I’ve been lucky.  In all the years since I obtained my driver’s license, I’ve only been in a couple of minor accidents.  Not long after I’d gotten my license and was tasked with driving my brother and I to and from school in my parent’s Toyota station wagon (if that doesn’t scream “cool” I don’t know what does) I was taking a free right-hand turn onto a 4-lane road, and doing as I was instructed in driving school – staying in the right lane.

Except the lady in the big black Cadillac coming from the left didn’t do what she was supposed to do by staying in the left lane and switched to the right lane just as I was taking my turn into that lane.  You guessed it; she caught the front quarter panel of my parents’ car and crumpled it, along with putting a nice dent in her rear quarter panel (complete with smudges of sky blue paint transferred from my parents’ car).

Luckily there was a gas station right there on the corner, so we both pulled over, and this perfectly coiffed lady in a suit sporting over-sized sunglasses and perfectly manicured long red nails starts screeching at me about being a stupid teenage driver and ruining her car. 

The police were called, and the officer was more sympathetic towards me because of the lady’s venomous tongue and indignant attitude as he quietly informed me that technically I was at fault because I hadn’t yielded the right-of-way.

I think he felt sorry for me, though, because after the mean lady left he didn’t write me a ticket even though I discovered I had left my bag at home with my freshly pressed license and insurance card.  He did have to call my parents though, because they had to bring my license so I could drive the car home legally. 

The nice officer waited with me and my brother until they arrived and assured my dad (who was understandably not happy) that it wouldn’t affect my driving record since he wasn’t writing me a ticket.  It only affected my allowance for a time after that, since I of course had to pay my dad back for the cost of repair, and give up several Saturdays to help him fix it.   Lesson learned.

The next accident was many years later when I had just moved to New York for a new job.  On my way to work during my second week (and on another one of those 4-lane roads with no left-turn lane in the center) the car in front of the car in front of me suddenly stopped to make a left turn – without a blinker. 

The guy in front of me had to stop suddenly to not hit the guy in front of him, I stopped just in time so as not to hit the guy in front of me, but the lady behind me wasn’t paying attention and slammed into the back of my car pushing me into the guy in front of me.  Did you follow all that?

The three of us pulled over and waited for the police.  I got out, feeling a bit shaky, fully expecting to see my car crumpled front and back – but miraculously there was no damage to my car, or to the car I had been pushed into.  I had been watching the lady in my rear-view mirror and when I saw that she wasn’t going to stop in time, stood on the brakes so I’m pretty sure that’s what kept me from doing damage to the car in front of me. 

While the two of us were spared damage, the lady behind me wasn’t so lucky.  Her whole front end was destroyed, and her car was going to need a tow.  Ironically, she had just dropped off her young one at daycare and had left her purse at the daycare, which meant she had no license or insurance card.  She got a ticket.

Two weeks ago today I had another little fender bender.   I had just finished my semi-monthly grocery shopping and was heading home, at a light where the right lane turns into its own lane, parallel to two more lanes going in the same direction.  The lady in front of me started around the curve of the lane, and then stopped suddenly.  Of course at that moment I was checking to see if there was traffic coming to my left, since I needed to move out of that right lane into one of the other two lanes since the right lane turned into a ‘right turn only’ lane.

In that split second of me looking to my left to check for traffic as I started to accelerate behind the lady who was pulling around the corner in front of me, is when she stopped.  For no reason.  I slammed on my brakes but wasn’t fast enough, so the front end of my Santa Fe hit the back end of her Saturn dead center.  Since I hit the lock of her trunk her trunk lid flew open.  We both finished pulling around the corner to get out of the way of the other traffic, and got out to assess the damage.

Lucky for me there was no damage at all to my front end, save for a few scratches next to my front grill, easily buffed out and nothing touch-up paint couldn’t fix.  She, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky.  She couldn’t get her trunk lid to stay closed (so she used a lanyard to tie it closed), and her right taillight was cracked.  Lovely. 

Luckily I have great insurance, and since we’ve been with the same agent and agency for over 10 years with no tickets or accidents, they took care of it immediately and ‘forgave’ me for this little fender bender, not letting it affect our ‘good driving record discount’.

