Reckless Drivers
My son now understands what I mean when I say it isn't my driving that worries me, it is the other driver's.
Friday morning around 11:30 we were in a car accident. My son was driving on his learner's permit, doing rather well that day. He made good turns, used his brakes the right way and obeyed the rules of the road. Unfortunately the same could not be said for the other driver.
As we were coming down the road we saw the small truck at the stop sign. It let one car go by but when we came up to the same spot it suddenly pulled out to make a left turn right in front of us. There was nothing my son could do but hit it. My son's first reaction was to think it was his fault. I quickly assured him it wasn't.
I don't have a cell phone, but the other vehicle did. Did they call the police? No, they called their family and about twenty of them showed up. I have no idea what they thought they were going to do. It was in front of the utility company with a security guard standing right there. A lady who worked for the police department drove by and said she would call it in. The police made them all leave except the ones who had been in the truck and the driver's mom who had shown up.
The other driver quickly stuck his foot in his mouth. They all claimed my son was speeding. He wasn't. Like he told the officer, my mom would have yelled at me if I had been. The officer told the other driver it didn't matter how fast my son was going, you didn't yield right of way.
The other driver turned out to be seventeen years old. He didn't have his license and told the police he had one, but when they called it in there was no license. No proof of insurance either. Turns out it was his uncle's truck. The police officer was not happy with the kid at all. The uncle turned up with the insurance proof.
Five citations went to the kid, including no license, failure to yield, no proof of insurance and a couple I'm not sure of. From what the officer told me, the kid is in a lot of trouble. I think mom and uncle should be in trouble too. They might be, I don't know. Mom for letting him drive without a license and uncle for letting him drive his vehicle without a license.
My poor car is mangled up. The lights are shattered on one side, radiator is gone, frame bent, my bumper is hanging by a thread and the hood won't open. No telling what the damage is underneath. I contacted my insurance right when we got home. Because the accident was caused by the other party, their insurance has to pay for my car.
My son said he's done with driving for awhile. I told him I'm getting him behind the driver's seat as soon as possible.
