as police were wrapping it all up and he was soooooooo reassuring, and finally he's like "You better get over there, it looks like he's almost done." We just walked around the parking lot for a while after everyone left, and I was still shaking and didn't know how much of it was the cold and how much was the continuing effect of being so scared and angry. I feel kinda bad, too, I mean, my very first reaction was anger, and I never even thought to ask if she was all right, but then again I also knew it wasn't that bad because we were going like 5mph if that and /I/ was all right, the sensation of her hitting me was only a slight vibration, like, what was that? I'm just glad I was in Dante and not some little rinky dink car. I'm sure his size probably had a lot to do with how much she was able to move him, and despite the damage to the doors he held up well and both doors latch fine. It really is minor damage compared to what could have happened if he'd been out on a highway in a pileup or something or if she were backing up any faster or if I was pulling out any faster. Speed definitely affects things, thank GOD we were in the parking lot and not elsewhere.
Still, my baby's been in his first accident (me too) and I feel horrible, like, what if I'd left just a little sooner, or a little later, just a couple seconds!! I know it's not my fault but I still feel bad. Of course, as bf said, "You know, Dante's probably thinking, 'What was that? Is that all you can dish out? I'm a TRUCK!!'" If that's the worst thing that happens to him, I guess I'm lucky. Then he pointed out all the other dents in so many of the other cars and trucks in the 'lot. Shit happens, is all.
But the weirdest thing, which I recalled while I was telling bf later what happened, is that I never saw her tail lights or backing lights on. Her car had been parked so that there was a space between her and a truck, and it seems to me that I should have seen her backing lights from the point I was passing that truck to the point I got to her, and I never did. I do recall seeing someone's tail lights at that point, but not backing lights. Usually I give right of way to people who are backing, in case they do NOT stop for me, it's automatic instinct. So I wonder if there was something wrong with those lights, I mean, it was dark out, I should have seen them. That's why I kept wondering why I didn't do something different, even if I didn't see her ahead of time mentally, I should have seen her on some level and my brain would have been processing quicker than it did. But truthfully, it's possible she started backing out as I was out of view of those lights, too, since they'd have been a bit lower than that side of the truck. And since she hit the middle-rear of the truck, it stands to reason I was either going too fast or she backed out a bit quickly and suddenly. Maybe her daughter distracted her. Who knows. I would certainly be upset if I were her, but I'd also feel horrible knowing I was at fault in hitting a brand new truck in the middle of the night when I should have been watching where I was going! Even if I did less damage than a thimble would have!! Her bumper was dented in a bit - it had a little black streak on it - DANTE'S PAINT!! waaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!
Evil woman. She HIT my BABY!! *inward crying*
But no one was hurt, and even Dante and the other vehicle weren't heavily damaged, so here ends this rant.
~nv
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home