I have been involved in four accidents that I can think of off the top of my head that have one thing in common. No one was in the car at the time.
The first one was a doozy. In a previous job that was a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, I had a Chevy Lumina. Perfect car for a single mom with three kids.
I was in an important meeting, and was a low person on the totem pole in this meeting and didn’t want to come across as an idiot. My position was Assistant Program Director of Residential Services, which sounds a lot more important than it was and there were like six of us. But it did mean that I had to approve of, and be informed of, a ridiculous amount of things.
The secretary at the corporate office knocked on the conference room door and called me out of the meeting at least three times. I finally said to her “DON’T INTERRUPT AGAIN UNLESS THE POLICE ARE HERE.” About five minutes later, she knocked on the door again and called me outside. I started to voice my annoyance and she cut me off and said “The police are really here.”
Police: Your car was involved in a major accident.
Me:
Police: It is totaled and cannot be driven.
Me: But I’m in a meeting, not in the car.
While parked at the curb (and I’m a good driver), an 18-wheeler driven by a not very good driver, missed the turn and slammed into my car, shattering the windows and smashing in the side of the car. Crazy.
The other three accidents occurred in the last month and a half and were also crazy but not as serious.
- We have assigned parking spaces at work. They are on the small size. I was parked in the middle of my space and inside school. Not in the car. The person parked on one side of my car sideswiped me. Down the entire length of my car. Drive-able, but still. In her defense, she had a big car which also had a lot of damage. She now has a new SUV which is much smaller.
- The day after the work incident, my husband got off the train in which he commutes to work, walked to his car, and saw that the front of his car had been smashed. I’m not good at describing cars, but someone had obviously backed into his car. Fast. This person is proof that there are honest people left in the world because he left his name and phone number on the windshield.
- As I was on my genealogy hunt last week, I had a very frustrating day that ended up being fairly fruitful. I left a Town Clerk’s office feeling proud of myself and saw something in the road near my car. I picked it up so that I wouldn’t run over it, and saw it was a side mirror. Then I realized it was the exact same color as my car. I looked over and sure enough, probably a small truck knocked the driver mirror off. I drove over the Tappan Zee Bridge (a nightmare on the best of days) petrified because I use my mirrors for everything and I was afraid to change lanes.
Caveat: I have been involved in other fairly minor accidents. None have been considered my fault to the police or insurance company. Several deer have received citations, however. And I don’t mean to minimize accidents which have caused catastrophic tragedies for families.
Conclusion drawn? Parking your car and not being in it is a dangerous activity.
Parked under the influence of emptiness.
saneteachers 
How frustrating this must be for you! Life is busy enough without having to worry about taking our car in to get fixed. At least you weren’t in them. But you might want to start taking the bus… 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! I wish we had bus service here. Where I work they do, but where I live we are too rural. We can live with one car; we just have to remember to juggle our schedules. I live in fear that I will be my ADHD self and forget to pick Tim up at the train station.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We also live beyond the range of urban transit and though I proposed that our town of six people consider light rail, at least in the area surrounding the township hall, no one seems interested.
The wonderful thing about not having to rely on a vehicle for work is that one can drive an old beater, it is like being a teenager all over again.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A low rider?
LikeLike
Once — only once — driving to church I ran into a parked car with my 1962 Chevy Impala. It was the same day we landed on the moon, July 20, 1969. That’s why I’m not associated with the space program.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s AWESOME! Best story I’ve heard in a long time. I started driving in 1969, if I’m doing the math correctly. Maybe 1970.
LikeLike
The thing that I love about these types of accidents is that if the person is caught, they always try to blame the empty non moving car. Go figure…
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true! Except the man who hit Tim’s car left his number and name. That’s unusual these days.
LikeLike
My car got hit while it was parked in the middle of the day – and no one saw it (it was parked close to a busy intersection) which meant whoever hit my car was extremely drunk because there’s no way you’d be able to speed in that area and my car’s left side was totally wrecked. I never knew who did it – 😕 I totally get you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a horrible feeling. Thank God for insurance because we could never pay for these 3 recent hits. I hope that you have insurance!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah insurance paid for everything. I had a low deductible too so that helped as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know what people do without insurance. I guess that accounts for the clunkers that you see around. But it has to be driveable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I loved that last line! It would make a terrific slogan. As for your cars, all I can say is that thank goodness it’s them that seem to be the magnet for awful drivers and not actually you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bad Driver Magnets. That’s great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
oh my!! you always have great stories to share, Barb! And you not being in the car when it all happened was probably the coolest story of all! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Absolutely. And we could definitely work it out with one car. But we’re spoiled with 2. Plus thank God for insurance. These repairs have been so expensive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes! You see… I wasn’t even thinking of repairs and insurance! LOL
LikeLiked by 1 person