Crash

[sylvar]

I got into a crash this evening.  Here's the front of my car:



I'm going to take a 4-hour "traffic school" course which will mean that:

• Hillsborough County will withhold adjudication;
• I don't get any points on my license;
• I get 18% off the cost of the ticket (meaning it'll cost me about $100).

The car is at a body shop, and State Farm will be sending a claims adjuster to check out the damage in the morning.  Also in the morning, I'll arrange for a rental car.  State Farm will cover 80% of the rental cost, up to $500.  The damage to the car ahead of me seems minor (there was a dent in the fender and a cosmetic part popped up a bit).  There are more photos of the damage on Flickr; I've already offered copies to State Farm.

This is going to be somewhat expensive, and that's not at all welcome; we're in the middle of paying for graduate school applications, transcripts, etc., and there's a possibility of repeating that process next year.  Fortunately, I've already got almost all of my tax information, so I'll be able to e-file pretty soon and get a refund (I've always gotten a nice refund, kina hora).  That should help considerably.

Jodi has been very gracious about it, and I appreciate that; many people would take it badly.  I'm just glad everyone seems to be okay, and I'm very pleased that everyone was so polite about it all.

Comments

Ouch. Looks bad.

[recycler1973.livejournal.com]

I got into a similar accident with my green 2001 Ford Focus on 2 August 2006. Imagine my shock and dismay when I learned that the damage was significant enough for the insurance company to write it off.

So after a $4000+ check, I'm now leasing a white 2007 Ford Focus. With the exception of three things [1], the cars are virtually identical.

[1] six years, the color of the car, and the shape of the lights and reflectors aren't so, um, pointy.