Can I Get A Witness?

I was in a car accident on the way home from work yesterday.

Nothing serious (the guy on my right changed into my line without checking his blind spot first, resulting in him side-swiping me), but I've now got to go through the inconvenience of going without the car while it's getting fixed.

It's booked in for Friday morning, which means the weekend and probably most of next week will be a juggling act with my work, Wifey's uni course, and Sweetums' babysitting with Wifey's parents (all of which start at the same time in three very different places). We're gonna have to find a way to do all three things at once, somehow - using the one car.

I realise this isn't the worst thing in the world (people HAVE historically managed to get things done using just ONE car before - and then there's the whole "how did people survive before cars were invented?" philosophy), but that's really beside the point.

Our schedule is based on two cars, and two very different timetables that are independant of each other. So that makes this quite tough.

And considering the other driver was at fault (and admitted so - and I got him to sign a piece of paper for me stating so - and then a woman pulled over who'd witnessed it and had to do a massive U-turn further down the highway to come back and speak to us, which was very kind of her, who also stated the other guy was at fault ... so I should be okay with proving my innocence), it's just a huge hassle to have to go through the whole rigmorole again.

I had another not-at-fault car accident last year, you see. On the same highway. But that time, a woman ran into the back of me as I braked. She also admitted fault and I had to go without the car for about a week ... but Wifey wasn't at uni at the time, and Sweetums wasn't being babysat, so it was much easier just to use our other car to get to work.

I guess anyone who's been in an accident before (whether it was their fault or not) will understand the hassle of going without their car while it's being repaired.

But hey - it's not the end of the world. I was okay; the other guy was okay; there were no other people involved and no one became a casualty. So apart from the stupid woman who beeped at us when we pulled over on the side of the road (we weren't blocking her way or anything - what did she think we were doing? Settling down to have a picnic?!), there was no real need for any anxiety.

That didn't stop my hands from shaking for about an hour, though.

I don't think the other guy used his indicator, either. I certainly didn't see him indicate. I was just happily driving along, and then suddenly he was just trying to sit on my lap.

I actually reacted very well during the accident. I slammed on the brakes, which made the tyres squeal and alerted the other guy (who I should point out was driving a big van, as compared to my little car) that I was even there. I also swerved as much as I could over to the left, out of his way, because thankfully the lanes were kinda wide. He travelled with me a bit, though - partly because he'd already hit me and was perhaps caught in the side of my driver's door a bit, and partly because he was in the middle of his left-moving momentum. So I swerved to the left, but not dangerously so. We were probably doing 80km at the time, and if I'd swerved dangerously, or if it'd been a wet road, or if we'd been doing 100km, it might have been a very different story that ended with me smashed into a concrete barrier, or wrapped around a telegraph pole, or flipped over and over and rolled along the road or something. So I'm quite grateful that the accident ended so smoothly.

I'm also extremely grateful to the woman who travelled so far along the highway, turned around, travelled way back past us again, turned around, and then came back and stopped to offer herself as a witness. The guy in the van had his brother with him, so I figured if they decided to change their story later and try blaming me somehow, he'd had a witness and I wouldn't. That's why I asked him to sign the piece of paper (which he did, but I had no way of knowing if the signature meant anything - he said he didn't have his wallet on him so I couldn't check his details or signature ... my insurance company said it didn't matter because I had his brother's details instead and the licence plate). But until the woman turned up and gave me her details as well, I was worried that it was all going to come back and bite me on the arse.

(Yes, MG - I said "arse"!)

Thank the Lord for that wonderful, kind-hearted woman. How many of you would travel 5km out of your way to go another 5km backwards to stop at a pretty minor accident and leave your details? I'd like to say I'd do the same thing, but to be honest, on my way home to see Sweetums, I'd probably put it in the "Not My Problem" basket.

Well, not anymore. Not after this wonderful lady has done this for me. I'll be doing the same for someone else, if I ever witness an accident like that. No fear.

I'm just glad my Rating 1 hasn't been affected and I won't have to pay anything.

So that's my big story for the week.




I hope.


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