I was in a
fender bender on Sunday and while I was 100% not at fault legally, I
can't help but think I was still responsible. I was going northbound on
Jennifer Heil Way when another driver turned left out of the Superstore
parking lot and hit me. He clearly didn't look before he turned as I
would have been easy to spot since I was driving straight toward him. I
saw that he was inching out and he had even started to block one lane of
oncoming traffic.
I
could have stopped even though he absolutely did not have the right of
way but instead I slowed down a bit and kept driving, assuming that he
saw me and was not going to proceed with his turn. He didn't hit me that
hard as neither of us were going very fast and nobody was hurt.
My
vehicle has a good amount of cosmetic damage and the other driver had
insurance so, in the end, this is all just a big inconvenience. However,
the lesson is not lost on me. Last night in class we were talking abut
how out style of kung fu is a defensive style and that discussion seemed
prudent, given the recent circumstances. It would be easy for me to
take no responsibility in my accident as the law says I was not at fault
whatsoever. The other driver made an illegal left turn and struck my
vehicle.
But
could I have prevented the accident? I believe so. I wasn't speeding
and I was driving within the law but I wasn't driving defensively. Upon
seeing that the other driver was inching into traffic and recognizing
that he was oblivious to the other vehicles around him, I should have
acted defensively and yielded. My ego would have suffered for a moment
but my vehicle would have emerged unscathed.
Cory Smid
http://kungfucory.blogspot.ca/
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