Well, just when I thought I had made it through the learning curve and that the rest of my driving days would be problem free...I was wrong. This may be the most embarrassing post that I share, but regardless, the story needs to be documented.
I was leaving New Town Plaza...a very large mall...after a nice lunch with two dear friends. I was feeling so good about myself and how far I had come about getting to this mall, parking, and then getting home without my GPS...a big step. I was eager to get home, but not in a huge rush, since the kids would be home from school. As I was curving around, in the middle lane, mind you, the taxi in front of me decides to stop and pick up some travelers...yes, slightly annoying since he didn't pull over. I stopped in time, but decided that I would go around him since this was taking too long.
Oops! As I went around him, I heard a bit of a scraping noise coming from the left front side of the car. I thought that my mirror had hit his car, but I wasn't quite sure. Well, panic ensued and my mind set of "if I just get out of here it will all go away" took over Plus, there was nowhere to pull over and when I looked in my rearview mirror, there was no reaction. I left the scene...not my best moment.
Well, during my 15 minutes home, the guilt took over. In fact, as I turned onto my street, there was a car with a huge red streak on its car door. "What if my car looks like that?!" I started to think...and that maybe I hit that taxi more than originally thought. I got out of my car and did find a black mark on the front corner of my car...apparently it wasn't my mirror:) But I did hit the other car's bumper.
I wasn't home for more than 5 minutes, when I got "the call" The police wanted to know if I had been driving in Shatin and asked me about my license plate. Before I left to go back to the scene, I called Andy back. He had been trying to get a hold of me while I was on the phone with Officer Norman. He was obviously concerned with my well-being, since he was called first and wasn't given any details. But I told him I was fine and that I would call him back when I knew more.
When I arrived, the taxi was still in the middle of the road, with two cop cars and three officers and the taxi driver. I pulled over, coming out with an immediate apology. The officers took a look at my car, took pictures and started filling out paper work. I, in turn, asked the taxi driver if I could see his car. He pointed out a 2-inch scratch in the right corner of his bumper...then proceeded to shake the other side of the bumper to show me that by hitting the right side of the bumper, the left side had become dislodged. I never saw it move, but I also wasn't in a position to argue.
After checking out the taxi, I was then asked if I had consumed any alcoholic beverages. It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon! I said no, and then was given a breathalizer test...which came out to a 0. Of course, in the midst of taking the test, my mind started thinking..."is there anything in a cappuccino that would register?" Again...some panic shining through. I was also given my disposable part of the test as a momento...how thoughtful:)
After signing my name to some documents, the officer told me that the taxi driver was getting an estimate for the bumper replacement.When he got off the phone, I was on my phone with Andy, giving him the play-by-play. He showed me his estimate, and then Andy and I weighed our options. Yes, there are options here in Hong Kong, which I had heard from friends who had been through this experience. The option that is most popular is to pay off the other driver...and it all goes away. After looking at his estimate, and knowing our deductible, that is the option that we went with, as well. Luckily for me, there was an ATM right by us, so I was able to get out the cash and pay him on the spot. And as uncomfortable as I was doing it this way (because that is not how it is done), it was nice to drive away knowing that it is over...no insurance reps to talk to, or estimates to wait for, or payments to go up...a clean slate. Albeit, this clean slate has some more character on it:)
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