So some of you will be aware that recently I was in a car accident, it's all good if you haven't heard about it yet this is the first official mention of it on steem - but for those of you wondering where I have been, this is why I've gone a little quiet on here and in discord.
I have to say I love driving, I grew up in semi rural Australia, which meant the moment I was tall enough to see over the car's dash I was behind the wheel - before that my grandfather had me changing the gears as he drove, teaching me in phases the different aspects of driving.
I don't know if it is because of this early introduction to driving that started my enthusiasm with it, but I know that from the instant I changed my first gear, to the moment I steered the car from the passengers seat, even when eventually my pop had me sit in front of him in the drivers seat and I was responsible for all of it - I was hooked I loved the speed, the control and most of all learning the different nuggets of knowledge my grandfather had to give.
My pop is a bit of a legend you see and back in the day, he was not only a mechanic but he also raced cars and he wasn't too shabby either - my pop wanted to ensure we (his grand kids) knew how to handle a car in all different terrains, traffic and weather conditions, what's more he insisted we learned how cars work.
I was always handing him tools while he worked on the different cars in our yard, at times we accumulated well over 20 cars ready to be harvested for spare parts - by the time I was a teenager I was changing tyres and alternators and assisting with full engine removal, pull down, clean and rebuild.
So what I'm trying to get at here is I love car's, I always have and unlike many other 33 year old'd I have been driving since I was around 7 (as I mentioned rural land, when given full control it was on our own land) - so I have spent more of my life driving than not and in all that time I have only had one other accident (a story for another time - but it was very minor).
In my extended time behind the wheel, I have been in some shitty situations but I have always managed to avoid a collision - so needless to say when I'm driving my (for me new car) which I bought completely with my steemit earnings and someone hits me I'm a tad furious, my beautiful steem car was smashed up and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
I have never before had such a nice vehicle, one that was sturdy, roomy and reliable - so I am feeling a pretty major loss here just on an emotional level, not even looking at the practicality side of things like what am I to do with two disabled children and now no car to get them to therapy or the Dr's.
The Accident:
So on what had already proved to be a difficult day, I had just left my kids school from dropping them off for the day - my son had been having a massive meltdown and it took me over 30 minutes to get him to his class alone, then I had to drop my daughter at her class and have two impromptu meetings one with a teacher the other with the principal.
It had been a long and stressful morning already, on the drive home I felt like a little debrief with 
You see she was a on a cross street, a small side street and I was on the main larger through traffic road - she was turning across my two lanes of traffic and entering another two lanes going the opposite way, or at least that was the plan.
You see me being on a major road was the issue, she was trying to cross a rather busy road at a crappy intersection - but what sealed our fate was the third car, they weren't involved in the accident (lucky bastard) but they were diagonally in front of my car I was slowly but surly overtaking them and she just couldn't see my car behind his.
As the third car pulled past the small intersection, she slammed her foot on the accelerator to make the mad dash across at least three lanes of traffic - thus resulting in her crashing into the front left side of my car.
Now I was doing the speed limit which on that road was 60 km per hour, she had been stopped but accelerated extremely hard to make the small space she envisioned her car ending up in - so hard in fact her little sedan forced my massive CX-9 almost into on coming traffic, leaving me stranded on the centre median strip.
She moved my car a good two meters to the right and when I hit the middle median my car was also forced into a Keep left road sign, but it gets even better as I was travelling faster and she hit my side it didn't stop my car from moving - instead her smashed front end scraped down every single damn panel of my beautiful and shinny car, so from being hit on one corner I now have damage on almost every panel of the fricken car.
As I mentioned earlier I was on the phone with
Now I do want to mention this phone call was through Bluetooth and a running through the car's audio, so at no time was I holding a phone or anything like that - but what that did mean was the moment I was hit the car disconnected the call and for a while it just didn't work at all.