And at least the fender bender wasn’t anything like this:

Yes, that’s a Lamborghini under the back end of a Hyundai Santa Fe.  No one was hurt (except maybe the driver of the Lamborghini’s ego).

I consider myself lucky.

Which brings me to this weeks question:

In all the years of driving, have you ever had an accident?

Have a great weekend!

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This Lucky Spin Cycle was brought to you part by the lovely Gretchen at Second Blooming, who has graciously taken the reins from Jen who, as Sprite’s Keeper has too much on her plate and wanted to make sure her Spin Cycle baby was in good hands.  It definitely is.  Check out the other Lucky Spinners – let’s see who gets lucky.

 

Second Blooming

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Happy Aloha Friday!

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From Kailani at An Island Life:
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So on Fridays let’s take it easy on posting, too. Ask a simple question…nothing that requires a lengthy response. It’s a great way to make new blogging friends!

 

More Friday Follow Fun:

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Oh So SAvvy MomfriendandfollowChubby Cheeks ThinksHome Grown Families

 

26 Comments

  1. I can’t STAND people who change lanes during a turn! We were told in driver’s ed that it was illegal. Must be a state-to-state issue.

    I have been in a couple accidents. The first, when I was in High School, was quite heartbreaking. Some idiot ran a stop sign and totaled my beloved YELLOW 1973 VW BUG. Man, I miss that car. The other driver was another teenager a little older than me, and she didn’t even have insurance. Bitch.

    When MacGyver and I were dating, we drove (roughly) from Chicago to Detroit. At one point I took over driving, and he warned me, “Every time I’ve ever let a girl I was dating drive my car, they’ve crashed it.” Guess what?

    I hit a freak patch of black ice (in April!!) that had already thrown two cars off the road. We rolled about 5 times and hit a tree. It didn’t look like there were any serious injuries except my hand was cut up and the truck was TOTALLED. Turned out that I suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury – not my first – and I suffered brain damage for about 9 months. Then we got married 😉
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  2. Yep…I was heading up the road to make a left turn…the light was green and as I was approaching said light…another car came out of nowhere on my right and pulled into my lane!! WTH? And as I was applying brakes, we hit head on. Destroying my car around me!! I was unhurt…totally unscathed…but car totaled. His car was okay too…just a little crumpled. The guy next to me witnessed the entire accident and gave me his card. Atty at law!! Ha! Go figure! He said was not my fault and so did cop. Whew!
    Kid did not have ins. but paid me faithfully every week for 3 months until my car was paid for. God is good for sure.
    Hugs
    SueAnn

  3. I have been in several fender benders over the years, but fortunately nothing really bad… But, several years ago, I was the middle car in a 3 car accident. I was hit by a kid speeding and talking on his cell phone. The guy in front of me was fine – barely had a scratch on his car. But, he must have spoken to someone at a party or something, because a year later, he sued me for a ridiculous amount of money, in order to sue the kid… it was crazy. Fortunately I got dismissed out of the case easily.
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  4. My story isn’t about me but a friend(who is a police officier) ex-wife..Well a few years back this young woman was running the local stop sign all the time and I told her that she was breaking the law.Her response was here X was cop and she can do what ever she wants..I did inform her that I know for a fact he can’t protect her from all the laws…Needless to say she was speeding and crashed her car pretty bad…After that I ask her again about breaking the law..spouted I got no ticket…I let it go..She had a few more crashes where she lost control..this time I explained it isn’t man’s law she should worried about but the Law of Physics…..Only slowing down can help with that….
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  5. Hi!! Thanks for visiting and following at The Latest Find!! Now following you on Linky Followers. Thanks for letting me know about the feature at Feed Me Friday, I hadn’t checked it yet=) My hubby was in 2 accidents within one week. One was ice on the road, another was while he was parked at Food Lion… Scary stuff. Glad you are ok!! Hope you have a good weekend!
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  6. Oh, I bet the driver of the Lamborghini’s wallet was pretty hurt…

