Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Urgently in need of reverse handling and parking skills



The one thing I have not practiced that much is car reverse handling, a very important skill for parking. No wonder I panic at the thought of busy parking lots or taking my car to the city center. On my defense I can say that I have been busy learning to drive forward at slow traffic and in highways, and getting rid of my fear of driving overall. Hey I have to give myself some credit.

So what happened?. While trying to get out from my parking spot I hit the car parked next to me, yes I did see I was driving too close, I stopped, got out the car, looked from the outside, my car was very close to the other parked car and all I wanted to do is call somebody to help me get my car out of that position because I did not know how to. Well, I tried on my own unsuccessfully but now I think have a better idea how I should have done it, but not back then. I will practice with some cones in an empty parking lot this weekend, and I hope I will not get into incidents like this again.

The damage. I got few scratches on the bumper of my brand new Nissan Micra, and a minor one on the car next to me. Only minor visual damage, sad nevertheless. It happened after only 200 km driven :(

The cost. Insurance is paying mostly for all repairs on my car and the one I damaged, I have to pay 180€  and my insurance bonuses got reduced, which means I will have to pay more on car insurance this year. Well on a bright note, I did not think I had any bonuses to begin with. They cannot go in the negative, can’t they?

What happened after the parking incident. It was quite dark so I could not see the damage that well there, I took the license plates of the car I damaged, drove home, actually it was a more calmly feeling than in the morning trip to the office (judging by my heart rate log). Once at home I investigated the contact details of the owner of the car, and informed him about the incident.

Comments from my husband. Tell the insurance you will repair your bumper later, most likely you will get more scratches, sight!. And here you have two lego cars, one with front wheel driving, the other one with fixed wheels, observe what happens when you reverse and plan accordingly. Keep them on your car. As embarrassing as that sounds it can be very helpful, I think I am taking those cars to my parking lot practice this weekend.

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