My First Car Accident

It was this most recent New Year’s Eve and I was attempting to find a parking space at the downtown Auburn plaza to watch the fireworks they were hosting for the celebration of the new year. I was in the first set of parking lots and it had looked like there was an empty spot on the end of the aisle, so I drove down to the end to pull into the spot. As I approached the spot and began to pull into that spot I noticed it was a handicapped spot, so I decided rather than parking in the spot anyway that I should find a new spot. I had not barely begun to pull into the spot so I just turned the wheel all the way to the right and pulled into the turn around area. I put the car into reverse and then started backing into the handicapped spot so I could fully turn around and head into the next parking lot. As I was backing into the spot I hit a small patch of ice and it caused me to slide into the spot faster than I had originally thought. I tried to stop the slide, but I didn’t react quite quick enough as I slid into the car in the spot next to the handicapped spot. I pulled off to the side of the parking lot aisle and left a note with my name, phone number, and short message saying that I had hit their car. I easily could’ve left the scene as no one was around and I wouldn’t have had to face any repercussions. Instead, I chose to leave the note and to report the accident to the on-duty police tent at the event. I had to fill out a few small sheets of paper and I had to supply my insurance card to the officer. The damage was minimal and overall I was lucky that my first accident didn’t end worse. It made me feel like I had done the right thing in leaving the note and alerting the on-duty officers to the accident because I know I would’ve been upset if someone hit my car and driven off completely. I learned through the accident that you can never be too careful or too aware of your surroundings. I also learned that going slow and not rushing can be a very critical thing especially while operating a motor vehicle.

Photo by perthhdproductions on Foter.com / CC BY