Car Emergency
On Friday I planned to surprise Michael with a trip to the city. We were going to the Tim Burton exhibit at MOMA, and then going to Le Parker Meridien's Burger Joint. Then we would walk down 5th Avenue, sip hot chocolate, and admire the tree. It would be festive and put us both in a holiday mood. It would also create a happy memory in the city, because Michael doesn't like the city all that much.
My replacement at work was a half hour late, so we had to scramble to get to the museum in time to use the timed tickets. While driving into the city, I made some phonecalls, one to the teacher of Shakespeare Gym, thanking him for putting me in the advanced class, and one back to work, where they had more questions. I took the second one on the George Washington Bridge. We finished our call, and I glanced down, away from the road, to press the End button and hang up. And Michael yelled, "Hon, look out!" and we rear-ended the guy in front of us, which caused him to rear-end the guy in front of him.
Freakout. Everything stands still for a minute. Then I put on the hazards, and run up to the first car: Are you okay? I'm sorry, it's all my fault. And run up to the second car: Are you okay? I'm sorry, it's all my fault. Oh, my god, a baby. Is the baby okay?
And satisfied that they're okay, I go back to Michael. He's okay. The front of my car is completely pushed in, and the radiator is leaking coolant. I had just paid 65$ on Monday to get a bulb replaced on the front. That bulb is now smashed. The whole front is caved in.
The second car advocates pulling up and to the side of the road. Michael moves my car. I stand there and cry, feeling horrible for having caused this, for looking away from the road for literally one second. Michael always warned me about texting while driving and its dangerous, and I largely pooh-poohed him. And now, I've caused this accident and this upset and this big monetary loss and we won't get to the exhibit and we won't have a happy memory.
I could tell Michael was upset, because his jaw was set.
And the driver of the first car offered to let us sit in his car, where it was warm. We did. He told us that he was missing his date because of this. I felt like a jerk.
The officer showed up, and led us in an 5mph convoy off the bridge to 178th street. What a decent, respectable officer! Businesslike yet polite. It was really nice. We were a three-car accident blocking the right lane of the GWB on a Friday rush hour, but we were soon out of the way.
And then it took about 40 minutes to get his paperwork processed. We were finally handed a form to fill out for a police report. The police officer told us we could wait there for the tow truck, pointed out the bus station next door in case we needed to use the rest room, made a joke about Tiger Woods and wished us happy holidays.
We called Allstate Roadside Assistance. They told us our policy was cancelled, and since it was an accident, we'd have to call the Claims Department anyway. We call the Claims Department. They tell us our policy was cancelled. We ask who cancelled it. They say that we did. It's getting ridiculous and it's approaching freezing temperatures. At Michael's insistence, we go inside the bus station. He argues with Allstate, I argue with Allstate. Apparently, they tried billing us and the card was declined. They said they sent us five pieces of mail before cancelling our policy. They had also sent us cards saying our policy was good until June, and when I called to update my address, in October, less than two months prior, they had said we were all up to date.
It is no good. We are going in circles. I try to lodge a complaint and they tell me I have to talk with my agent. I leave a phone message and an email for my agent. We are in the bus station, surrounded by the pigeons. It is practically 6pm. The car is still broken on the street.
I remember something and call Volkswagen Roadside Assistance. They promise that the tow truck will arrive in one hour. When I get the automated call that says the tow truck will arrive in fifteen minutes, I call the tow company to ask them to call my cell before they arrive, because we're waiting inside where it's warm. The tow company tells me that they have no knowledge of a tow and need a PO number. I call Volkswagen. I call the tow company. I call Volkswagen. It's figured out. We have to wait another hour.
We buy sandwiches and I drink a beer (dragon stout) out of a paper bag. The pigeons fly overhead. I feel defeated. We don't want to go to the museum anymore, and besides, it would be closed.
The tow company says that they're twenty minutes away. Michael is still upset. I am too. The sign at the deli advertises a drink called "morirsonando" a dream of death? I tell the guy I speak a little Spanish and am curious about that drink. He says it means "latin juice". I know it doesn't. He says it has orange juice in it and is delicious. I google. It's a Dominican drink, it means "to die in a dream" and it's blended orange juice with evaporated milk.
The guy calls, he's fifteen minutes away. Then five. We go wait on the street. Ten minutes later, he finally shows up.
It's after eight. He lets us wait in his blissfully warm truck. Then he tells us that he can't tow us to Rockland. The VW dealership is now closed and he'll have to keep the car at his shop at the Bronx overnight. We'll have to find our own way home. And we have to pay the 16$ toll. Great. We give him 16$, thank him, and go back to the buses.
We take the 8:30 bus to Rockland. Michael bought a magazine, so he has to run and find an ATM before the bus leaves. We make it just in time. On the bus, I call my mother and ask her to drive us from her town (Nyack) to our town (Valley Cottage) so we won't have to walk in the cold. It's really cold and we're both shaken up. My mother says that the bus should drop us close enough to walk.
The bus drops us at the corner. We walk up two hills. I can feel my heart beating through my chest. We sit down on the couch to watch TV and I fall asleep.
xxx
Today, my agent calls me at 9:15am. She says she did everything in her power to contact me. She says she sent five letters. I never got them. She says she can't cover us for the lapse, but we could sign up again today. It's ridiculous. We called to update our information when we moved, they have our new address but not our new phone number. They never emailed us or called our cellphones (which they have). They just let our insurance lapse. The car accident will not be covered. Our insurance is cancelled.
We go for insurance through USAA. It's double what we were paying at Allstate, but USAA is supposed to have amazing customer service. Part of the reason it's double is because I now have two traffic violations (one from 07, which just went to court in 09). USAA insurance starts today.
My car is being evaluated at the dealership. We'll have to pay out of pocket for the repair costs, if it's salvageable.Our insurance is doubled. I don't know what will happen when the other people make a claim against our insurance. I hope we won't have penalties from the DMV. I do have to pay a "Unsafe Driver" penalty of 125$ a year for the next three years because I now have two tickets.
Thankfully, our friend Mina loaned us her car for today and tomorrow. I don't know what I'm going to do on Wednesday, but I really appreciate it. I called the Post Office and filed a complaint. I sent away for the police report. Hopefully this will all work itself out.
Instead of getting in the Christmas mood, we got royally screwed by Allstate. They let us down in our hour of need. ButMichael just called. An Allstate adjuster received our complaint and says that they should be able to reinstate our insurance! Let's hope!
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