same_difference (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
same_difference) wrote2004-03-15 04:26 pm
same_difference) wrote2004-03-15 04:26 pm
The Bad Day
Right things are now at a stage I can detail this. Basically I was in a car accident, but seeing as I was considering dealing with it without going through insurance I didn't want to write anything about here.
In summary I was going up Bathwick Hill the car in front of me slowed down pulled in to the left. I pulled out slightly and started to go round. He indicated right. I saw another vehicle coming down the hill and carried on. He then pulled out quickly in front of me. I braked but couldn't avoid him and hit him in the rear driver's side door, damaging his door and the front nearside wing and bumper of the fiesta. (All of this taking about 30 seconds to happen at most.)
There was one witness, a policeman, who was in the side road I assume the other driver was turning into. All he saw was me hit the other car, and wasn't sure about the indicator being on. To be honest I'm not sure about the indicator, it was definitely on after I hit the other car. He took statements from both of us; we had to produce our documents (and I did so on Friday as like every sensible person I don't leave anything as important as them in my car). Seeing as I couldn't drive home, the wheel arch touched the tyre when it was turned, the policeman gave me a lift back. The policeman was very nice, that was something at least. He suggested it would probably come out as my fault as I should have anticipated the other driver turning out.
The other driver came back to me with quotes for £1000 this weekend, so we're going through insurance. To be honest if it really costs that much to repair I'd suspect his insurance would just write his car off. The Fiesta needs a new front left wing, light, bumper and possibly some other work, I doubt things will work out as well as they did with the Micra.
There were several things that made this worse. It happened the day before we were about to cancel the temporary insurance on the Fiesta. It also, as these things also seemed to do, conspired to make my Dad's bad day even worse. I got home to find him on the phone talking to my sister. Apparently the trial she's in charge of is coming to a premature end as one of the drugs is being withdrawn so her jobs ends in May. And she found out that her boyfriend's job that took him about 18 months to get, will be coming to an end in August.
Luckily the Micra had been fully repaired already so I'm now driving that again. I can only hope that nothing else happens.
I had no accidents for over a year and half and driving, about 10000 miles in distance, and then I have two in six weeks. I really dread what's going to happen to my insurance premium. I can only hope this makes me a better driver. The thing is having gone past the point where the accident happened a couple of times I don't understand why he pulled in to the left first. It doesn't make sense, unless he was going to do a U-turn to go down the hill.
In summary I was going up Bathwick Hill the car in front of me slowed down pulled in to the left. I pulled out slightly and started to go round. He indicated right. I saw another vehicle coming down the hill and carried on. He then pulled out quickly in front of me. I braked but couldn't avoid him and hit him in the rear driver's side door, damaging his door and the front nearside wing and bumper of the fiesta. (All of this taking about 30 seconds to happen at most.)
There was one witness, a policeman, who was in the side road I assume the other driver was turning into. All he saw was me hit the other car, and wasn't sure about the indicator being on. To be honest I'm not sure about the indicator, it was definitely on after I hit the other car. He took statements from both of us; we had to produce our documents (and I did so on Friday as like every sensible person I don't leave anything as important as them in my car). Seeing as I couldn't drive home, the wheel arch touched the tyre when it was turned, the policeman gave me a lift back. The policeman was very nice, that was something at least. He suggested it would probably come out as my fault as I should have anticipated the other driver turning out.
The other driver came back to me with quotes for £1000 this weekend, so we're going through insurance. To be honest if it really costs that much to repair I'd suspect his insurance would just write his car off. The Fiesta needs a new front left wing, light, bumper and possibly some other work, I doubt things will work out as well as they did with the Micra.
There were several things that made this worse. It happened the day before we were about to cancel the temporary insurance on the Fiesta. It also, as these things also seemed to do, conspired to make my Dad's bad day even worse. I got home to find him on the phone talking to my sister. Apparently the trial she's in charge of is coming to a premature end as one of the drugs is being withdrawn so her jobs ends in May. And she found out that her boyfriend's job that took him about 18 months to get, will be coming to an end in August.
Luckily the Micra had been fully repaired already so I'm now driving that again. I can only hope that nothing else happens.
I had no accidents for over a year and half and driving, about 10000 miles in distance, and then I have two in six weeks. I really dread what's going to happen to my insurance premium. I can only hope this makes me a better driver. The thing is having gone past the point where the accident happened a couple of times I don't understand why he pulled in to the left first. It doesn't make sense, unless he was going to do a U-turn to go down the hill.
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no subject
However, accidents happen. The main thing is to learn from it. From this particular one, you can learn that there are some truly appalling drivers around who wobble about all over the place in front of you, without looking in their mirrors, then expect the world to revolve around them as they decide that they want to turn, and sod everyone else!! Oh, and if you are ever driving round past sainsburys from the petrol station side to the town centre side, make sure you watch for people cutting you up. It happens all too often.
You aren't a bad driver. two accidents in 10,000 for a new driver (one of which happened really slowly in a car park) is not a bad record. I know someone who wrote off a new peugout by driving into the back of a parked Milk float. He had also rolled a Citreon, with passengers in the car. Now he was a bad driver!! :-) take heart that you are much, much better than him!