Faith in humanity restored
On a rainy Monday, I was on my way home from church and making the exit towards the final stretch of the typically uneventful drive when, with no warning, another driver suddenly merged into my lane.
I drive a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution; these cars are light, nimble, and come with the kind of brakes you’d see on top end sports cars. Not that it mattered much, as there was very little time to react and even less time to stop before making impact. And that’s exactly what happened, a satisfying crunch to cap off my evening. For some odd reason the other driver didn’t make an attempt to return to his lane or otherwise swerve out of the way after hearing the constant blare of my horn.
The other driver actually seemed like a stand up guy; he admitted fault immediately and said plainly that he did not see me in the lane he intended to occupy. I had been in a similar accident during my early days of driving and made the mistake of being a little too trusting of the other driver in giving them all of my insurance and contact information. That eventually lead to the driver’s insurance not accepting responsibility for the damage and I was stuck with the bill. Not a mistake I was planning on making twice, so even though this guy was super nice and cooperative, I chose to give him the least amount of information possible: my name and phone number. Since he readily accepted fault, there was no need to call the police to get a report, though immediately after I left the scene, I began to regret that decision.
I’m happy to say that all of that worrying was for naught. This morning I was informed that the other driver’s insurance company has decided to accept responsibility for the accident, which means I pay absolutely nada for the repairs and might even get a rental car for free! So the other driver WAS a real nice guy after all and told his insurer the same story he told me! It’s a really refreshing thought that there are still people out there that will accept responsibility for their actions, it’s a trait that’s becoming increasingly more rare with each day that passes. He could have easily told his insurer an entirely different story and they, in all likelihood, would have backed him up and making the whole process a long, dragged out mess. Kudos to you, guy. I hope you get something great in return for your selfless act!
It’s still a bit of a bummer though because I’m leaving the country in a few days so the repairs will likely have to wait until after I return from vacation, but I’m glad that I don’t have to worry about this during my trip!