How to Prepare for a Motor Vehicle Accident (MVA a.k.a. car wreck)

Today’s post is truly not one that was planned nor is it on time. Honestly, I wasn’t going to write it, but this is NaNoWriMo. For the first time in forever, I was on target and doing well. Then the weekend came along with a holiday, and I sort of slacked a little. Okay, not a little. A lot. But I told myself that I would get back on track for the new week. It was a gorgeous morning, although, what some may call “chilly” but what I “cold.” The sun was brilliant, a huge orb larger than normal it seemed. I know it wasn’t really, but I was driving into it rising. It was blinding and remember thinking that I hadn’t seen a sunrise light in a long time. And that was right before everything went to the toilet.

I stop for a bit of light breakfast for my morning commute. I flubbed my order for some reason. I don’t know where my head was when I ordered, and my thought was “how odd.” I hoped that it would be like any other day and the cook would get it wrong. Wouldn’t you know, this day was the day the cook decided to get it just as I ordered? But not all of my order was ready when I pulled to the pickup window, and I had to pull up to the next window (the wait window). After five minutes, I began to wonder what in the world was taking so long to prepare a frappe. Well, I’ll tell you what. Ten minutes later, a server informs me that the ice machine has frozen, and they were attempting to unjam it. My options were to order something else or get a refund. Looking at the time and knowing I likely would be late at this point, I opted for a refund. After a few more minutes, I was back on my way. Well, sort of. I pull to the end of the parking lot, make my turn, and stop at the stop sign. A few feet away, maybe twenty feet, I stop at a stop light. The brilliant sun is now to my left, and I would have to turn back into it to continue my journey. I get a green turn arrow and begin and then stop. Wham! In an instant, life changed.

I felt the impact. Heard it. And maybe my peripheral vision even saw it. I both knew what happened and didn’t simultaneously. My instincts jumped. Cut off the engine. Crawl over. Get out. My mind did not register that the airbags had been deployed. All I knew was that I couldn’t see out those windows. The sun was no longer bright. I knew a vehicle was crushing my door. Although dozens of thoughts were all coming at me—and it’s amazing how the mind can process so much input and output at once—I knew what I needed to do—exit. I didn’t feel pain or blood. Go. I knew to move quickly in case the car ignited. A reached for the door. Locked. I pushed the power locks and heard it click. I pushed at the door. Locked. A man appeared. He was distressed and apologizing. “Are you hurt? An ambulance is on the way.” I pushed at the door again. Still locked. I inform him that I can’t get out. He yanked on the door, but it didn’t budge. And that is when the panic hit. I’m trapped. A full-body tremble rushed through me. My hands were shaking. I grabbed my phone which had fallen to the floor. My thoughts flew to my child. The words in my head were, “I have to call my baby. I have to tell her I love her.” Now, my child isn’t exactly a baby, but as all parents know, it doesn’t matter how old your child is. He/she will always be your baby. The rational part of my brain that I was okay and would get out hadn’t kicked in. My main concern at that moment was if I didn’t survive, I wanted my last words to be reassuring to my child. Though my hands were shaking uncontrollably, my voice was calm and steady. Leave a message. I love you.

The police arrived on the scene, and it was a repeat of earlier—them asking if I was injured and me explaining that I was trapped inside. They yanked and tugged on all of the doors. I don’t know how long it was before it was pried open. Now, anyone who knows me knows I have a wicked sense of humor. I found nothing funny at the moment, but in hindsight, my thoughts were oddly comical. I recall watching the police putting all their muscle into getting the doors open and thinking that a carjacker would have opened it in a few seconds. Sometimes, crime does pay.

“Are you hurt, baby?” One of the officers who was very easy on the eyes asked. Gosh, I adore southern gentlemen.

“No, sir,” I replied. “It just scared me, and I need a minute.”

“I’m so sorry,” the driver said.

I’m not sure if I answered him. I think I did. I wanted to. But when I crawled out into that cold air, I was slightly dizzy. My thoughts, although slowing, still whirled. It’s alright. I’m okay. I know it was an accident. However, I’m uncertain if those words made it from my brain to my mouth. I certainly hope so. But my mind had already moved to my next panic. I’m not at home. There were no buses, taxis, car rentals, or Ubers. I was stranded hundreds of miles from home in this small town. I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the area, and I knew there was nothing. The closest car rentals stated that I was too far away for a drop-off, and the towing company couldn’t drive me home. And this is what prompted me to write this post. I know how to prepare for hurricanes and tornado safety. But a car accident away from home has never been on my radar. I began to wonder if there was some way to prepare because my insurance company basically said there was nothing that they could do about me being stranded other than give me the rental car company and see if I could arrange something with them. To me, this was unacceptable, and if there is ever a “next time.” I want to have a solid game plan in place. So, I set out to research some things a person can do to help be prepared for a motor vehicle accident.

