Another reason the DMV sucks

A few of you may remember the car accident I was in last May.

If you weren't a reader then, or need a refresher >>click here<<.

Like all accidents, I was hoping to be grateful no one was hurt, get the car fixed and put it behind me. Which was even easier to do because it was not my fault and the other guys insurance covered everything.

However, 9 months after the incident, it is coming back to haunt me.

I did some searches recently to find out why I kept seeing stacks of money with eyes staring me down, and if the Progressive web site really had a spunky brunette with a headband (who I'm pretty sure also does yoga on a Glade commercial) who really could make me feel great about buying new car insurance online.

At first I was in disbelief to find out that by switching to one of several different companies I could cut my current premium of $170/mo almost in half to about $90/mo.

I went with Allstate. Partly because I had Allstate before and liked them, and partly because they e-mailed me instead of calling me at home like I had requested in the search process.

So sorry State Farm. You lost out for no other reason than that you made the mistake of trying to talk to me in person. (I hate that).

And I proabably have to admit that I like the Allstate commercials better than any of the others. After I got to know and like the US President from "24" and he became the face of Allstate, how could I not feel like I was in good hands?

Through a process of about 20 e-mails with my local Allstate agent we got the all of the policy preliminiaries out of the way, which included a driving record check.

I had been honest about the fact that I was in an accident last spring, but was not at fault.

However, that's not what my driving record says.

According to my DMV record I was listed AT FAULT for the accident.

Which if true, doesn't explain why the cop at the scene told me he was citing the other guy and why the other driver's insurance paid for all of my repairs.

This one little clerical error, as the agent told me, changed my quote from $90/mo. to $190/mo.

So I am off to the courthouse today to get a copy of the police report, which I then have to take to the DMV to appeal to have my record changed.

My agent can change me back to the original rate if she has a copy of the police report too.

Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can resolve this with as little violence as possible.

I would really hate to get so frustrated about this that I start to road rage and actually cause an accident that would be my fault.

One Hundred Years Ago

Just in case you were wondering, or want to be blown away, here are some statistics from the year 1909:

.

The 1909 Packard

The average life expectancy was 47 years.

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bathtub.

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone.

There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles

Of paved roads.

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph.

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower!

The average wage in 1909 was 22 cents per hour.

The average worker made between $200 and $400 per year .

A competent accountant could expect to earn $2000 per year, A dentist $2,500 per year, a

veterinarian between $1,500 and $4,000 per year, and a mechanical engineer about $5,000 per year.

More than 95 percent of all births took place at HOME .

Ninety percent of all doctors had NO COLLEGE EDUCATION!

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which Were condemned in the press AND the government as 'substandard. '

Sugar cost four cents a pound.

Eggs were fourteen cents a dozen.

Coffee was fifteen cents a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from Entering into their country for any reason.

Five leading causes of death were: 1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas , Nevada, was only 30!!!!

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and ice tea

Hadn't been invented yet.

There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.

Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at the local corner drugstores.

Back then pharmacists said, 'Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind,regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health'

( Shocking? DUH! )

Eighteen percent of households had at least One full-time servant or domestic help.

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE ! U.S.A. !

And I was able to copy this whole thing without typing it myself. From here, it can be viewed by others all over the WORLD - all in a matter of seconds!

Crazy, huh?

I wonder what things will be like in another 100 years.

Oh, @#$%!!

I'm pretty good about not cursing in front of my boys. Really, I am.

But I think there are some occasions when a swear word or two is forgiveable.

I had one of those when T and I were driving home yesterday.

We were less than a mile away from home, (isn't that where all accidents happen?), going straight, when a little green jetta pulled right out in front of us.

I slammed on the brakes and uttered an expletive that would otherwise never cross my lips when in the company of, well, pretty much anyone, except maybe Chris.

Little Green Jetta saw me coming and tried to accelerate out of my trajectory. While this was the smartest course of action at that point, given that I would have fully broadsided him otherwise, it nevertheless failed to remove him completely from my path in time to save our vehicles from a collision course and thereby any damage.

Gratefully, no one was injured. And, surprisingly the airbags didn't even deploy. Probably because the impact point was on the corner of the car rather than directly in front.

Little Green Jetta took about the same amount of damage, but we have yet to see who gets the bigger repair bill.

Gratefully again, Little Green Jetta was insured and completely accountable for the accident.

It was a nice afternoon and several locals were outside enjoying the day, so we had several witnesses, as well as helpful bystanders who made the call to 911 and assisted us in trading information.

Really, it sucked to be in the accident, but it could have been a $%## of a lot worse.

*Grandma, if you see this, we really are okay. No one got so much as a bruise or a scratch. So don't worry.

-Della