Argghh!

[aadler]

 
Yesterday I drove from the central part of the state to the northwest corner. Twenty minutes after I left, it started to snow. Within another ten, if was heavy snow. By the time I finally arrived, I was driving at thirty miles an hour — on the Interstate — and passing most of the other traffic.

I made it without accident, or even near threat of one. I normally park on the street but, mindful that the streets too were slippery, I pulled up into the driveway for an extra measure of safety.

So I come out today, and guess what I find? Someone had lost control, slid up into the driveway, hit the car parked beside me — it was practically a junker anyway, you can see the damage but it honestly didn’t make that much difference — and cracked my rear bumper.

Before immediately driving away.

I carry minimum insurance (because I really am quite good at not running into other cars), and what I have doesn’t cover such damage as a hit-and-run might do to ME. So I have to deal with this one myself, all because — after I’d driven safely and then taken every precaution I could imagine — someone else was 1) too incompetent to maintain control on a residential street, and 2) too chicken-shit to take responsibility for screwing up.

I like people, I really do. But there are some here and there who absolutely should be ground up for pet food.

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/opalescence_/]

That seriously sucks. Hang in there and I hope the bill isn't too painful.

[aadler]

The damage is mostly cosmetic; I can’t see that any of the rear lighting was affected. Repair might not cost that much, and I might just keep the car as-is. It was the stupidity on the one hand, and irresponsibility on the other, that incensed me.

[sroni.livejournal.com]

When I first started reading this, I was reminded of our two memorable snow adventures. One on the way to see your family, and one on the way back from a visit.

Man, some people. They bite. I hate the fact that people can get away with that sort of thing.

[aadler]

These conditions were nowhere near as bad as the ones you’re remembering. There were a few times — a couple of minutes each — when swirling snow limited visibility, but mostly it was just that the roads got increasingly slick. Traffic slowed because people were being uncharacteristically cautious (prompted, no doubt, by the sight of all the cars in the ditches whose owners hadn’t been cautious enough).

Yes, it’s infuriating that someone would (and did) simply flee the scene, but it’s also a fact of life. The best revenge is not-being like the people we detest; beating them to a bloody pulp comes in a distant second.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

Ah yes. This is the reason my husband freaked when we were first getting our stuff together prior to getting married and he found out I had minimal insurance. It doesn't matter how good a driver you are. Half of my insurance claims I wasn't even in the car. It sucks but it's necessary.

[aadler]

That’s a trade-off, something of a calculated gamble. What I saved on insurance will probably more than cover any repair cost. It’s not the expense that I found so objectionable; it’s that I have to bear the expense because of someone else’s refusal to pay the consequences of his/her incompetence.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

It is quite objectionable. Come to think of it, as much as you are out of the country the minimal coverage probably does make sense for you.