I’ve been in 4 car accidents and am very thankful that none were catastrophic.
#1 When I was in college I borrowed a friend’s car to go to an early morning internship. I was rushing to a prime open space in the parking lot and didn’t see a car backing out of a space. It was minor, but I had to pay the guy a couple hundred for the damage. My friend’s car had a slight paint scratch. He was not happy, but he was ok. (It was a yellow Mustang.)
#2 I was pregnant with my first child when a car going straight hit me while I was making a left turn. I thought the road was clear, but he came out of nowhere. I bet he was speeding, but I can’t say, I didn’t even see him coming. His car was totalled, mine was fixable, and we were both ok. I remember telling the policeman that I was concern how this would affect my pregnancy, and he couldn’t tell I was pregnant. I think I was about 4 months pregnant with my son. He turned out fine. 🙂
#3 It was the interchange from Fwy 605 S to the Fwy 10 E. The merging had to be precise. There was quite a bit of traffic and it was difficult to squeeze in to the merge lane. I was looking behind me, and hit the guy in front when he suddenly came to a complete stop. My fault, though I thought he shouldn’t have stopped. You’ve got to keep moving forward slowly in order to make a successful merge. Damage was minor since there was traffic and I was going slow, but the insurance company told me that the guy claimed medical expenses (liar), and that raised my insurance premium for the next few years.
#4 I was on Fwy 10 W going to Cal State LA to see my cousin about selling his mother’s, my aunt’s house. Cruising along at 65 mph, the traffic suddenly came to a stop. The car in front of me hit the car in front of him; I stopped in time and didn’t hit the car in front of me; the car behind me hit me, and the car behind that hit her. So it was a total of a 5 car pile up. I wonder if I was mentioned on the traffic control as the cause of traffic jam. Again, I and everyone was ok. The car was fixed.
I would like to live in a place where people are not in a hurry, thus drivers more courteous. That’s the way it used to be. Road rage was rare; 65 mph on the freeway was considered pretty fast. Now I’m going 70 mph and cars pass me left and right. With that speed, it can be pretty dangerous. I am thankful I’ve survived this long in life!