Car incidents and accidents

Today as Elise was getting out of the car at school, and as I was slightly distracted, the car next to us backed out. But the driver had some kind of coordination lapse and made contact with the open door and... kept right on going! The driver was oblivious to the door, the toddler behind it and likely anything she couldn't see out of her rear view mirror. With some wild gesticulation and coarse language, I managed to get her to stop and she got out, an odd smile on her face. I pointed out the red stripe and scratch half the length of her car left by our car door. She kind of laughed and said, "Yes, Ok" then got in her car and drove off. I think her English was weak so I don't think she got my sarcastic comments about her driving abilities.

This keeps happening here. And sometimes it is much worse. Another day not long ago. I was driving through campus and traffic was stopped due to a downed power line. A crew had just hit the scene and I was second from the front of a line of stopped cars. The small pickup stopped ahead of me was several car lengths into the work zone and started to reverse. Faster, faster, faster straight at me. Soon it was obvious she was going to hit me. I leaned on the horn and she hit the brakes, almost stopping beofre hitting my front grill. Almost, but not quite. I got out and once again brought out my trademark irritated sarcasm. Something like, "nice driving" or " way to spaz-out behind the wheel". The woman was about 60 with crazy messy hair and a soft southern voice. Why was I not surprised that she was driving a pick-up, everyone drives one here. She said, "I touched you some but there's no damage". Her car was still wedged against mine and I pointed out that she couldn't possibly know this. She said, "I'm very sensitive and I can tell these things" To add further to my irritation, she was right and only after she was on her way did I come to the conclusion that she was either drunk or high, or both.

But the cream of the crop of the ATL driving follies was the sideswipe perpetrated by the dirtbag. A tailgater who I irritated by driving progressively more slowly. I have grown out of the slam-on-the-brakes tactic, though I do miss the panic on their faces when they think they're going to hit you. Anyway, this fine citizen passed me but not before taking off my front fender in a crazy swerve toward me as he passed. I think it was unintentional but in any case he ran for it. I caught up to him at the next light but he darted down a sidestreet at about 60 miles an hour. As they say, I broke off the pursuit and reported the accident and his "tag". The officer checked but the tag turned out to be invalid so it cost me some money. I did get a trip to the Dekalb County courthouse and police station where I got to ride the elevator with some colourful individuals. "They say I got two B and Es but I ain't got but one!"

Gudrun and I are sure there will be in another accident. It is just a matter of time. The driving here is a different type of bad from Vancouver. There they are usually incompetent or aggressive, not usually both. Here they put it all together. We're bad, we're mad (and also we're proud, and loud) and we're gonna get you and your little girly Mitsubishi Lancer.