Sometimes, things start badly and get no better.

Such is the case with a co-worker of mine. She was driving along and minding her own business, when an oncoming car crosses into her lane, coming directly at her. How’s that for a fine how-do-you-do? The driver must have seen the precarious position he was in because he began to return to his own lane. It was too late however, and there was contact. Happily it was a glancing blow and not a head-on collision. The only good thing about this was there were no injuries.

The police told my co-worker there were four other accidents in the same area at about the same time and the same driver is the suspected cause of them all. Lovely. In asking more questions, I realised I had misunderstood the extent of the damage. When I hear ‘side-swipe,’ I think of a very low angle impact with the two cars basically bouncing off each other, and causing all sorts of sheet-metal damage. This was not the case however. The only point of impact was her side-mirror. It was torn completely off its mounting, though the cables leading to it were left intact. With the cables having survived, the momentum of the collision threw the mirror housing backwards, and into the driver-side window, which shattered instantly.

I have no doubt there will be some paint-work required, but the side of the car is not mangled. The last I heard, the police caught the driver so here’s hoping his insurance pays for the damage. The real fly in the ointment is my co-worker’s car is not even a year old!