    I’ve personally been involved in three accidents – one mere days after I received my license as a teenager (a young man in a stolen car rammed the front-end passenger side of my Pinto and then fled the scene) and once about 15 years ago, when I barely bumped into the back bumper of a BMW in rush-hour traffic (two TINY scratches on the BMW, which cost my insurance about $1500 to fix). The last was when an 18-wheeler rolled backwards into the front of my Nissan (again) during rush-hour traffic, cracking my bumper badly. This one was frustrating because the driver of the truck refused to stop and pull over to the side of the road, despite the fact I drove beside him, honked my horn and gestured for him to pull over – he just ignored me. It was an independent truck, and although I took down every number I could see on his vehicle AND his license plate number, he couldn’t be found – it was all really suspicious.
    Jan would like you to read ..A Fresh Look – a review of Fresh, the movieMy Profile

  7. Ugh. Car accidents. About a year ago, I went through a FIERCELY unlucky phase, when my rear bumper was hit by FOUR different people. All completely their faults. Only ONE had insurance. Luckily, he was the last one to hit me, and his insurance paid for the dents put there by the other THREE. Horrible though.

    You are linked!!
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  8. Unfortunately, this is not an area in which I have been lucky. I was in a couple crashes as a teen, and they were both my fault. I thought myluck had changed when I hit adulthood, but in my 20s some idiot kid hit my car (not unlike what I did when I was an idiot teen). Luckily, I’ve been accident free for several years now.
    Patty would like you to read ..Lucky in loveMy Profile

  9. I have never been at fault for an accident, but have been involved in a few. Of course, John’s big accident last year which took our Dodge Caravan, wasn’t an at fault either, but it still cost us in a lot of ways.
    I see three car collision claims EVERY DAY and it’s usually the middle vehicle which takes the brunt of everything. So, yes, you DID get lucky! 🙂
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  10. I have had both fender benders and total the car accidents. Some of the fender benders were my fault. Like the time I backed out of my driveway into a parked car. 🙁
    The accident accident that totaled my car was not my fault and resulted in two surguries for me. 🙁
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  11. I have been very lucky, too! I once hit the back of a feed truck on a snowy country road. He was going excruciatingly slow…but I was driving too fast for conditions. My front end was damaged, but I could still drive the car. The truck was so stout the driver almost didn’t know I hit him!

    I’m following you on Linky Followers…still getting used to not having GFC!
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  12. That was a really nice police officer. I’m sure that helped a bit with your confidence since you were just gaining driving experience. I bet Mrs Ass thought she’d get it all dung on you.

    Glad you weren’t hurt in any of these accidents.
    I pray I wont be in one.
    I haven’t yet.

    Enjoy your weekend!

    OMG I fear getting in one! Sigh.
    JamericanSpice would like you to read ..Old School Cartoons – Aloha FridayMy Profile

  13. I have had 3, and twice my car was totaled! The last time was definitely the worst and not ,my fault at all. Some stranger saw what happened, followed the guy who caused the accident,got his license plate number and gave it to the cop. My insurance company ended up going after his and his company paid out the claim for everything! I broke my window with my head and had a sore neck for awhile, but all was well.

    New Linky follower from feed me friday. http://www.housesbyshannon.blogspot.com (Mommy of One and Counting)
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  14. Yes, I have been in several car accidents. Hmmmm do you think I’m bad luck? I was never driving though. OMG Why did I say that? Now watch me get into an accident. I never talk about this because I know one day as soon as I do – BANG – Its’ gonna happen. Just like if you say oh I never get stopped blah blah blah (you see I didn’t say that one)… and bang you do. shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh let’s change the subject. Oh I put a now picture of my grandson for everyone. lol Have a great weekend.
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  15. Only one that was my fault, and I accidentally DID change lanes while turning right, without realizing I wasn’t already in the right lane. I was new to town and got lost in the very busy downtown St. Pete, FL. Well, BAM! I got slammed by the car in the correct lane. I was really hurt and haven’t been the same since. Ouch!

  16. The accident in the picture is looking very dangerous. I encountered a car accident and I was in the driving seat 2 years. ago. The collision took place between my car and another car. It took nearly tow months to get full recovery from injuries.

  17. My only accident has been when I was attempting to parellel park and a guy went by me as I went to back in. I had just moved to the “big city” and I was so upset. Not much damage but I still cried.
    With my first brand new (versus new to me) car, my husband rear ended a delivery truck and totaled it. I didn’t let him drive my replacement car for at least 6 months after that!
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