I got rear ended today. That sucked. Here's what happened...

I was headed to the store to grab a small waste basket. Getting out was actually an excuse to entertain Josh because he was starting to be fussy. Car rides usually sedate him. So I headed out and got to the first major intersection up hill from our neighborhood at Marsh & Frankford. I'm usually an overly cautious driver when it comes to pulling out into traffic such as making a left without a light or pulling into traffic. I was about to make a right into traffic then spotted a car in the middle lane. I stopped to let that car pass so I could swing into the left lane, but that's when the Blazer behind me bumped into me. I think he thought I was going and didn't look in front of him when he started to go. Like many of us, he predicted a move before it happened. Unfortunately, one still must look forward when driving forward. And it was not a difficult angle, to reference "Snatch". This was such a minor bump- maybe 5 mph at most.

We pulled into the bank parking lot at the corner and started to swap information. Come to find out, the young didn't have his license or proof of insurance. Oops! I called for police to come out to make an official statement and mentioned to the dispatcher that the driver was empty handed, so to speak. I read off his car make, model and plates just in case. We waited for what seemed like forever for the cop to show up. He did his usual questions, wrote down information, issued the other driver a court date and me a statement number for my insurance company.

Oh yes, and what of the insurance? Turns out, the guy was driving his mom's vehicle which did have insurance (but again, not in the vehicle). He asked to borrow my phone to call his mom. After they talked for a few moments, he handed the phone back for his mom to talk to me. She read off their insurance info and we swapped numbers. Then she called back 10 minutes later with a proposition. She offered to have her brother's auto shop fix whatever needed to be fixed free. Ultimately she wanted to avoid having the insurance companies involved. Apparently her son had been in a hit-and-run accident recently where he was rear ended in a Jeep. I told her I'd call her back.

I felt bad for their situation knowing he made a simple mistake. Well, three to be exact. Whether they fix my car's bumper or Geico processes electronic paper work to have someone do it, doesn't matter to me. I don't pay for damages and my insurance rate doesn't go up either way. Rusty suggested a good middle ground. Let them take care of the problem and if anything doesn't seem right, make the claim and go some place else for repairs.

Joshua, meanwhile, was pretty cool about the whole thing. He was upset at first but not because of the bump but because the car stopped moving. It was as if he was complaining about interrupting his ride. He didn't like being in a non-moving car so after I was done talking on the phone and we were waiting for the cop, I held Josh and stood in the shade. He liked watching traffic and being swayed. Luckily the weather was clear (it rained yesterday) and we had a nice breeze. Until at the very end when we were about the go home did he break down crying. All things considered, I got lucky having a quiet, patient baby. And thank God he wasn't hungry!

Ya know, it's just frustrating. I haven't had the car more than a year and already it's had hail damage and now a minor collision. This poor car is going to be beat up in no time at this rate!