Sorry for the quiet –…

Sorry for the quiet -- e-mail access is limited here, but I'll be home tonight and posting normally again tomorrow. I did want to note that I had some excitement, and not in a good way, coming down here.

Kevin and I are both fine, as is the driver of the other car, but we were in a bad accident on the road -- I was driving, and a sudden snowstorm blew up on the highway; I hit a patch of ice (buried under snow, completely invisible) and skidded from the left lane on I-94 (going about 60 at that point, decelerating due to the sudden snowstorm blowing up, from a speed limit of 70) across two lanes of traffic to hit a white van in the far right lane with the right front of my car, which then bounced back across all three lanes of traffic (tapping the van again with the back right of my car on the way), and thankfully the highway happened to be clear at that point and no one else rammed up to hit us on our trip back, spinning around three-quarters of the way to end up pointed almost directly back towards Chicago, in the meridian ditch.

Again, nobody hurt, car all crumpled, but actually, astonishingly drivable as it turned out for the final two hours to Ann Arbor, once a tow truck got us out of the ditch. I love Hondas. Sturdy little car! I have comprehensive insurance because I am paranoid, which is a good thing because the final estimate is at around $6200 for the repairs to my car. $500 deductible is what it'll cost us -- which is damn light, especially with no injuries, considering just how insanely dramatic the whole thing was. Once we hit the ice, I had absolutely no control -- I tried to steer for a gap behind the white van, but the steering wheel bore no relation to what my wheels were doing. Kevin assures me that I didn't do anything wrong -- that if he'd been driving, the same thing would've happened. That's comforting.

I really hate driving in snow. That's the main thing I get out of all this.

12 thoughts on “Sorry for the quiet –…”

  1. I feel for you. I had an all-too-similar accident in 1989. I got a reckless driving ticket, which I never thought was justified, but I had to pay the fine and got some points on my license for it. I hope you were more fortunate on that part.

  2. Wow, I’m so glad that you weren’t hurt! (And so impressed that the car was still drivable!)

    Driving in snow…shoot, I don’t even like to drive in the _rain_, but I’m wimpy that way.

  3. I, too, had an all-too-similar accident in 1989! I wasn’t going as fast, though, as in my case I *knew* the highway was covered in ice (long story, but I was driving because our hostess refused to let us crash at their house after the party on New Year’s Eve, despite the worsening weather). There were six cars involved in my accident, but again, no one was hurt . . . no reprimands, either.

    Anyway, I’m so glad you’re safe and unhurt, Mary Anne! Even when everything turns out ok, car accidents are terrifying. Hugs!

  4. Yike! I’m really glad all parties are safe and unharmed. Car wrecks are psychologically nasty enough with no injuries at all. Plus, even the most minor of injuries can turn the insurance into a nightmare. Our car insurance is still dramatically higher than it used to be because of an accident where the other driver got massage therapy for sore muscles after the wreck, since that turned it into an ‘injury’ accident.

    And yes, driving in snow and ice really sucks badly.

  5. You and Kevin should try to give yourself extra time for rest and low-stress activities the next
    couple of days. . . the upset and anxiety associated with an accident like this can often bubble up in strange ways for a few days!

    I am so very glad, of course, that nobody was injured. Best wishes.

  6. Aiiee! Glad to hear that you’re okay! Accidents are awful, no matter how minor, and this one sounds far from it.

    Get back home safe and in one piece!

  7. Holy! I had no idea, Mary Anne! You’ve been sending me emails as though everything’s all right! (And I’m so glad that in the most important ways, everything is.)

  8. But Nalo, I was on deadline. 🙂 Really, I’m mostly fine — a little more tired than usual and occasionally weepy, but most of the time, just like normal. Plenty able to work.

    Oh, and Shmuel, thanks for the thought, but Kira and Sean turned out to be able to print it no problem.

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