Since my automobile accident, I’ve received two odd pieces of mail. One was from a person claiming to be part of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (Automobile Accident Division, no less). However, a quick Google search determined this individual has no connection whatsoever to the MN Dept. of Public Safety. The second missive titled, “WhyHaven’t People who’ve had a Car Wreck Been Told These Facts?” turned out to be from a chiropractor’s office.
Like nearly everyone, I’ve had one or two auto accidents in my life, but I’ve never experienced people chasing business due to someone’s misfortune. They used to be called “ambulance chasers” and the term normally applied to lawyers.
Everyone involved in the accident walked away with no injuries, in fact, we drove our respective vehicles home. Both pieces appeared under the guise of informing people of their “rights” or the “facts”. They left me with one question: Is it possible for people who walk away from an automobile accident start to believe they do have injuries once solicitations like these start showing up in the mail box? One hopes not, but I have my suspicions.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
Accidents Suck
There’s no denying automobile accidents suck, even more so when you’re at fault. That was me last week. I tried putting myself in the shoes of the victim, who was understandably angry at the woman who’d inadvertently run a red light and hit her. Inadvertent or not, I’d still hit her. If I were her, I would have been just as angry and shaken up, but the mistakes that led to the accident haunt me, even though everyone walked away with nothing more serious than bumps and bruises.
Then I heard something over the weekend that gave me some perspective. Even in the worst situations we can look for two things - blessings and challenges. On the surface all I could focus on was how my mistake had screwed up people’s lives (mine includead), for a several days at least. This sentiment allowed me to take stock of the accident. The blessings were obviously no one being seriously injured or worse; the challenges making sure such an accident doesn’t happen to me again.
Accidents still suck, but I’m hopeful I can take this experience and learn from it in a positive way.
Then I heard something over the weekend that gave me some perspective. Even in the worst situations we can look for two things - blessings and challenges. On the surface all I could focus on was how my mistake had screwed up people’s lives (mine includead), for a several days at least. This sentiment allowed me to take stock of the accident. The blessings were obviously no one being seriously injured or worse; the challenges making sure such an accident doesn’t happen to me again.
Accidents still suck, but I’m hopeful I can take this experience and learn from it in a positive way.
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