Oh, Thanks,
Mister Semi Truck Driver!
Don't you just
love it when people don't take responsibility for their actions? It's so
wonderful! (I'm being sarcastic again)... Just read this story:
I was driving
down the freeway at about 9:30 PM on a divided highway with two lanes in each
direction. The road was dry, the skies were clear and visibility was as good as
you would expect at night. I was in the slow lane on the right, with my cruise
control set to 100 km/h (about 62 mph), and in the passing lane there was a
semi trailer. Typically, semi trailers typically go at an even 110 (70), but
this guy wasn't; it was taking him a long time to pass me since he was going at
an average of 102 (63) or so; he was speeding up and slowing down erratically.
A few times, he slowed down to the point that he started falling back.
There was no
traffic ahead of us, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Yet without
warning, the semi trailer swerved into my lane, hitting the rear driver's side
corner of the car, and it sent me into a counter-clockwise spin (For those who
watch FOX's World's Wildest Police Videos, it's the same spin/skid that happens
to fleeing felons' cars when police cars bump them that way to make them lose
control). It all happened so fast; by looking at the accident scene the next
day, I now remember that I turned my steering wheel to the right, but it
obviously didn't help as I my car spun 90 degrees in a distance of only 30
meters (100 feet). My car and I crossed the path of the semi, and after another
20 meters (65 feet) of skidding, my car flew off the freeway passenger side
first and into the wet grass 1.5 meters (5 feet) below the road level. I slid
for another 30 meters (100 feet) until coming to a stop.
Unfortunately,
the semi truck driver didn't stop. The police officer who attended the
scene afterwards said that it's possible the truck driver didn't see me as he
sits so high up. But according to a witness that my insurance adjuster phoned
to verify my insurance claim, the truck driver applied his brakes. That son
of a bitch! That means he did see me, but didn't want to stop
because he would have to take responsibility for his actions! Heaven forbid! If
he stopped, that would mean his insurance would go up, his truck may have been
found to be poorly maintained, and it's possible that it he hasn't been getting
enough sleep, even though there are laws requiring a minimum amount of sleep
for truck drivers. Come to think of it, sleepiness could have explained his
erratic speed as well.
Instead, the
scumbag decided to flee the scene. That means the accident is considered a hit
and run, so I have to pay a $400 deductible to get my car fixed, and everybody
else's insurance has to go up ever so slightly to pay for the $4,000 in damage
to my car. And my car's resale value has plummeted as well. And, to repeat:
what does the semi truck driver have to pay? NOTHING! NOTHING AT ALL!
Why? Because he's a fucking prick who doesn't have enough morals to 'fess up to
what he's done! I could have been dying as he saw me in his rear-view
mirror, but he didn't give a shit! Oh, what a wonderful world we live in!
But considering
what my car went though, it did hold up very well; it was still driveable the
next day. The damage report:
A 30 cm (1 foot) wide, 4 cm (2 inch) deep dent on the rear driver's
side fender. Other than that, no other metal body panels have to be fixed or
painted. Wow.
Just below the dent, the rear bumper got some deep gouges
The rear passenger side tire went flat from the high-speed skid
The front end of the car was bent sideways towards the driver's
side by about 1.5 cm (3/4 of an inch) from landing passenger side-first into
the grass. I'm very amazed that it didn't get bent more.
The front bumper was slightly creased in two places
The fog lights were smashed to bits
Some of the plastic around the front wheel wells shattered and was
thrown around the scene of the accident
After the car got to the body shop, it was also determined that
the air conditioner condenser and radiator were warped. The washer fluid
reservoir and engine computer case were also both cracked.
When I look
back at it, there were so many more things that could have gone wrong. I could
have flown off the freeway on the right, where there was a ditch 15 feet down.
Or if the collision happened about 2 kms (1.2 miles) ahead on the freeway,
there would have been cement dividers that I could have crashed into, bouncing
me back into the semi trailer. Maybe if my car skidded a bit slower, the truck
could have hit my driver's side door, because at the point where I was exiting
the freeway, my car had spun 120 degrees counter-clockwise.
Yes, I am happy
to be alive and unhurt.
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