What a Wreck...

I meant to post on this earlier, but time just got away from me. Wednesday was kind of a bad day. I started from home right around 5:00 and SR520 was already super backed up. In a moment, I adjusted routes and headed for I-405. I seldom go that way, but it looked like I might get home faster and I needed to get gussied up for the opera that the DH and I had tickets for that night. 15 minutes can make all the difference there, you know.

As I was heading North, minding my business and feeling quite bored with the stop-and-go traffic, I stopped in one of those slow-downs, but the car behind me forgot to. The car rammed into me, pushing me into the car in front of me. The impact was enough to throw my glasses off my face and open covers and empty the two console cubbies of lipstick, dental floss, and sunglasses. It even knocked the phone book from under the seat.

The three of us made our way to the side of the road and traded vital information. I was quite shaken up and the man in the car in front of me was quite concerned. I thought I was coping quite well, but maybe not. It’s hard to keep the perspective in such a situation. I was grateful to the front driver as he drew a diagram of the accident, took down license numbers and car models, and collected our insurance information and phone numbers. We all had everything we needed.

I checked the damage to my car and saw that the bumpers, front and rear, were damaged. I didn’t discover the rest of the damage until I got home, but it’s mostly cosmetic. Except that the trunk won’t close now. It’s my Joad car now, I guess – at least for a little while.

Because it was rush hour and there were not injuries, we didn’t call the police. Don’t worry. My insurance agent said it was fine. They wouldn’t come out anyway. That’s who I called first, then found out that I should work with the instigator’s insurance agency unless they gave me grief.

So far it’s been quite a bother, but not much more than that. I called the instigator’s insurance company right after the accident and they’ve called me back every day with updates. It looks like it won’t be much of a problem to get taken care of, but it will take some time and a loaner car for me.

After getting home and getting a grip, I was really grateful that I wasn’t hurt and that the airbag didn’t deploy. Considering that it was on the freeway, it could have been much worse and I feel pretty good about having only the inconvenience. Of course, I could do without that too, but it’s minor in comparison to what could have happened.