shewhomust: (Default)
shewhomust ([personal profile] shewhomust) wrote2023-01-28 12:27 pm

A rude awakening

I was summoned from my bed just after eight this morning by the doorbell: it was the police. "Is that your car?" he asked.

Exhibit A


Why, yes it is: the black one. But even without my glasses on, I could see that we had not left it like that, nose in the middle of the road, rear stoved in on the pavement, up close and personal with a blue car that I did not recognise:

Exhibit B


I woke [personal profile] durham_rambler and returned with my glasses on: now I could see that not only were the railings in front of the house all bent and twisted, but several of the blocks of stone in which they are set had been dislodged. Several cars have been dented, there's broken glass everywhere, an ambulance arrived to collect someone who had been injured. Our bedroom is at the back of the house, and we had slept through all the excitement.

The police say it wasn't anybody's fault, there was black ice on the road, it hadn't been gritted... You might ask why this steep downhill with the interesting corner hadn't been gritted, given that some sort of accident happens here every winter: especially since word got out that it's a way into town despite the road being closed at the top. Ah, well...

So [personal profile] durham_rambler has spent the entire morning on the phone to insurance people. You'd think that having a police incident number would avoid the need for him to relay all the detailsm but each person he spoke to seemed to want to hear it from him, just in case. I was reminded of the sletch (is it Monty Python?) in which people answering questions over the phone end up examoning their feet and giving their shoe size.

And I won't be collecting my new reading glasses from the optician this afternoon.

ETA: Further investigation reveals -
  1. The bad news: something (probably dislodged masonre) has also smashed a pane of glass in the kitchen door. This is marginally insecure, since the door leads onto a sunked area ('the area') not directly onto the street, but is distinctly chilly. Emergency repair is imminent.

  2. The good news: not only did the over-the-road neighbour (whose new people carrier was somewhat dented) see the whole thing, the dour student properties immediately downhill from us captured it on their doorbell cams. We learned this not from the resident students (duh!) but from the landlord's agent, despite her being in Budapest at the moment.
cmcmck: (Default)

[personal profile] cmcmck 2023-01-28 01:12 pm (UTC)(link)
Nobody's fault?

On our street many of them drive too fast when the conditions are like this.

That's somebody's fault!
nineweaving: (Default)

[personal profile] nineweaving 2023-01-29 08:03 am (UTC)(link)
Good heavens! A driver coming down an icy hill once once crashed into my late mother's empty house, through the wall into her vacant bedroom. I hope you can get all of your damages repaired, and that those insurance people will pay out without murmur and promptly.

Nine
hairyears: Spilosoma viginica caterpillar: luxuriant white hair and a 'Dougal' face with antennae. Small, hairy, and venomous (Default)

[personal profile] hairyears 2023-01-29 08:21 am (UTC)(link)
I think the police are wrong, here: there's a strict liability, the driver must be in control of the vehicle at all times.

lamentables: (Default)

[personal profile] lamentables 2023-01-29 03:06 pm (UTC)(link)
Ouch!
I think the worst bit of anything like this, for all that insurance exists and should reimburse you for financial costs, is the lack of compensation for the effort and inconvenience accidents cause. (And all the times the other party's insurance company claims, entirely spuriously, that you were at fault.)
cellio: (Default)

[personal profile] cellio 2023-01-29 10:28 pm (UTC)(link)

Oh dear. What a hassle for you -- and, as someone else already pointed out, an uncompensated hassle. I hope the insurance claim goes smoothly and that you get suitable repairs promptly.

athenais: (Default)

[personal profile] athenais 2023-01-31 02:01 am (UTC)(link)
What a colossal pain! Sorry you've got to deal with this. Best wishes.
anef: (Default)

[personal profile] anef 2023-02-05 05:15 pm (UTC)(link)
What a nuisance! But at least you weren't hurt. Was the culprit the (driver of the) blue car or another one? Fingers crossed that the insurance pays up promptly.