Today is Random Act of Kindness day. The lame thing is, it turned out to be one of the worst mornings I’ve had in a while.
I was in a bit of a car accident this morning. A friend picked me up, we went through the roundabout around the corner from my place, noticed the car in the next lane veering EXTREMELY close to us, and she braked, coming to a complete stop. (There are two lanes, both somewhat narrow, but wide enough for both as long as drivers actually STAY inside their lane.)
Not so the other driver! Completely oblivious, without even glancing in our direction, she carried on her path, swiping us and scraping all along the front side of the car. It was so loud, I thought it had taken off the driver’s mirror.
There we were, sitting in the roundabout, shell-shocked, and wondering if they were going to pull over and stop.
They did. Two old ladies got out – “What have you done to my car???? We’ve been driving this road for fifty years! We always go in that lane!!! Who do you think they’ll believe?” They were incredibly rude, refused to take responsibility, and blamed us, saying “you swung around too fast.”
We called the cops to ask them to come out and hopefully resolve the dispute. It took two hours. We sat on the side of the road, waiting, waiting and waiting some more. Just as we gave up and started driving to the police station, the patrol car arrived. Going the other way, of course. We had to flag it down.
They took statements but said odds were they wouldn’t be able to settle on whose fault it was and it should be left to insurance to deal with. On the bright side, “if she can’t get money out of you, you can’t get money out of her.” They’re both represented by the same insurer, which should be interesting.
Just like that, an entire morning wasted and appointment missed. The front right corner of my friend’s car is scratched (it’s their white paint, so hopefully that will flake off) and there are grazes all along the left side of the old biddy’s car. It’s patently obvious to both of us who’s at fault, but the old women were so adamant, I believe they really were convinced of their innocence. No wonder, given the fact that THEY DIDN’T EVEN LOOK OVER and I doubt they noticed we were even there. And of course, as they so kindly pointed out, who are authorities more inclined to believe? The little old ladies or the two young girls?
We really didn’t need a random act of kindness today – just for two old ladies to do the right thing and admit culpability.
Oh goodness! I am sorry to hear that you were in a car accident, but thankfully it was just minor. You know, when people hit a certain age, ohhh… above 70 – they should have to take another drivers test. Not to say that all elderly people are bad drivers.
Hopefully it all gets sorted out for you, and in your favour! 🙂
I know over a certain age, people have to resit their licence more frequently 🙂
Thankfully, not my car, but I sure hope it does work out! It was a pain but it was good there were two of us, or no doubt the two elderlies would have bowled her and her point of view over.
Oh MAN! that sucks. I am glad you are OK. Those old ladies know it was their fault…they will get theirs, karma-wise! i think in the US they have this rule that whoever is the one to hit another car is always at fault (unless the other car was, say, running a red light or doing something else illegal…). In your case, the lady not only went outside her lane, but she hit you! DEFINITELY HER FAULT. (in the US; Kiwi rules must be different…)
I had no idea it was random act of kindness day…can i count being nice to my annoying coworkers (esp. the cheaterette) as my act of kindness?
That totally counts! I must admit I didn’t perform any random acts of kindness today – I honestly wouldn’t even have known about it except for twitter! Go the social media.
UGH! That really, really sucks! Sorry to hear about your friends car!