Prius, – 2:30 p.m. May 30, 2017
There we were on our way to CostCo yesterday, on 101 headed south, just opposite Young’s Bay Plaza and approaching the traffic light at Neptune Street… BAM! I don’t know when I had dozed off – maybe on the bridge. We were listening to a book on tape… soothing voice, story not too gripping. It was a lousy way to wake up!
Nyel isn’t sure what happened – did his foot slip from brake to accelerator? Or did his attention drift? Whatever occurred, he was fine; I hurt from the seatbelt but otherwise seemed okay. And where were those airbags Toyota touts? Nothing. Nada. Zip. They simply did not deploy. Should I be complaining to someone? And would they care?
Airbags – Undeployed
The driver of the SUV in front of us called 911. She said she was fine and it looked as though her car wasn’t much damaged (although there is always more than meets the eye.) An off-duty EMT was there almost immediately. And then Warrenton Fire Department. And Warrenton Police Chief Workman. They were all lovely, especially Chief Workman (even though he gave us a citation — following too close.) Had us get out of the car because it was leaking everything… No, I didn’t want to go to the hospital. “I’m sore but I think I’m fine.”
Some of the men (there were at least six or eight) thought the car was probably totaled. Someone else said that it probably looked worse than it was. Nyel put in calls to our insurance company and to Triple A and to Hill’s Auto Body in Ocean Park. Cars whizzed by in both directions while we signed releases and provided information to everyone who needed it.
Paperwork
All I could think was… isn’t it ironic that just last week our insurance company notified us that they were lowering our rate because of our excellent driving record? And what’s with those non-functioning airbags? And, we’ve never liked this car anyway. None of which was helpful.
“It’s odd that nobody we know has gone by,” I said (also unhelpfully) at one point to Nyel. And right then, here came Mike Carmel. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” He was headed home to the Peninsula but said to call and he’d come back to get us. That was the first time I felt teary… As it turned out, we had the tow truck guy take us to Lum’s where we rented a larger sized Prius to see if we like it better. (So far… no.) More paperwork. More phone calls. And then… to CostCo as intended.
Today… talk to George Hill. Find out for sure if the car is totaled… Not the way we wanted to end the merry month of May. Damn!
Sorry to hear this. Hope you don’t have residual soreness (whiplash) this morning. Glad you are both reasonably OK.