I hesitated, I thought to myself...aren't you always, always supposed to exchange information if there is an accident?
We saw no damage in the shade, but in the sun I see a scratch.
No big deal but when my man saw it and heard the story, he was ashamed that I'd fallen for her lie.
He said, "What if they reverse sensors on the car are damaged and you cannot see that?"
I felt terrible. I'm so insecure in this land, and always willing to trust the Germans rather than my instincts. I'm out of place here, and insecure about things like this.
So, luckily, we live next to the law.
And I'd scribbled the license number on my hand as I drove away.
He was also a little ashamed of me, Jurgen, my next door neighbor cop.
*sigh* He immediately went into his house, got a pen, and wrote down the number I'd written on my hand.
He said, "I'll let you know the owner of the car and their phone number so you can talk. I have to tell you that the police are always willing to help, no matter what, just call us." I thought, in downtown Cologne, in rushhour traffic!?
He was so nice, so helpful. I know now. Get the info, no matter what. My man is gonna call the yellow Alfa chick (or whoever owns the car) and confront her on her lie, saying by law, you always exchange info, because there could be hidden damage.
The TUV is next week for the Prius. That is the yearly thorough inspection including emissions. They will tell us if the sensors or bumper was damaged.
The poor Prius has been through so much lately - killing a deer, getting whacked by a service car - my car got new front panels twice the last year.
We'll see what happens. I told my man, "This is why I do not drive new cars. I don't want to obsess about every nick." (OK stop laughing, people who know me, I *try* not to obsess over my cars!)
Now I can be confident when something happens, to demand info. I love having a cop as a next door neighbor!
(The photos in this post are of Colonius, the T-Mobile (Deutsche Telekom) tower where the accident occured. The photos are ripped from the Internet. And I added lots to show you the somewhat-wretched city I spend ~48 hours a week in.)
.JPG)
7 comments:
Gah! That sounds like the time a drunk rear-ended my kids, and the guy handed them the business card of his insurance agent and drove off without giving them his name, address, phone number, and insurance policy number. He said he just lived down the road from the accident, so I drove around for hours searching for a white pick-up truck with a smashed in front end, only to discover that there was a white pick-up truck with a smashed in front end in every other driveway in our neighborhood.
I know what you mean about driving new vehicles. I scratched the bumper of my new truck the other night when I was attaching the trailer. I just brushed the chain up against it, and the paint came off like ice cream in the heat.
I'm glad you are okay and hope everything is fine with the car after the check.
I hope there was no hidden damage to your Prius.
My Prius just celebrated it's 150,000 mile birthday! It has dings all over it now. Many years of experience.
nuzmuz, wow, you drove around looking?! i wish i was assertive enough that people wouldn't take advantage of me. *sigh*
dreaming - that is really impressive. i told my man. ours has 104K Kilometers and that seems like so many, but in miles I would still buy a car that low. I love that car way too much. I know exactly what my next non-towing vehicle will be: a generation 3 prius (2009?). sooo pretty! and sneaking up on people is unparalleled fun.
I have a question for you.
A question came up on a thread Cowboy Magic, has on Facebook.
They asked if it was illegal to trim a horses whiskers in Germany???
Have you heard this?
Just thought you could find out :o)
LOL
I think it would be very exhausting not to know all these subtle rules in situations you can't possibly prepare for.
We had a similar situation recently with a brake job. It wasn't done right, but because my husband understands cars, negotiate it fixed. Would have been lost.
Hopefully everything is ok with the car.
reddunappy, i don't know if it's illegal but there sure are a lot of whiskery Arabian show horses here with completely bald shaved faces (they do the eyes, the ears, the entire face, probably with a razor, but leave the whiskers so the horse looks "natural"??!! ok then.) they don't do bridle paths in general here.
however, the news announced last week that in fall, breed brands (hot) will be banned. i am so curious if this means all brands! they say it's just vanity to put an H on a hannoverian. i don't know, but i know my horse's freeze brand is unique and better than a microchip.
breathe, i rely on my man so much here. he had to do our taxes this month completely without my input. gee...
Wow you sound a lot like me as far as no assertiveness lol! I always panic in situations like that. It took a bunch of time of me getting walked all over, stabbed in the back and taken advantage of to finally grow a backbone (and being an assistant manager at my job has helped). I've become so suspicious of everyone's motives and I'm the type of person who normally trusts everyone and gives the benefit of the doubt! Not anymore!! You'll get the hang of it. I couldn't imagine being in a different country. I have a heck of a time in my own lol.
Post a Comment