So last night I was in my first car accident since I have
had my licence (over 9 years). Not something I really wanted to tick off my
bucket list, but oh well what can you do.
They say the most high risk activity you will ever do is
drive your car because the statistics of being in a car crash at some point are
so high. I used to just roll my eyes at that because you know I’ve been driving
for years and never been in a car accident so of course they must be making
that stuff up. But, now I get it!
Here I was minding my own business stopped in traffic (yes that’s right
stopped, my car was not even in motion!) when all of a sudden bang
out of friggin nowhere I felt this huge jolt and next thing I had smashed my
head into the back of my head rest. Took a second to realise yes it actually
happened I didn’t imagine that and then what did I do, start screaming....?? Obviously,
because that’s logical my windows were all up nobody was going to hear me but
screaming was going to help right? That’s shock for you. I did, however have a
moment of clarity and realised I needed to pull my car off to the side of the
road and thank god the person who hit me followed. Once parked mild panic
attack/shock set in... you know random crying, shaking, praying the guy coming
out of the car behind me wasn’t going to abuse me and somehow blame me.
Turns out he was actually really lovely about it all and was
more worried about calming me down. Both of us had no idea what we were doing
as we had never had a car accident before. My car was smashed up at the rear
and his car was all scratched up at the front but didn’t look that bad compared
to mine. In the process of inspecting our cars after exchanging details a passerby
suggested he should try and start his car to see if the engine was still
working. Thank god I followed him to the side of his car and was no longer standing
between the two cars because when he started the car (he just turned the key
from through the window) his car launched forward and smashed into my car
AGAIN!! This time doing more damage than the first initial impact. Total and
utter accident as he didn’t realise he had left his car in gear when he parked
it, but thank god nobody was standing in front of his car. He assured me that this will become a funny story some time in the future.
After we got over the shock of that happening he left and I
was firstly going to drive my car home, being the independent woman that I am I
didn’t want help from anyone. Yea right like that was ever going to happen. Few
phone calls later my boyfriend and my mum had showed up. Also in between that 3
tow trucks just emerged from nowhere (apparently they were alerted from a
traffic camera there had been an accident). In the end I went to the hospital
in an ambulance because my neck was sore and I was having headaches from hitting
my head. My car got towed. Mum went home. My boyfriend followed the ambulance
to the hospital.
Had to wait at the hospital for 4 hours to be seen by a
doctor!! You would imagine that if someone came in from a motor vehicle
accident with a possible head injury experiencing headaches and neck pain that
they would be seen urgently, right? But
no, apparently the health system is as shit as they say it is. Turns out they
suspect I only have whiplash and they let me go just after midnight.
So, I left work at 5:50pm last night and finally got home at
1:15am – minus my car. Not the most pleasant experience I have ever had and not
one that I want to repeat. I am so thankful that I wasn’t hurt any worse and that
my boyfriend made me go to hospital to get checked out (and he had to put up
with me complaining about it for 4 hours).
Lessons I have learnt from this are:
1.
Call the police if you’re in an accident (it
would be much easier)
2.
Let the tow truck take your car, don’t try to
drive it home
3.
Accept peoples help - you are not inconveniencing them
they want to help you
I am slowly working on trying to relax and not do things so my back can get better. As I’ve
said before, I’m not good at relaxing hence I wrote this instead of lying down
doing nothing.
I hope everyone else is having a better weekend than what
mine turned out to be.
Toni xx
Oh no! Hope you feel better quickly!!
ReplyDeleteIm feeling alright now, just a bit of sporatic back pain every now and then, but much better than Saturday. It could have been much worse though so some back pain is bearable.
ReplyDeleteIt’s a good thing the other driver was so calm and was genuinely concerned about your welfare and your car. I don’t see the second crash as a funny story yet, but maybe someday it will be. What happened after the accident? Did you decide to make an injury claim afterwards?
ReplyDeleteI ended up with quite bad whiplash and had to wear a neck brace and then do 6 weeks of physio. Work cover paid for it all though as it was on the way home from work so that was good. Second crash is still not a funny story yet, not sure when it will be.
DeleteJust like you and Raleigh, I don’t find the second accident funny at all. I’m so sorry that you were badly injured in that accident. The third lesson you shared is the one I agree with the most. Injured or not, it’s always good to let people who are genuinely concerned to help you out. I also sincerely hope this is the last accident you’ll be in.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were okay despite the accident, Toni. And yes, I agree with the list of lessons you have learned from it. You should've called the police and made a police report. You'll need it to claim your dues from your insurance. Now, I wonder if you ever asked your insurance to cover your repair costs. You might have had a hard time filing for a claim due to the lack of documents. But I’m sure you can always consult a lawyer to help you out. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteNannie Leick
The police came when I was at the hospital and they werent even interested in doing a report which I found odd.
DeleteInsurance fixed my car because I had all the other drivers details. Lucky because it cost $5500 to fix.
Aww… It’s an awful story, but I’m glad you weren’t beaten up badly in the accident. And you weren’t standing in front of the guy’s car when he suddenly bumped into your car for the second time around. What happened after that? Did he pay for the repair of your car? Be safe!
ReplyDelete