A New Perspective

This morning on the way to work I was in a car accident. Luckily it happened after dropping the kids off at a friend's house. I've always complained about this particular highway since I grew up with a perfect view of it and would often see emergency vehicles headed north.

I was traveling to work (on a two lane hwy) when vehicles ahead of me slowed and came to a stop. I'm presuming it was for a vehicle waiting to make a turn. I was behind a large horse trailer who was behind a tanker truck of some sort. It was raining but not too heavy. Thank goodness for my Young Driver's training. I've always had the habit of looking in my mirrors as often as I look forward. Anyhow, I looked in the mirror and saw a car driver at a very high speed with no indication of slowing down. I'm always amazed at what goes through your mind in a situation like this....don't hit my new truck....she's going REALLY fast...horses in trailer....no room! Anyhow, I slammed on the horn thinking that she would somehow hear me and wake up! Didn't happen. I then swerved to the right. That's when she hit me and knocked me into a guardrail. So many stars were aligned it was unbelievable. Somehow, the horse trailer didn't even become involved. I think at the moment of impact that's when the traffic and trailer started moving. Anyhow, luckily I was driving our full sized pick-up and well in a situation where there is a truck vs. a car...truck wins! It was a 17 year old girl driving with a passenger. She totaled the front of her vehicle but miraculously no one was injured. She gave me a pretty good jolt and as a result the aches and pains are starting to set in. I'm anticipating a weekend of reading and little movement. We had our (new truck - did I mention that before) assessed and it looks like it will be a minimum of $8000 to fix the damage. It doesn't take must to add up to this amount. The girl was charged with careless driving and is probable facing some very high insurance in her future and possible a near future without a vehicle. I feel awful for her and plan on checking in on her but we are very blessed that the damage was minimal.

Although I'm relatively fine and the truck can be fixed I am still in a little shock. It's hard not to think about the what ifs. I know trucks are horrible for the environment but had I been in the car and had the kids with me, the story would have had a different ending.

By the way, we have On Star on our new truck and wow...I highly recommend it. A voice came on immediately, they got me OPP dispatch and stayed on the line, the police found my exact location (quickly) and then the On Star (southern gentleman) asked me if I'd like him to stay on the line to keep me company until help arrived, if he could call anyone for me or if he could help me in any way. It was so reassuring and EASY. Worth every penny.