Remain calm. Of course, this isn’t something that can be packed and stored away in the truck or the backseat. However, there are exercises and breathing techniques that a person can learn to help remain calm during a crisis.Emergency roadside kit. Although the emergency roadside kit in my car couldn’t help me in my situation, I couldn’t get to it anyway. It was in the trunk. And in hindsight, I may could have pulled down the backseat and tried to go out the trunk by using the emergency pull, but I had luggage in my trunk. There was no guarantee that I could have gotten to it.Portable phone charger and accessories. I was lucky to be taken to a police station where I had access to outlets. However, once I had exited my car, a chain of events happened. I had to phone the insurance company, various car rental places, my employer, and family (who were all out of pocket which is why I had to call more than one), plus use the internet to search for phone numbers and locations. My phone battery quickly drained. It did not occur to me until after my car had been towed that I had failed to collect my charger cord and plug from the car. Fortunately, I carry an extra cord and a portable charger in my backpack which I did have. Thus, had I not had an outlet available, I still would have been able to charge my phone.Specific contact list. The beauty of cell phones is that they are mini-computers that can store lots of information. I didn’t think to have my insurance company phone number programmed into my contact list and to type the policy number into the note section. Also, many rental companies have toll-free numbers. Instead of spending time searching for numbers, it’s beneficial to have them handy. Yes, most insurance companies will handle this but maybe only to a certain extent. As my insurance agent said to me (and he was polite about it), it would be up to me to secure transportation from the accident scene to the nearest rental which was over eighty miles from where I was. My efforts were in vain, but I had to try at least.Overnight travel bag with essentials. In one of the worst-case scenarios, I would have had to remain in the town where the accident occurred overnight. There were a few nice hotels in the area. Having a fresh change of clothing and toiletries would have been useful. Yes, some hotels provide items such as shampoos, soaps, and lotions. But not all provide toothbrushes, toothpaste, and/or deodorant, razors, etc. And yes again, these items can be purchased from dollar stores in the area. The issue may be getting to said dollar stores or items being in stock. Several months ago, I was in a dollar store and there wasn’t a deodorant on the shelves. The worker claimed delivery shortage, but it’s more likely the items hadn’t been put on the shelves from the stock room due to an employee shortage. In any case, the item wasn’t available.Blanket. This is a good item to have in the car even if you aren’t involved in an MVA. If your car breaks down or a road is obstructed, you can save gas by shutting off the engine and bundling up. Also, if for some reason you need to get on the ground (perhaps to look under the car or change a tire, a blanket can be the barrier between you and the ground.Flashlight and flares. If you have an emergency kit, you’re probably all set with this. If not, these items are readily available to be purchased separately. These are a must for night travel.Car windshield breaker and seatbelt cutter. Yes, these are actual extrication tools, and surprisingly, they aren’t super expensive.Emotional readiness. MVAs can be very stressful. I have found it to be one of the worse experiences in my life. After the initial shock, then came all the tedious and dreadful adulting. While I was emotionally rattled, the insurance company was looking at the bottom line. First, they dragged their feet and didn’t send an adjuster until three days later. And on the third day, in the middle of the afternoon, I was informed that I had to return the rental by Monday. In layman’s terms, I had less than 72 hours (because most dealerships are closed on Sunday and aren’t open 24-7) to find and purchase a new vehicle. This significantly inhibited my ability to comparison shop and/or financing options. It was an additional shock of being put in a position of playing beat the clock. With the initial adrenaline rush fading, my body began to feel minor aches and pains. However, emotionally, the impact of reality hit hard. The brief seconds of the car collision were over but the emotional rollercoaster of the aftermath was just beginning. Be ready for life to toss you plenty of curves.

Now, it’s your turn to chime in. What did you think? What is your take on the subject? Do you agree or disagree? Did you find this information helpful or informative? Did you learn anything new, or did it change your opinion? Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Also, let me know if you would like me to cover more of these types of topics or dive deeper into this one. If you like this post, please click the like button and share it. Your feedback allows me to know the content that you want to read. If you’re not following me on Creole Bayou blog, what are you waiting for? There’s always room at the bayou.

Get ready. It’s almost time to hit the ice again. Future Goals Coming soon.

When a college hockey player needs the help of an attractive older attorney, he gets more than he bargained for when trying to sort out the troubles in his career. Falling in love was never part of either man’s plan, especially as Corrigan’s and Sacha’s lives should never have collided. Now they’re left questioning if they’re standing in the way of the other’s future goals, or if there’s room for redirection.

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