This is what my poor partner heard just before the phone cut out:
The call
Now for me that is still hard to listen to without cringing hard, every time I hear it I feel it and see it happen all over again - I still don't understand how I even had time to honk at her, it was the first time I knew I couldn't avoid being hit.
At this point I am now stopped on the centre median strip and the phone has gone dead, I know now I was in shock but my first reaction was trying to talk to
That is about when I started to realise what was happening, I realised I was parked where a moderately sized steel sign was supposed to be and that I had even been in an accident - that's when the fury erupted and I may or may not have been cursing in time to my punches with the steering wheel, I do remember yelling "fuck" an awe full lot.
I then saw this young girl pulled off onto the shoulder of the road, I don't remember seeing her move after she hit me - she just appeared in this new place, but one thing I did see was that this was a kid and she was bawling her eyes out almost in hysterics.
I felt instantly shitty about my cursing and kind of went into mother mode, I reacquainted myself with my surrounding and then moved my car over to the side of the road to join her - I got out of the car which I had left running for some reason, left my phone in the car and decided I needed to help this kid out.
She was pale, shaking uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face, hyperventilating as she was trying to apologise to me for crashing into me - the moment I heard her take responsibility I calmed down even more and honestly just felt really bad for this little girl having an emotional breakdown.
As I said mother mode kicked in hard, I got her away from the road, looked over her for any serious obvious injury, told her to take some deep breaths and that everything was going to be fine - the important thing is were both fine, no one is seriously hurt and cars can be replaced.
She started to take listen and was nodding in acceptance of my words, but still looked ghostly as fuck and shaky as a leaf - in the end we ended up hugging it out, I felt a need to make her alright even though it was her fault she is just a kid and what would have anger done to help this situation?
An onlooker and witness that had been hanging around but hadn't spoken to either of us, saw this and seemed relieved that I wasn't going to kill the young girl (given my initial response and all I can't blame him) and he ended up wandering back into his home at seeing this - he just looked at me like what ya gonna do and shrugged with a little smile before he went.
Finally able to get some more comprehensive dialogue out of the girl, I learned she had insurance but had no idea what to do here and to be honest I really had no clue either - I had never really been in an accident before so we were both a little clueless.
This is when she still sobbing but a lot calmer generally asked if I minded if she called her mum, I of course had no issue with this at all and in fact encouraged - it because I hoped she would be able to help her daughter reach a level of calm where we could actually speak, also this is when I realised my car was still on and I didn't have my phone and poor
I raced to my side of the car turned it off and grabbed my phone, luckily now it decided to work and I managed to call him back - it had been over ten minutes of him sitting and waiting, not knowing where I was or if I was even alive.
I can tell you it was the happiest I had been to talk to someone in many years, he could finally relax as he knew I was alive but then he told me what he heard and I felt sick - he thought it was a truck and that sound was the cab of my car being crushed, he had even gotten ready to walk the hours it would take to get to the suburb I mentioned I was in (over a 40 min drive so quiet a hike on foot).
He had been trapped here at our home with no idea even where about's I was, he knew I had left the kids school - but he had no idea how far I had made it before the call or the accident, I feel so bad that he went through this like that and that until I tried to call him our damned phones wouldn't connect.
But now both me and the young girl had people in our corner, to help us deal with the shock of what had happened and what we now had to do - we exchanged details, got off the phones and took some photos of the damage to both cars and the scene in general.
I figure we were standing there dealing with this for a good 40 mins at least, then we realised we both needed to get home - I started freaking out about how the hell I was going to get the kids home from school, but even with that I knew right now I just needed to get myself home.
By this stage I started getting a sore left arm, mostly in my elbow but soon that started to spread to my wrist and shoulder - I guess shock can help you in a multitude of ways, but now as it was wearing off the pains were begging to set in and my body seemed to realise it had been through something.
I mentioned my worries about getting my kids and she burst back into tears again and I was like hey at least they weren't in the car, it made it worse again and surly enough before long I was hugging her back calmness - once we finished swapping all our details, I looked over my car more thoroughly and I thought my front left tyre main point of impact looked funny but figured it was the odd angel we were parked on.
