A Little Too Close For Comfort

I'm looking at the picture to the left and keep chuckling because I totally redneck rigged my car!

The reason my car is all rigged up is because I got very close to someone yesterday, but not in a way I would have liked.  As you know, it rained all day and conditions were a bit slick.  I was sitting in my car at a stop waiting to start moving when W H A C K!  A guy slammed right into the back of my car.  I'm so glad that I didn't see it coming because I didn't have a chance to tense up and I think that's why I'm not hurting today.  I've heard it said that if you see it coming, your body tenses and the tension actually makes the impact worse.  I've never been in an accident, so I don't know if this is true, but I'd imagine it is.

Surprisingly, I wasn't shaken or angry.  They guy was technically at fault because he whacked me, but he did try to stop.  It's just that the rain and mud propelled his car right into mine.  Things like this happen. What can you do?

The impact smashed in my bumper and pushed the frame up into my trunk.  The bumper  fanned out at the sides and the tail lights cracked. Since I've never been in an accident and didn't know the procedure, I thought I'd be ok to drive for a few days until I could get to a collision center by holding my trunk down with rope and putting red tape over the lights, but the guy's insurance claims division called me within an hour of the accident and took care of everything.  I mean every single detail. My car is at a shop waiting to be fixed and I'm driving a rental car (which happens to be a brand new car and I'm loving it!).

I've driven by accidents and seen people screaming at each other.   Why do people do this?  I've never understood.  Things happen and screaming doesn't undo them.  I think I was more concerned for the guy who hit me (his car had zero damage-go figure) because he was shaking and kept asking if I was alright.  I actually felt bad for him and found myself hoping he wouldn't dwell too much on what happened and would be able to enjoy the holiday season.