We have a lot of younger drivers (or younger will-be drivers) registered in the forum. To those people, I'd like to share my experience with my first car accident.
Before yesterday at 4:10pm, I didn't think an accident was that big of a deal -- two people bang fenders, insurance kicks in, you move on with life. You never think about the mental end of it.
At first, you're shocked. I wasn't hurt, but I was walking around in a daze like I was loosing blood. The other guy was in the same condition.
After the shock wears off, you start to think about liability. Who's at fault? He immediately told me I was driving too fast. After I pointed out the word "STOP" painted in the parking lot, which he ran over at about 30 miles an hour, he kind of shut up.
Then, the cops show up; the tow-truck shows up; you get nervous. Being the insecure, neurotic that I am, I can help but internalize a certain amount of guilt, regardless of the circumstances. If I had shown any guilt, however, I would have taken the fall for the accident. The other guy admitted he was in the wrong, but I had given him room to argue the point, I would have been screwed. No matter how nervous I felt, I could not let it show. I had to be firm.
Someplace between nervous and firm, you find yourself being paranoid. What if this guy changes his story at the last minute and my insurance company doesn’t believe me? What proof do I have that this accident was of no fault of my own? The cop didn’t seem to think it was a big enough deal to make an official report. He took “non-report” information about us, our cars and our insurance companies, but he didn’t pull out the tape measure and see how long my skid marks were nor did he really care what had happened. Before I left, I made sure he wrote in the comments section of his “non-report” that the other guy blew through the place where he was supposed to stop. (Being firm again.)
In the aftermath of an accident, you tend to fall into an obsessive-compulsive habit of running the incident through your mind. I could have done this and I could have done that. What if I did that? What if I didn’t do that? Adding to that, the insurance company interrogates you repeatedly with more than one person asking the same questions the others asked. You know they are trying to find out if you’re lying to prove if the claim is an attempt to fraud the agency. This double-checking is all protocol and is a part of these people’s jobs, but it, never the less, makes you feel even worse – even if you are indeed telling the truth.
This morning, I’d have to say I’m still in that obsessive-compulsive phase. I don’t know how it’s all going to end up. I know there will be even more emotional turmoil to follow as the insurance process plays out. I have to honestly admit that as a person outside of the situation, I didn’t think an automobile accident was really that big of a deal. I know now, these situations really suck and go far beyond personal injury and damage to your car. With that, I’d like to remind the younger audience that you can never be too cautious when it comes to driving. You can never know with 100 percent certainty what lies behind a bunch of parked cars. Even if the traffic going through that area is supposed to stop, you need to proceed with caution and alertness.
This whole incident reminds me of the following:
“The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.”
-Mary Schmich
In my case, some jerk off didn’t stop and ran in front of me at 4pm on an idle Tuesday, but it still fits.
-Rob
Before yesterday at 4:10pm, I didn't think an accident was that big of a deal -- two people bang fenders, insurance kicks in, you move on with life. You never think about the mental end of it.
At first, you're shocked. I wasn't hurt, but I was walking around in a daze like I was loosing blood. The other guy was in the same condition.
After the shock wears off, you start to think about liability. Who's at fault? He immediately told me I was driving too fast. After I pointed out the word "STOP" painted in the parking lot, which he ran over at about 30 miles an hour, he kind of shut up.
Then, the cops show up; the tow-truck shows up; you get nervous. Being the insecure, neurotic that I am, I can help but internalize a certain amount of guilt, regardless of the circumstances. If I had shown any guilt, however, I would have taken the fall for the accident. The other guy admitted he was in the wrong, but I had given him room to argue the point, I would have been screwed. No matter how nervous I felt, I could not let it show. I had to be firm.
Someplace between nervous and firm, you find yourself being paranoid. What if this guy changes his story at the last minute and my insurance company doesn’t believe me? What proof do I have that this accident was of no fault of my own? The cop didn’t seem to think it was a big enough deal to make an official report. He took “non-report” information about us, our cars and our insurance companies, but he didn’t pull out the tape measure and see how long my skid marks were nor did he really care what had happened. Before I left, I made sure he wrote in the comments section of his “non-report” that the other guy blew through the place where he was supposed to stop. (Being firm again.)
In the aftermath of an accident, you tend to fall into an obsessive-compulsive habit of running the incident through your mind. I could have done this and I could have done that. What if I did that? What if I didn’t do that? Adding to that, the insurance company interrogates you repeatedly with more than one person asking the same questions the others asked. You know they are trying to find out if you’re lying to prove if the claim is an attempt to fraud the agency. This double-checking is all protocol and is a part of these people’s jobs, but it, never the less, makes you feel even worse – even if you are indeed telling the truth.
This morning, I’d have to say I’m still in that obsessive-compulsive phase. I don’t know how it’s all going to end up. I know there will be even more emotional turmoil to follow as the insurance process plays out. I have to honestly admit that as a person outside of the situation, I didn’t think an automobile accident was really that big of a deal. I know now, these situations really suck and go far beyond personal injury and damage to your car. With that, I’d like to remind the younger audience that you can never be too cautious when it comes to driving. You can never know with 100 percent certainty what lies behind a bunch of parked cars. Even if the traffic going through that area is supposed to stop, you need to proceed with caution and alertness.
This whole incident reminds me of the following:
“The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 p.m. on some idle Tuesday.”
-Mary Schmich
In my case, some jerk off didn’t stop and ran in front of me at 4pm on an idle Tuesday, but it still fits.
-Rob
