Crash!
It had to happen sometime, I guess.
And today was the day.
I had my first car accident. Fortunately, it was minor. Unfortunately, it was completely my fault.
I have been reveling in the rainy weather we have been so desperately needing (trips to the ballpark aside- sorry Tony C.) and had loaded the kids into the car for a rainy day trip to the library. We were backing out of the driveway (which involves a very tight turn since the across the street neighbors park on the street to slow down passing traffic) and CRASH! right into the front fender of our neighbor's relatively new Jetta. My foot, wet from the rainy sidewalk, had slipped off the brake and since there is no room for any error (usually we need to back up inch-by-inch and make a very tight turn) my car smacked right into their car.
It took a few seconds to realize what happened. Once I did, I pulled back into the driveway and went right across the street to tell the neighbor. He was fairly mellow about it all, but I was and am still very upset. I suspect it's going to be a costly event.
Of course, it could have been much worse- I mean, a car is just property, and the girls and I are all fine. We were moving very slowly, and we were already home (I didn't have to drive after the crash!).
The lesson? Not sure yet. Wipe your feet before putting them on the pedals? Don't park where you can't back out with less than a 3 inch margin of error? When I figure out what I am to have learned from this experience, I will be sure to update this post. Until then, all I can say is ARRGH!!!
2 Comments:
Having both dished out and received damage to motorized vehicles, this is one of the risks we run in living in a vehicular-dependent culture. It is inevitable. And while it sucks, especially when it's something like having your foot slip off the brake, money is only money and you can't put a dollar value on safety (unless you're driving a Volvo or an armored car or a Vespa with inflatable wraparound protectors, and that's not a practical kid-moving vehicle).
So everyone is okay, the car is a bit dinged up, everything can be repaired. Just means we have to do the skim coat in the living room ourselves (it doesn't mean we can't get the nailguns, right?).
By
Stephen Landau, at August 23, 2004 at 1:58 PM
I've always tried to be considerate when parking my car and not park directly across from a driveway. Especially on a small street. I think the lesson is for your neighbor: "Don't park there." I understand the lay of the land makes it difficult to park in you neighborhood so lesson learned and lesson applied my be mutually exclusive. I hope the costs incurred were low. Happy driving.
By
Tony C, at September 1, 2004 at 12:38 PM
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