a magnet of awesome

so for the second time this year, i was hit by a car.

 

luckily for me this time, i was in my car when the other car hit me from behind.  and really, it wasn't a car, it was a van.  i wish i could say that nobody was at fault, but really - it was him.  when you hit someone from behind it's generally because you're following them too closely.  i managed to stop for the guy that cut me off - i would think that the guy following me should be able to return the favour.  it took every ounce of my energy to not shout at the guy and say words that would even get censored on canadian television.  i left it at "you were following too close and driving too fast - that's why you hit me.  get me your insurance papers NOW!"

 

and what's with people hitting me with their automobiles?  this happened to me a couple of years ago in my other car too.  it's not like i have a "Kick Me" sign taped to my back or something.  i even checked for that in the mirror.

 

there's not much damage to the car.  minor scrapes and the like, but i'm still filing an insurance claim.  i'll be damned if i get stuck paying for this when i have to return my car at the end of the lease.  the insurance people told me that despite the fact that there were no charges laid that they would still hold the other driver's insurance responsible for paying for the damages.  pure awesome in my opinion.  also, it's best that a proper mechanic make the decision rather than me.  last time this happened i would have gotten stuck with a $900 bill for the replacement of the entire bumper assembly if i'd listened to myself and said "aah, the damage isn't THAT bad."

 

still - there's more proof for you as to why insurance rates are so stupidly high in the GTA - because people who can barely speak or even read english are allowed to pass driving tests and drive however they want.  i seriously question how this person should be allowed to drive.  i actually had to help him spell the word "white" on the collision report when describing the colour of his van.  and on top of that, i also had to write out the story of what happened for him because he could not do it.  in fact, the majority of the collision report was beyond his level of english comprehension.  if someone who has that poor a grasp on the language that we speak here can pass a written test to drive a car, then perhaps things need to change a bit.  it could just be that he didn't understand the part of the driving book that says "don't drive fast really close to the car in front of you". 

 

don't get me wrong.  i understand that everyone who originally settled this country has faced this type of issue at one point or another, but perhaps a little more time should be spent on educating people as to the rules and regulations that accompany potentially life threatening situations - like driving an automobile.  and anyone who says that driving an automobile is not a life threatening situation should remember that people with cars kill more than people with guns in north america.