Then she realised she hadn't looked at her car and she admitted not knowing anything about them, so I offered to have a quick look just to see if she could drive it - for the most part both cars didn't look all that bad given the situation, but I did notice her plastic wheel guard had no support so it was sitting on the tyre and would grind as she drove it.
I advised her to get it off or call for at site help, but she decided she would just drive home slowly and hope for the best - and in a way that was also my goal, when I finally did depart I slowly drove home with
The normally 40 min trip took closer to an hour and once I got home I just need a chill and a coffee, it wasn't too long after that we realised we had the recording and listened to that - but then came the new rush the car was parked on a flat driveway and the wheel where she hit me was still looking a little dodgy for my liking, so I didn't think it was safe to drive.
I called my kids school and let them know what was happening, I explained that at present the best idea I had was to get an uber to come get me then pick up the kids and come back home - this is where my kids school stepped up on a big level.
I should mention it's a special school as both my kids are disabled, but this also means they tend to go above and beyond in moments of need - basically the principal arranged to drive the kids home herself, she is one of the bus drivers when they are short staffed.
So she offered with my permission to drive the kids home with the assistance of an aid, someone else being in the vehicle is essential when putting the kids in new stressful situations - but that coupled with them calling my phone and putting me on speaker, so I could talk to the kids and explain what was happening in real time.
I never expected anything like this and was so appreciative, because by this stage I was now in sheer agony - my arm and now lower back were just aching, I had no idea how I would have gone in the back of a car for over an hour.
But within 45mins of our phone call I got another call saying they were out the front,
But the best part was my babies were home, I needed them and whilst it hurt I took the enthusiastic cuddles of excitement they greeted me with utter joy - that bought things home for me in a new way, I was so thankful they weren't in the car and didn't have this experience they wouldn't understand.
I was so grateful for the extra support the school offered so willingly and the added precautions they put in place to ensure a smooth result, I never dreamed a school would step up in this way - especially when you consider we are not in the catchment and they still ensured our kids were safely and happily bought to us.
The Aftermath:
Well to be honest I could only write about this now, as it has taken this long to get things moving towards a solution - the first hurdle we came to was running out of certain foods, my kids are autistic and have a very strict self imposed diet.
I have never been so far away from a shop, that it was not realistic to walk (let alone with groceries) - I never realised how heavily I relied upon my car and how regularly it was required just to get shit done.
So it was around when I was getting ready to put the kids in bed, I decided I should text this girl and see what were gonna do to sort this all out - she wrote back saying she was doing a bit better and that she had logged a claim with her insurance and we shall see what happens next, so we ended up having a little friendly chat and all seemed good.
Well that was last Wednesday (the day of the accident), by Friday when I still hadn't heard anything I texted again and asked for her claim number so I could approach her insurance and kick things forward - she would only tell me her insurer and not the claim and I started to get worried by her response, I felt like I lacked the information I needed to get anything done.
So my kids missed two days of school at this stage, I was really really running low on food now and just needed a way to get around - so firstly I thought maybe the car is fine to drive, but I want to be sure (I'm now super paranoid something will go wrong).
I called RACQ a mobile mechanic and whilst they couldn't give me any assurances over the phone, once the mechanic took one look at the dodgy wheel he confirmed my fears - the car is really not safe to drive.
The wheel is tilted in at the top and when he looked underneath, he said the spring and shocky were both bent and twisted and morphing the underside of the car possibly the axle - but this just made me more depressed about things, my car was fucked with no end in sight and I needed a way around.
He said I was lucky and that if I were to drive it at any given moment, the steering could go and render the vehicle a rolling death trap - I wouldn't have had any steering at all and possibly little to no breaking abilities.
