So, if you know me, you know that I try to mind my own business! There I was, in my car (Stephen) just stopped at the red light because that's what I do; I stop at red lights. While stopped I was looking at the vehicle just in front of me, the one that decided to try and make it through the yellow light before it turns red. I was even thinking to myself, "If they just stop it would be so much better on everyone. Yellow means slow down, not speed up and try to make it!" Well, just as I was thinking that I heard the unmistakable sound of tires screaming to a halt -- behind me! Then, you guessed it, BAM! Apparently the man behind me was hoping all of us would be going through the now very very red light. NOPE. Poor little Stephen took a smack right in his backside; and hard!
My daughter is forever saying that people who drive Dodge trucks are just asshats. They tend to run red lights, turn corners on two wheels, high-tail it out of parking lots without giving a damn if a kid or a dog is crossing in front of them. There's just something about the mentality (she says) about Dodge truck drivers. Well, turns out she was right this time! Not only did this guy have a Dodge Truck (Ram 1500) it was older, the grill was completely missing, the front panels had been replaced, the hood had another color than the side panels; this truck had been in at least a few bang ups before this one. The guy driving it was what my daughter would call a very typical "A-Type Man without a brain", again, her words. I would say he was a less than attentive driver who felt that texting while driving was his way of multi-tasking and it didn't work out for him this time. It could have been really bad; thank God it wasn't.
My insurance mind kicked into overdrive, and without speaking even a single word to the man I exited my car safely, walked around to the back of my car, took photos, took his photo, took photos of his tag and called 9-1-1. As I'm reporting the incident to the dispatcher the man decides to call out to me and say I didn't need to take his photo, he wasn't a criminal, he just hit me, he's not going to lie and say he didn't. That's good news. The thing is, I don't know him. I have never met him. He could be a murderer escaping the scene of that crime and got nervous and hit me; we just don't know. I decided to continue my conversation with the 9-1-1 dispatcher and I decided to describe not only the two vehicles but the man as well. I even told Dispatch what was printed on his t-shirt. I thought that would make him happy enough to back away and stop trying to talk with me. He was basically saying we didn't need to call the cops. Too late! I'm on the phone with them, and yes, I wanted him to be ticketed. He was on the phone while driving, he hit me, he caused damage, he needs a ticket -- and if he didn't have insurance I wanted him arrested right then and there.
The Dispatch asked me to pull to the nearest parking lot so I did. I didn't tell the man what I was doing, I just got in my car and slowly pulled around the corner. I figured he can either follow me or he can leave. He knew I had taken photos; he followed me. He didn't try to talk to me after that, he just sat in his car and I stood outside mine. Yes, before you ask, I had my knife on me until I saw the cop car rounding the corner, then I put it back in my car. No need in dragging that into the conversation. I had it if I needed it, I didn't need it, I put it away. I was also on the phone with Laura because as many of you know, my daughter Laura is a superhero and could be with me in an instant if called upon to do so! LOL. Today is also her 33rd birthday, so she was really happy her mom didn't die today.
The cop was super nice! He got out of his car and walked over to me first. He pulled out a card and began taking my information and side of things. He took my license, I showed him my GEICO ID card on my phone. He then did the same for the Dodge driver. In a minute or so the cop (Officer Terry) stepped from his unit and gave me a piece of paper with the case number and told me the good news was that Mr. Dodge Driver and I both had GEICO insurance. Albeit that his was only liability, that's all I need! I'm really hoping it all goes really easy and fast. I don't want to drag this out really. It's bad enough I had a flat just two days ago in Stephen and now this! Poor baby car! I was literally on my way to get the donut removed from the back passenger side and replaced with a new tire, when this happened. The Discount Tire Center was happy to hold my appointment for me! Great guys.
The back of my car is a bit crunched. I've had my adjusters license for a minute, so I'm putting the damage estimate at about $3000-3500, and hoping I can just get the check and be done with it. I was actually thinking of selling the car anyway, so maybe I could just trade it in with the $3000 and get a new car. I could also keep the money and trade with it, make more money and pay off this car or buy a new one. I don't think I'll use it to pay the mechanics to fix the car because I can turn the money into new/more money which will ultimately make me happier because I can say I turned a bad thing into a good thing, and that's always fun. I won't gamble the money of course, I'm a trader with rules. If I can take $3000 and make another $3000-5000 from the trades I think that's a better way to handle the situation. Why give the mechanics all the money? I can earn more, fix the car, and maybe sell it as is. I'm just glad I wasn't injured! I do have a headache and I took some Tylenol as soon as I could. I was going to walk today, but think I'll rest. I may even soak an extra 10-15 minutes tonight just because I can!
God was really great to me today; I want to take a minute to thank Him and let Him know I truly appreciate the lessons I learned. I've been guilty of picking up my phone when I'm driving too. I only use it at stop lights, maybe this guy was doing that as well. He actually admitted to the cop that he was on his phone. That's amazing, and probably a bit careless. I don't know if he did himself any favors with that one, but it was nice to see that he didn't argue - - then again, he had a truck without a grill and his truck's puncture wounds in the back of my car's bumper, scrapes and bumps all over the backside, and there's that fact that the Dispatch heard him say we didn't need to call the police. Officer Terry told him that it was a good thing I called the police, as there tends to be a bit of one-sidedness when they aren't called. I will always call the police because you just never ever know who it is that has hit you -- and you don't know what they are capable of doing.
Bottom line: Stephen will be dimpled for a minute; battle scars! He's only 3 but he's traveled 42,000 miles and he needs a bit of loving. I had the tire replaced after the wreck, and I'll get 3 more in a couple of weeks. By that time I should know what the outcome is on the claim and I'll decide if I should keep Stephen and have him fixed, or if I'll sell him to another good person and start a fresh. We just don't know. What I do know is, I stop at red lights, and everyone else should do that as well -- and not use their phones when they drive. Just a suggestion, but in Oklahoma, and other places, it's the LAW! Again, I'm really happy we're both OK. Cars can be replaced, people can't be. God is great.
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