NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED:
Yesterday a friend asked for a ride. I picked her up and dropped her off. On the way home I was stopped at a stop sign waiting to turn right. The car ahead of me made the turn but then there were more cars approaching, so I pulled up to the line and stopped. I could have made the turn. The Model 3 has a lot of torque. But I'm not that kind of driver. I can wait for the traffic to clear.
But when the driver of the pickup truck behind me saw me pull (slowly!) forward after the other car made the turn, he thought I was making the turn, and rather than looking at my car, he was looking at the oncoming traffic. If I had made the turn, it would have been reckless for him to do so also, unless it was his intention to ignore the stop sign and follow me right on through.
The result was that his pickup truck bumped my car, not very hard at all. I felt a slight jolt, and really didn't expect to see much if any actual damage when I got out. Boy was I wrong.
He was very apologetic and very nice. We exchanged information, and this morning I found a voicemail from last night (I go to bed early) from his insurance company saying that they will pay everything. I'll probably go through my own insurance company, but his will reimburse mine and I'll get my deductible back, so it won't cost me any money. The car is drivable. I drove it home and should be able to drive it until the body shop is ready for it.
It cost me a couple of hours yesterday dealing with insurance, and I'll have to drive all the way to Wailuku so the body shop can see what parts they need, and then I'll be without the car while they fix it. I have no idea how long that will take. My insurance will pay for a rental car, assuming there even is one (last I heard, Maui was suffering from an extreme shortage of rental cars as we have 50% more visitors than we did before the pandemic). I HATE driving a stinker, and the chances of getting an EV are probably nil. Fortunately, I don't need to drive much at all.
Considering what other people have to deal with (politics, war, diseases, injuries, poverty, bigotry, etc.) I am damn lucky. And I'm living in paradise. And I don't need a car to go paddling because I walk to my canoe clubs. But I'm still annoyed. All this grief and hassle because I agreed to do a favor for a friend.
Yesterday a friend asked for a ride. I picked her up and dropped her off. On the way home I was stopped at a stop sign waiting to turn right. The car ahead of me made the turn but then there were more cars approaching, so I pulled up to the line and stopped. I could have made the turn. The Model 3 has a lot of torque. But I'm not that kind of driver. I can wait for the traffic to clear.
But when the driver of the pickup truck behind me saw me pull (slowly!) forward after the other car made the turn, he thought I was making the turn, and rather than looking at my car, he was looking at the oncoming traffic. If I had made the turn, it would have been reckless for him to do so also, unless it was his intention to ignore the stop sign and follow me right on through.
The result was that his pickup truck bumped my car, not very hard at all. I felt a slight jolt, and really didn't expect to see much if any actual damage when I got out. Boy was I wrong.
He was very apologetic and very nice. We exchanged information, and this morning I found a voicemail from last night (I go to bed early) from his insurance company saying that they will pay everything. I'll probably go through my own insurance company, but his will reimburse mine and I'll get my deductible back, so it won't cost me any money. The car is drivable. I drove it home and should be able to drive it until the body shop is ready for it.
It cost me a couple of hours yesterday dealing with insurance, and I'll have to drive all the way to Wailuku so the body shop can see what parts they need, and then I'll be without the car while they fix it. I have no idea how long that will take. My insurance will pay for a rental car, assuming there even is one (last I heard, Maui was suffering from an extreme shortage of rental cars as we have 50% more visitors than we did before the pandemic). I HATE driving a stinker, and the chances of getting an EV are probably nil. Fortunately, I don't need to drive much at all.
Considering what other people have to deal with (politics, war, diseases, injuries, poverty, bigotry, etc.) I am damn lucky. And I'm living in paradise. And I don't need a car to go paddling because I walk to my canoe clubs. But I'm still annoyed. All this grief and hassle because I agreed to do a favor for a friend.