Today Was Not A Good Day

On the way out of Blockbuster this morning at approximately 11:30am I unsuccessfully tried to turn left across two lanes of south-bound traffic in order to head north. As I was waiting to turn left, a mini-van was slowing down to turn right into the same driveway I was exiting. Upon checking the north and south-bound traffic everything looked clear. Little did I know that the mini-van blocked my view so I couldn't see an oncoming car in the second lane. So I pulled out to turn left and bam, our front corners met. He couldn't see me either cause he was just as surprised. The one no time for either of us to react.

So yeah. We both pulled into the middle turning lane and he jumped out of his car in a tirade. Asking me at the top of his lungs if I was going to fix his car myself. If it was nice driving a VW since it appeared I had little damage. Asking me why I hit him. And just growling as loud as he could. I don't really blame him, cause his car fared a lot worse. The corner of his nose was pretty torn up, his tire was flat and his rim bent, and the wheel-well even came off. So in comparison my car barely looked damaged at all. A lot of the molded plastic is cracked though and not secured onto the car very well so the whole bumper will need to be replaced. The headlight housing itself quite loose and scratched as well. With the higher prices of owning an import my dad figured it could be around $2,000 to fix.

Luckily an OPP officer just happened to be on his way to the Subway right near where we crashed so he pulled up and called it in to the local police. So all in all the whole process of taking statements and information only took an hour which was amazing considering some of the horror stories you hear. But I think.... no I know I made a mistake in my statement in regards to which direction I was trying to head in. Of course it was something I said after the officer asked if I had anything else to say so it's the last sentence. I guess I got confused trying to think of something else to add. I was definitely still in shock.

Obviously I was found to be at fault and was issued a ticket for $110 and 2 demerit points. The officer suggested that I take my ticket to court and plead for a reduced sentence. I just wish I knew what all the ramifications are going to be. Since it was my fault am I going to have to pay for both cars to be fixed? How much will my insurance go up? This is my first accident and the first blemish on my record. My insurance company is closed until Monday so I imagine I'll be spending most of Monday morning on the phone with them and the shop.

What a nightmare. I know I know. I should be thankful no one got hurt. It could have been a lot worse. If I had gotten further into his lane I could have been T-boned. I just can't help feeling like a complete idiot.

Matthew.