Some events in life do not lend themselves to human control, and that is why they are called "accidents". I was driving to the post office today to mail a parcel. It was an intersection and I stopped at the traffic light. When I had the green light, and the car in front of my was moving, I moved too. But this guy, came from the right
lane, which should have led him somewhere else to the right (if he had observed the markings on the road and followed the arrows) and scraped my bumper and scratched his car too. We both insisted we were right. He said he was "on his lane" and was going straight. I said " I followed the traffic signs" and was on my lane.This guy looked kind of mean, and we were on the road anyways, so I said I'd call the police, and he said angrily "yes, call the police!" I took a picture of the scene. Neither of us moved from our positions. Luckily, the traffic could still flow around us somewhat.
I called my wife to tell her what happened, and she started driving around to locate us. Eventually, I had to ask her to go home, because the police came and ordered us to move to a parking lot nearby. I had anticipated that and I took the picture of the road and our two cars. It was deathly cold, and the officer encouraged us to keep warm. I tried to, but I did not anticipate being out of my car for any length of time, so I wore a not so thick jacket. The police did their usual routine collecting information from both of us-driver's license, insurance and all that. I was confident I was right; but so was he. He kept on chain-smoking, and I kept on trying to look tough, I really am not, but he is a tough-looking guy, and the police was there anyway :).
Then the verdict : he should not have crossed the solid line from his lane, because his lane led somewhere else. The guy insisted that I was on his lane and that I scratched him. The officer explained to him in details that he had done something illegal by crossing to my side, and made it clear that it was impossible for me to have been the aggressor judging from the positions of our cars when he asked us to move. I guess hearing the word "illegal" kind of sobered this guy down, and he became less argumentative. The scratches on our two vehicles were not so noticeable, but no one likes scratches on their cars.
It is still not clear if I want to pursue this with the insurance companies, but obviously, this guy will pay a little fine to the county today. The police officer gave us each others' information on paper and asked me to go, while he had a hear-to-heart discussion with my new acquaintance. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish him any evil. I am sure he made a mistake- we all do. It just happens to be his turn today. It is just one of life's little adaptations
I called my wife to tell her what happened, and she started driving around to locate us. Eventually, I had to ask her to go home, because the police came and ordered us to move to a parking lot nearby. I had anticipated that and I took the picture of the road and our two cars. It was deathly cold, and the officer encouraged us to keep warm. I tried to, but I did not anticipate being out of my car for any length of time, so I wore a not so thick jacket. The police did their usual routine collecting information from both of us-driver's license, insurance and all that. I was confident I was right; but so was he. He kept on chain-smoking, and I kept on trying to look tough, I really am not, but he is a tough-looking guy, and the police was there anyway :).
Then the verdict : he should not have crossed the solid line from his lane, because his lane led somewhere else. The guy insisted that I was on his lane and that I scratched him. The officer explained to him in details that he had done something illegal by crossing to my side, and made it clear that it was impossible for me to have been the aggressor judging from the positions of our cars when he asked us to move. I guess hearing the word "illegal" kind of sobered this guy down, and he became less argumentative. The scratches on our two vehicles were not so noticeable, but no one likes scratches on their cars.
It is still not clear if I want to pursue this with the insurance companies, but obviously, this guy will pay a little fine to the county today. The police officer gave us each others' information on paper and asked me to go, while he had a hear-to-heart discussion with my new acquaintance. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish him any evil. I am sure he made a mistake- we all do. It just happens to be his turn today. It is just one of life's little adaptations
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