My Car Insurance Just Doubled

I was in my first accident today. Well, my first accident while I was driving. Actually, maybe it was my second. Earlier this year, I hit my neighbor's parked car when I pulled out of my driveway in a rush to get to church. I'm not sure if that counts as an accident or not. I'm sure, to my insurance company, it does.

Anyway, I was going to pick up my son from school. I sat, waiting to make a left turn. When the traffic cleared, I turned. BAM! It took me a minute to realize what had happened. I'd been hit! What the heck?! Where did that car come from?! The street was clear. Where on earth had they come from?!

I pulled over into a parking lot and the other car followed me. A teenage girl got out of the car and looked at me like I was an idiot. I asked her, "Didn't you see me?" She flipped out and started yelling, "ME see YOU?! Didn't YOU see ME?" Umm, well, no actually. I didn't. I turned away from her and dialed 911. Actually, I didn't so much dial 911 as I punched 911 as my passcode to unlock my phone. Shockingly, it didn't work. Duh. I came to my senses, unlocked my phone and dialed 911. Isn't that what you're supposed to do? What ARE you supposed to do in an accident? Call the police, right? Or are you just supposed to trade insurance information. I have no idea what to do! Ugh, I got through to 911 and told them the info. No, no airbags deployed. No, no one was hurt. At least I didn't think anyone was hurt. Crap, I didn't even ask to make sure no one was hurt! What's wrong with me? That's the first thing you should do, right? Ohmygosh, my brain wasn't functioning at all.

I hung up and walked back to my car so I could make sure that no one was hurt. Brooklyn was yelling and crying.

"Are you hurt or just scared?" I repeatedly asked her, starting to freak out that she might have been hurt. Finally she answered me.

"I'm hurt."

"Oh God, let her be ok," I thought. "What hurts, sweetie?" I asked, full of concern.

"My ears hurt. That was loud," she whined.

"Your EARS?" Ugh. I breathed a sigh of relief that the kids were all ok. Then I turned to Austin who had been walking out toward the car at the time of the accident. "Was it my fault? Did I pull out in front of her or was she speeding and not see me turn?" I asked.

"It was your fault, Mom," he answered. "She was there and you pulled in front of her."

I felt like an idiot. How did I not see her. It wasn't like I wasn't paying attention or anything. I wasn't talking on the phone or texting or even flailing my arm around to try to swat Jackson for being obnoxious and bugging Clay. I was totally paying attention to the road. I still can't understand how it happened. I wish I could see a video replay of the events from every angle because I just can't wrap my brain around the fact that I caused an accident.

Meanwhile, Jackson was supposed to be at the library for his first Battle of the Books meet. I didn't know how to get in touch with anyone and the police officer hadn't even shown up yet. Oh well, whatcha gonna do, right? We sat tight and waited. The officer pulled up and got out of her car. It was the same officer that came to my house last week! Oh yeah, back up. I guess I never wrote about that. One day last week, a police officer showed up at my front door asking for Jackson.

"Here he is. Take him away," I said. "I always knew this would happen some day. What did he do?" I asked.

Long story short is that he and some friends were walking home from school when a car slowed down and yelled some obscenities out the window to Jackson and his friends. One of the kids' parent called the police to report it. Jackson told her what kind of a car it was and what the driver looked like, but said that he didn't really hear what was said.

Anyway, this was the same officer and she remembered us. The other driver came out, the vein in her head ready to burst, but I started talking first and admitted that I must have pulled out in front of her and I just didn't see her.

Sigh. So, in the end, I got a lovely ticket with a price tag of $115 and I get to attend a fun-filled, 4 hour traffic school, the side door of my van is smashed in (but thankfully, still usable), and I'm scared half-to-death to drive. Oh and another parent from the Battle of the Books got ahold of me, I filled her in on what was going on and she sent another parent over to pick up Jax and take him to the library. (They won their first battle despite my slacker son who didn't do his fair share of the reading.)

And none of this would have happened if I didn't live in the frozen tundra because my son would've been walking home. And, of course, none of this would've happened at all if I hadn't just been bragging about the fact that I'd never been in an accident. Damn that Murphy and his stupid law!