Luckily the mechanic was super friendly and we got to chatting, I mentioned I needed a car because I have no way to know when mine will be up and running - then he mentioned a company called "Right 2 Drive", this company will drop off a rental car and charge only the insurer.
By this stage it was Sunday and mid afternoon, I tried calling her insurance but they were closed - so I held out all hope and tried this company.
I was sceptical but said I would look into it, well I am oh so glad I did - basically when I called them I explained communication is breaking down but she admitted fault, was at fault and has insurance, that is all they needed to be happy to help me.
As I mentioned it was Sunday afternoon and this company didn't just answer they were on it immediately, arranging someone to come and pick me up from my house to take them to their depot - and then taking what information I had on the girl that hit me and getting me in a car then and there, whats more it was comparable to my own.
Within an hour or so, I was in a pretty much brand new car which isn't my own - but it is a usable vehicle and I am not needing a fancy car.
I drove home knowing that for as long as it takes for the insurer to fix my car, I will have use of the vehicle and best part I never have to pay a single cent!
It is all handled by the car company and the insurer and I can just focus on getting my shit sorted, so by this stage I just ordered shopping to be delivered - but now I could get my kids back to school and get their routine back on track.
The Long Wait:
So as I mentioned earlier I could only have written this post now, that is because it was only late yesterday afternoon that I finally had contact with the insurance company - I was needless to say a little pissed it took this long and so fricken happy I didn't wait on getting the rental car.
Basically the dude called and said who he was, explained she did claim responsibility (massive sigh of relief I thought she had changed her mind) and they were ready to set up a way to fix it - mind you he also thought my car was already in a shop and I would know exactly what was wrong with it.
I explained that nope it's sitting in my driveway and they will be towing and paying for all assessments for damage and also the cost to repair - he was a little taken back, but I was not going to be held financially responsible for this as it really wasn't my fault and fuck insurance companies lol.
I also mentioned that I had a rental car through "Right 2 Drive" and that they will be sending a bill, all of a sudden now we have a plan for a tow truck on Monday and booking with a crash repairer - but the thing is they reserve the right to wright the car off, which will see me get cash but not my beautiful steem car back.
So I'm not thrilled because if they do just wright it off and send cash, I will then have to go and find another car - but I will have lost free access to the rental, so here's hoping they can actually fix the thing.
So Where Does That Leave Things?
Well things are still chaotic here, I missed out on days of productivity and just getting shit done so I'm massively behind - this includes having countless DM's on discord I am yet to respond to, so please people if your waiting know I will get there!
My kids seem to tolerate the new car which is a relief cause they can be fickle, I actually have a car to use so I am catching up on real life errands - but a sense of normalcy is returning to our lives.
I am still sore over a week on and hope it will fade with time, but I need to go see a Dr already - I have been putting it off, but it is another job on the to do list.
I guess I will know more on say Tuesday, assuming we have no added complications with the towing and repair - I am hopeful to get things back to normal really soon.
I still love to drive but I have noticed I am even more cautious than I was before, I am a little paranoid when I drive, I get a little anxious around larger vehicles even though I was hit by a small one - I know the results would have been very different if she had a larger vehicle.
I just hope my car is fixable and I can continue to love and drive my amazing milestone in steemit, I will be a happy camper - here's hoping it's all over soon and I can just forget it ever happened.
I am grateful it wasn't a lot worse than it was and for that I am eternally thankful, I am even more in love with my car - this car saved me from a disaster people, if I was in my old sedan it would have crumpled and continued me on into oncoming traffic (which she almost managed to do in her small sedan).
This is the reason I am still here and in such good shape, if it wasn't for steemit I wouldn't have had this car - I would have been in an older dodgy car with less weight and structure behind it, I bought my car with earnings I got here and without it I'm just not sure how this would have ended.
So I want to thank everyone who helped contribute, to get us to a point where we could get a new much safer and larger car - without you guys I might not be here writing this post right now and really isn't that the important thing to take away from this?
How long do you think it will take to get my car back?
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