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Friday, October 7, 2011

My car got the short end of the stick!

broken glass (plastic) on rear passenger "corner"

I was exhausted, my normal state, and headed off to Huntsville. One stop was all I had--grocery. As I backed out of the parking space in the grocery store, I heard the crunch and felt the jolt, a slight jolt, mind you. I was sick. I hit a vehicle. Now, my insurance would go up. I felt demoralized.

After pulling back into the space I was trying to get out of, I went over to look at the truck. Not so bad, I thought to myself. At any rate, I walked back to the store to find out who owned the truck. No one did. Then, a woman said it was hers. She was checking out, so I went back out to grab my camera to record the glass as lay on the ground.
I hit driver rear "corner." Red cover is broken from my car.


This is what I wanted to make sure that everyone knew--I hit the "corner" of her car, not the center. No, there are no scratches to speak of. The rest of the glass is in small pieces.


Right above the tag, right in the center of the truck (below) , there was a dimple where the truck had been hit before. I don't want to show her tag, so I am severely cropping the pictures.

She laughed it off, said the truck did not matter, that she just hoped it did not hurt my car. She saw my taillight, waved me off, saying not to worry, the car belonged to her son and it was going in the body shop tomorrow.

That was a nice outcome, but my last nerve was frazzled, frayed, and pieces were falling off. So, now I have to try to cover it with plastic, tape it on with my guerrilla tape, and wait until I can afford to repair it.

No lights were damaged in the fiasco, only the plastic cover. My friend in Huntsville checked that out as I sat working the brakes and blinkers. I could have checked it at night, but it was broad daylight and I had to leave town in evening rush hour traffic.

My insurance would have paid for the truck, then gone up until they had recouped the amount from me! I think it has been over 15 years since I had even a fender bender. A half inch scratch cost $900 that time!

Your turn
Has your last nerve been worn by an accident when you could not afford the stress or money?

8 comments:

  1. Oh yes... day before I left a job, the day before the car which belong to the company then would belong to me! My fault, similar to you in a car park, although the guy I hit travelled a mighty long way given the 10mph speed limit in the car park, however I hit him even if as I suspect he was racing for the exit. I could really have done without all the stress of that one

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  2. i am sorry that this happened but very glad to hear that the lady was so nice about it - there are still decent people in the world!

    i haven't ever had an accident but jambaloney flipped our ford f150 this past winter. and by flipped - i mean he flipped it right over and it was standing on its side on the passenger side door. it was snowing, the roads were covered in ice and he wasn't even going that fast. but he hit a patch of black ice and - FLIP! we have a big dint on the side of the truck and around here - if you don't have big dints in your truck then you're not a man - hahah!

    again i am sorry that this happened to you.

    your friend,
    kymber

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  3. Furtheron,
    Bummer. And, you got a dented car? Some people do race around the parking lots, making it difficult to judge anything about driving.

    kymber,
    Thankfully, he was not hurt. So, now he has a manly truck! Black ice scares me. But, we have so little ice that I just stay home in icy weather. However, I drive so slowly in ice that there is no way I could flip.

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  4. Linda:

    i did have a scare with the truck as kymber mentioned, repairs were far less than i imagined - thank god, didn't run it through insurance. i responded to your query about getting a bike for your knee, i'll repeat here for you:

    >>a bike is excellent rehabilitation for your knee. the key is to ride in a low gear and spin rather than a high gear and push too hard with each pedal stroke. it will keep movement on the knee and prevent stiffening without and "load" on the joint, ligament etc. and you will get good, low impact exercise - do it! you can get a really good tricycle if you are worried about balance, e.g.:

    http://www.industrialbicycles.com/

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  5. jambaloney,
    Running something through insurance is always a good way to get higher rates on your insurance.

    Okay, I the last verterbra in my spine is sitting on bone. The L% is out of line and discs are herniated. When the doctor came in the room, his first words were, "THIS is serious!" That startled me so, I was speechless, forgot any questions, and was in shock for the rest of the day." That was the spine doctor.

    The knee doctor said I have torn meniscus in the left knee and may have retorn the meniscus her repaired 8 years ago in the right knee.

    Shoulder doctor said I may have torn left rotator cuff. I definitely have arthritis in left shoulder blade and between collarbone and shoulder.

    Earler in my life, I severely injured my right hand and later, the left one.

    I never bread a bone, just rip tissue. Lucky me.

    I don't trust my hands to stop me, so I want a coaster brake. I know that now I must have gears.

    If I fall off anything, I fear the back will cause paralysis, something I don't need at all.

    The doctor needs to be consulted about my riding a bike.

    Through all this, I am progressively less active and hurt more. So, I gain weight and eat out of frustration. However, I like the industrial bike site, lots!

    LOL...still want four wheels...lol. BTW, friends say a tricycle will tip over when I turn. I don't know.

    I had to work hard at getting the left knew straight. I was limping and the knee was not straight. So, I sit with legs on an ottoman and a weight on that knee and leg. It works.

    Low gear. I will remember.

    Thanks.

    All this has left me with a disability.

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  6. Linda:

    i am sorry to hear all of that..tissue damage can be real debilitating, painful and frustrating.

    you can get bike seats that will go easy on your spine and pad accordingly. a coaster brake doesn't really go with gearing but i can assure you that new-generation hand brakes require much less force that bikes of old.

    as for 4 wheelers, i dug up this link... lots there for you!

    good luck and take care!

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  7. jambaloney
    Thanks. I plan to get it all fixed...lol. Oh, I plan to get a really large and well-padded seat. I found a bike that has "Cruiser" in the name, three speed, and coaster brakes. I won't being riding many miles, I suspect, unless I either move or carry it on my bike to a place where it is safe to ride long distances. I loved riding my bike when I was a teen, especially. We lived where I could ride long, straight, fairly flast distances...okay, maybe only 3 miles. The feel of the wind in my hair, the quiet, the effortlessness of gliding along...makes me feel young again just thinking of the emotions it evoked. There is no link in the comment.

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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.