Yes you read that right. Yesterday at about 5:19pm Pacific Standard Time, I plowed into the back of the car in front of me. I claim only about 75% fault on this one. (For the record, who accelerates into an intersection, and then suddenly comes to a smoking-tire, screeching halt??? Sorry, but that just had to be said.)
The other driver was in a steel cage otherwise known as a Jeep Commander, and I was in the Mercedes. In case you’ve forgotten from my earlier post, my sweet little car looked like this the day I bought it. Sigh.
June 2009 — The day we bought the Mercedes. I’m not sure what I was attempting to do with my leg here, but I guess that’s what I thought people did when they posed with their new car. Instead, I look like I’m missing a leg and that my torso is super-glued to the door frame. Fail.
The steel bumper of the Jeep ended up with a few tiny scratches, while my front grill crumpled in like a piece of tin foil. It doesn’t look too bad, but something under my hood started smoking and I distinctly heard a “hiss” sound. Hmmm.
So after getting out of our cars and doing the whole awkward “so-hey-our-cars-kinda-touched-each-other” back and forth, we pulled over and did an information switcheroo. Thankfully, no one in either car was injured; my airbags didn’t even deploy. And, the other driver was actually pretty nice and normal, so that’s a +1.
We parted ways, and the first thing I did was call my husband to tell him the news.
Then I called the insurance company.
The sweet lady over at Esurance laughed at my 75% self-proclaimed at-fault assessment. I don’t know, maybe I thought between my sparkling personality and my insistence that the driver in front of me was a moron for accelerating and braking would help my cause. Apparently not.
So, big surprise, I’m officially at fault, blah, blah, blah. That’s not the reason I’m telling you all of this.
What struck me about this whole darn thing was that my first thought (after determining there were no injuries, of course) was that I had no financial worries. $1,000 deductible? No problem. Replace my car? We can pay cash for a new one. Getting in an accident is already stressful enough. Knowing you have an emergency fund removes that extra unnecessary layer of anxiety.
The only part of this that is a wee bit sucky, is that this is my very first accident. Ever. Tomorrow is my 36th birthday, which would have meant 20 years of driving accident-free. 20 YEARS! Oh well. Guess I’ll start that clock over again.
My point is that money in the bank is more than just…well, money in the bank. It gives you the gift of calm. It gives you the gift of sleeping well at night. So within minutes of the accident, I already had a pep in my step, and a grin on my face. Considering what had just happened, I felt fantastic.
So do your future self a favor, and make sure you have an emergency fund. And, drive safe my friends.
Love love love it! Great response mrs. Nickels! Ps if you have to go carshopping I want to come!!!!
Good thing that no one was hurt, Laura. I too had only been in one accident, which occurred may years ago. It happened one late evening in a snow storm in a city mall parking lot where some clown was racing through and rammed the front side of my car. Of course, due to Murphy’s Law, the village idiot’s car only had a slight front fender dent while the front of my car was much worse off. Not being on a public road, the rules of the road did not apply and it was each one for himself, relating to paying for damage restoration. Knowing that my car premiums would probably increase a fair bit if I had put in a claim, I decided to pay for the damage myself (it was useless trying to get anything out of the other guy, even though I tried hard). Oh well. So yes, access to funds for times such as this does avoid problems later on. So, I agree, by all means drive safely but be very aware of those driving around you who may not be as careful.
Ack. That’s REALLY sucky, Rob. Right now we’re deciding if we should just fix up the Mercedes enough so that our 17-year-old can drive it, and then buy something used and practical for me to drive. Hmmm…
I read somewhere that your military is disposing of it’s old merchandise and passing it on to your country’s law enforcement agencies. Maybe you can get your hands on a good used armored vehicle so that you can be all set and prepared for your next (ahem) “fender bender” encounter! (evil grin)
You crack me up. Seriously.
Holy cow, Laura. Glad you aren’t hurt. Cars can be replaced, but people cannot. Maybe look into a Hummer, if you are going to be driving like that…
Very funny. A Hummer! Well, my drive-defensively-with-a-lead-foot served me well for 19.999 years. I guess it’s time to re-evaluate. Hrmph.
I’m so happy to hear that no one was hurt, Laura! I can’t believe that you’ve never been in an accident before. I’m ashamed to admit some of the consequences of my careless driving tendencies :/
I know, I was so stoked about my 20-year accident-free anniversary, and then…boom. Literally. Ugh.