Saturday Car Accident

By Douglas V. Gibbs

After the radio program last Saturday, on the way home, I was involved in an automobile accident.

While I was driving to the KCAA Studios in San Bernardino along Interstate 215, as I passed March Air Force Base, I encountered heavy traffic. The slow-down was caused by an air show going on at that time. On the way home after my radio show, the same air show was still going on, and adjacent to the base the traffic was at a stand still.

I slowed down and came to a stop. The traffic behind me was light, but after I stopped, in my rear view mirror a black object grew in size more rapidly than I expected. The screeching brakes were not enough to stop the luxury SUV, and the car slammed into the back of my little Corolla.

From the number two lane we pulled over a few lanes to get to the shoulder. I got out, and approaching me was a woman a few years younger than me, dressed nicely, and with a look on her face that told me she was quite shook up.

"Were you watching the planes?" I asked.

"No," she replied, "my navigator."

I looked at the back bumper of my seventeen year old car with a faded paint job and nearly two hundred and fifty thousand miles on it, and located the strike point. Just to the left of my license plate was an imprint of the two screws that held her license plate in place, and a faint rectangular mark matching her license plate frame. Her car had a slightly wrinkled license plate, and a scratch on the bumper.

"I've never been in an accident before," she said.

"And you still haven't been," I replied. "The damage is negligible, and neither one of us is hurt, so don't worry about it."

We talked a moment about the accident, how her heart was beating a million miles a minute, and how amazing it was that neither of our airbags deployed.

She still felt bad, so I pulled out one of the business cards from my radio program. As I handed it to her she said, "I hit you, so shouldn't I be giving you my information?"

"If you want to pay me back, this is for my radio show. You can listen on Saturdays at 2:00 pm."

We laughed, shook hands, and went our merry ways.

The story, though interesting, brings to mind a number of thoughts. How would other people have reacted? I wonder how many people would have jumped out of their car angry, yelling, or launching profanity. I've seen people fist fight along the side of the road over less.

Not that I am propping myself up, or anything. I just wonder how many people take a more reasonable position, and how many would have gone off the deep end.

Just a thought.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary