I propose a toast

[cjsmith]

Random status:

Called insurance companies (both). Called other driver to confirm license plate number. Appears fairly certain other guy's insurance is accepting liability. Guy on phone said so, anyway.

I don't even have collision insurance. Oddly, this amuses me. (Years ago I decided the car wasn't worth enough to keep paying that bit.)

I will now confirm, never having been a customer of theirs, that State Farm is very nice to deal with in the initial stages of a claim. So is AAA, where I am insured.

Lots of meetings today. The lunch one ran very long, and then the 2pm didn't start until 230 and lasted until after five. This would have to be the day I'm playing phone tag with two insurance companies! Bailed out on a trip to a company we're working with in MtView. No time left; that'll have to be Monday. Also bailed on two reference-check phone calls. Drat. Want that wrapped up, darnit. Well, it's just not been a good day, that's all.

Escaped the office and went to my chiropractor before he closed up for the day. Got a gentle once-over and some good advice.

Canceled tomorrow's flight because I have no clue how I am going to feel in the morning and it will be too late to cancel by then.

Drove the crippled beast home. Parked backwards in the garage so I could exit the car.


Now that I'm not flying in the next 24h, and I'm not driving anywhere tonight, and I have had one hell of a day, I am settling down to some DRINKING.

I propose a toast. To our mechanized servants/companions, stolid beasts of burden, haulers of heavy loads in punishing conditions. To the one, loyal for seventeen years, who gave its life for mine today.

Comments

[sunnydale47.livejournal.com]

By the time I was able to read posts and saw your entry about the car, there were already two pages of comments so rather than add to the pile there, I figured I'd comment here instead.

As you said in that post, as long as no one was hurt, that's unquestionably the most important thing. Metal can be fixed or replaced -- it's a lot harder to fix people, and replacement is out of the question (at least at present!). But once you get past the relief of no injuries, it's still a royal pain to have to deal with the paperwork, the body shop, the rental car, and all the rest.

Especially if you have no collision ... yikes! Then you're on your own unless the other guy's insurance will accept liability. So I'm really glad the other driver told his insurance company the truth and they're not giving you a hard time about that! I wasn't so lucky, and I've heard other horror stories about people who caused accidents and then lied and blamed the innocent driver ... and got away with it.

My incident was six or seven years ago. A guy (in his late 20s) was swerving wide in the parking lot to park in front of his mother's house, and hit my car as Ken was driving out of the parking lot. The other guy was driving a rental car that was rented to his girlfriend -- and his name wasn't on the contract. But he told their insurance company that Ken was on the wrong side of the street, and that Ken had come over to his car and said "I'm so sorry, it was all my fault"!!!

I was furious when our insurance company told us what had come from the other company! I said, "He never said that! We know better than to say it's our fault even if it is!" Fortunately we had collision on the car, so the insurance companies agreed to each drop it and my insurance company believed us and didn't raise the rates. But I did have to pay a $250 deductible, which made me really mad.)

A friend of mine was once second in line at a light. The car in front had gone a bit over the line and backed up again, and forget to take his car out of reverse. When the light changed, he went backwards and hit my friend's car. He told his insurance company that she hadn't slowed down enough for the light and had hit him, and since in a rear-end accident like that it's virtually always the fault of the driver behind, the insurance companies both accepted the guy's story, and not only did my innocent friend have to pay for her own repairs, but her insurance company paid for his and her rates went up for three years!

So I'm very, very glad to hear that at least the guy was truthful!

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Yep, fixing people is a lot harder than fixing cars. The factory just doesn't make replacement parts.

Some people sure are *ssholes. My faith in the human race is usually close to zero; stories like yours are what I'd expect as a matter of course. I feel like something's wrong, today, because this guy was both honest AND polite.

I almost want to bake him a pie. Poor dude's going to $pay$ as a reward for his truthfulness.