Things I learned from my accident

This morning I got into a minor rear-end accident. I’m OK, my car is OK, the other driver is OK, her car is OK. But, looking back at the incident, there were some things, post accident that I would do differently.

  • Verify the phone number. I just took the phone number for granted. Now, I have a phone number that calls a disconnected line. I have no way to get in contact with the person I hit.
  • Write down driver’s license info. I didn’t do this, but at least I could verify the name and address of the person.
  • Write down the car’s VIN number. These are usually visible through the windshield glass, but I didn’t do it.
  • Be patient and wait for insurance information. She didn’t have the info with her, so she said she’d call me later. Now that I have a phone number that doesn’t work, I’m out of luck.
  • Have a camera. Ever since I lost my small digital back in January, I don’t have an “everyday” camera with me. I could have used it today to take pictures of where it happened and also of the damage.

Other than the above, I’m OK. I’ve filed a claim with my insurance, but I am not tapping into insurance for my part of the claim. But, I wanted to have my story on record so that if something comes up later (think statute of limitations), I’ll be able to recall what happened. Looking back on it now, I hope that I’m not going to get scammed. It looks all too good for a setup, so I’ll have a skeptical eye on this.

Is it your birthday?

Last night after work, Trevor, David, Rufino, and I went to Claimjumper in Redmond Town Center to get some drinks before we headed out to an Avanade event that night. We were just about on our way out when someone from the restaurant came to our table. She says: “Is it your birthday?” We’re a little stunned, and Trevor says that it is David’s and we all kind of point at each other saying that it is the other person’s birthday. She’s like “OK, let me bring you dessert on us.”

At this point we think she’s kidding, but we were wrong. No joke, she shows up with a huge slice of chocolate cake. So, we got a free dessert! Nice deal, and awfully nice of her. We didn’t really know what to do since we were all kinda shocked. But, ate of it that we could. It was good, but we were all pretty full off of our beers and food that we ordered.

Pretty nice of Claimjumper and I don’t think that’s ever happened to me before.