So long old friend...

Brian's Friday tale...

The impala has been paid off now for two years. I've loved this car. We've had very few issues with it. For the past two years we've talked about removing our collision insurance on the car and only keeping liability. For some reason we just kept putting it off...until this past summer when gases prices topped out at around $4.20. I guess that finally gave us the motivation to call our agent and make the change. Two months later....the impala kisses a camry.

I was driving east on main street in Lehi last Friday. For those of you who haven't spent much time in Lehi lately, main street now sees over 30,000 cars per day. So much for small town traffic. Traffic is backed up in both lanes for quite a ways. I need to get into the shopping center that is about 75 yards down the road. So, I pull into the extra wide shoulder lane and proceed to drive down this lane to the next available shopping center entrance. This Camry is pointing the opposite direction, sitting in the center turn lane, trying to make a left hand turn into the same parking lot entrance. Apparently, the cars have opened a gap and maybe someone has waved her through. I can't see her as there are too many cars stopped in the lanes beside me. About the time I see her squeezing through in front of a tahoe or suburban, we are on a collision course. I've only ever been in one other "crunching" accident. I never enjoy that sound from the inside. The hoods buckled, the front bumper is cracked in half, the headlight is gone, and their may be some damage the front quarter panels. But I managed to spare the radiator!

The young lady in the Camry has a few choice swear words for me. Then her mom, who was waiting in the parking lot, decided it was her turn to give me her opinion of me and the situation. She swears up and down that it was my fault as I was not driving in a "real" lane. I tell her that if the officer comes and tells me it is my fault then I will take full responsiblity. I call 911, the police arrive, and we are sent to our separate corners. I sit in my car to fill out my paperwork. About this time the paramedics arrive to check on this young lady. She seems to be ok but wants to be precautionary. They only stay about 10 minutes. One of the firemen asks me to move to the back seat of my car. I hadn't even thought about it but in all this the airbag didn't deploy. He says that sometimes the airbags will deploy at a later time. That would be a fun treat, huh? The officer was going to let me drive my car home. I can just imagine applying the breaks at the first stop sign and having that fun surprise. Eventually they decide I can't drive my car home. Anyways, I move to the back and finish my report. The tow truck arrives and I begin clearing the christmas bags and other things from my trunk. No time or free hands for the two sets of golf clubs and 3 camping chairs. It's also 25 degrees outside, with no sun, and I'm wearing shorts. About this time I notice they are searching this girls camry and pulling out all sorts of fun things....3-4 bottles of prescription drugs, something the officer takes to his car, who knows what else. I stand on the grass of the local bank watching this scene for about half an hour, still holding my christmas presents and police clipboard. The tow truck driver talks to me for a few minutes and is kind enough to point out another wonderful treat ....the girl has California plates that expired in January 2008. GREAT. This is going well. After another 20 minutes, the cars are towed away and the officers have this girl and her mom somewhere else. The 1st officer finally comes over. He hands me her name and insurance information. I finally get to ask "So where do we stand on whose fault it is?" Here's your chance to see if you know the law. Any guesses? I'll be honest to say that I still had some question in my mind. Perhaps the shoulder really is out of bounds. My legal mind is put to ease by the officer. He tells me that it is her fault. Drivers turning left have the responsibility to yield to ALL oncoming traffic. Ok, so I'm not crazy after all. I ask the officer about the almost 1 year old license plate tags. He tells me that she is being cited for that as well. I tell him that I am only bringing it up because I don't believe a person who has over date tags by almost a year will have any motivation to keep their auto insurance up to date. He said the card she has looks legit but I'll have to file a civil suit if she has no insurance. Great. He tells me I am free to go as he will be with this young lady for alittle while.

Chari is kind enough to come and pick me up. What a great wife. Four days later, here is the update:
1. It was $200 dollars for the tow and 4 days of lot fees for my wrecked car to take up space at Vern's auto. As I can see we'll be fighting insurance for awhile, we decide to get the car home asap. The local Bishop that my dad works with has a tow truck and is nice enough to tow it to his lot for free. Thank you Bishop Sansom!!!!
2. The girl has Progressive Auto Insurance. While she's in their computer, there is a "red flag
on her account that is suggesting that her account may not have been active at the time of the accident". Ok, I get it, she hasn't paid her bills. Big shocker. She's not returning their phone messages and her email address is bogus. They've sent her an offical letter and will let me know. The Progressive agents advice to me...."contact your insurance agent. It appears she has no coverage. We'll let you know soon". Maybe she's in jail and can't return the call. Maybe she knows she isn't covered and figures she has nothing to lose. Who knows.
3. We're supposed to leave for Wisconsin on Friday and who know's where this will be. Good thing it wasn't the van.
4. Utah has a no fault law that if the driver at fault isn't insured, and I don't have full coverage, my insurance will kick in and cover some funds. My agent told me today that they will only cover up to $3500 dollars, with a $250 dollar deductible.

So what does this all add up to? In the end I believe I'll be saying good bye to my old friend. Dave Hester, who has done alot of body work, said he believes the estimate will come in around $2500-$3000. I can't see either Insurance company paying to fix it. It's too old. We bought this car when we lived in Iowa and it has been a symbol of Iowa to me. I really hate to get into another car payment but I also hate to buy something super old.

I taught gospel doctrine on Sunday and do you know what one of the key quotes said? "God will have a humble people. You can choose to be humble...or be compelled to be humble." Maybe I was being humbled. Chari suggested that maybe I was the tool to take a dangerous car or driver off the road. I have no objection to being the Lord's agent for anything. I'm just kicking myself for canceling that coverage. Whatever the reason, lesson learned. Dear Santa, for Christmas I would like......