For the first time in a while, I find myself inspired to write an issue-related blog. Maybe my inspiration stems from the time of day, or maybe it's the fact that I've been running again lately, but most likely it's the events that went down earlier tonight. Here's the back story.
I was coming home from work in rush hour traffic in the Mercedes-Benz that I've been thinking of selling for a while now. It was that perfect time of night when the sun is below the horizon and the golden hour is long past, when the west side of the sky shows the last hints of daylight, and its just possible to make out the beginnings of stars and constellations in the east. It's a brief part of the day and lately, now that the nights are getting longer, it has coincided with the first part of my drive home. It didn't take long for the monotony of brake lights and droning gasoline engines to bore me, and, as it always does, my mind began to wonder. I began scanning the stars ahead and trying to pick out familiar formations. I thought about the different models of solar systems, and wondered what it would be like to live in a binary star system. I marveled briefly at the fact that subtracting a negative number is identical to adding a positive one not only computationally but in every fundamental sense. As my mind continued to wind a weaving path through a vast field of loosely-related topics, my attention abruptly shifted to a pair of bright red tail lights that were quickly approaching the front of my car.
The brakes engaged as soon as I stomped the pedal, but over such a short distance they were useless. My Mercedes slammed into the car in front of me and stalled. Damn. I had caused my first traffic accident. And without insurance. I drove insured for seven accident-free years, and after a mere three months of driving uninsured, I slammed my car into some poor woman's bumper. Brilliant. Things were not looking good and for a split second I tried to change the situation through will power alone, but unfortunately I found myself still sitting behind the wheel, an orange Scion painfully close to my grille.
I turned my flashers on and got out to be sure the other driver was alright. She said she was fine and wanted to get my information. Over the next twenty minutes we moved our cars onto a side street, swapped information, and called AAA and her boyfriend. She said she didn't really know what else to do and asked me if we should call the police. I told her that we probably should, but that I didn't have insurance and would really appreciate it if we didn't. Of course I realized even as I was speaking that I sounded like a tool, so I quickly added that if she wanted to file a report then that's what we should do. She called the police and they said that they wouldn't come to the scene or write a report because nobody was injured. I felt relieved at that, since it meant I would almost certainly not get a citation for reckless driving or driving uninsured, but I saw her eyes fall at the thought that she might never hear from me about it again. I assured her that I would do whatever I needed to make the situation right, and she told me that she would report it to her insurance to see if they would cover it. I offered to give her the little bit of cash that I had with me as a sign of good-faith and she hesitantly took it, and we went our separate ways -- her in a slightly damaged Scion, and me in a tow truck courtesy of AAA.
So now I'm sitting up at 12:36am feeling contemplative and pondering deeper issues about responsibility, morality, and priorities. Needless to say, I've been thinking a lot about the accident and the financial implications that it will have for me. I decided to look into California's traffic laws to see if I'm legally responsible for the crash or not. There was no report, and aside from some smashed up cars no real evidence of the event. I wondered if her insurance would cover it, and how much of a deductible she would have to pay. I thought about a lot of legalistic things and ways for me to make the best of the situation, and then I did something that always opens my eyes -- I thought about how I would feel if the roles were reversed.
That was a very long introduction to,
Follow the Law or Follow Your Heart?
Everyone probably has some ideas about how they would feel in that situation, and I imagine that all of our ideas run along the same lines. I decided that I wasn't going to bother looking further into what the laws are but that I would man up and make it right by Stacy, the other driver, like I said I would.
I really believe that I'm doing what's right in this situation, but my line of thinking raises some interesting questions that are applicable in areas far outside of traffic accidents. In particular, if you unintentionally cause someone trouble or inconvenience, is it best to accept whatever responsibility the law says you should? Or is it better to use your own judgment and try to make things right? The reason that a law exists in the first place is to have some standard of responsibility.
For example, in Michigan there is a no-fault policy for traffic accidents such that if you are involved in an accident you (and your insurance) only have to pay for the damages to your own person and property. There is good reason for this policy in that it helps to avoid finger pointing and fighting, and reduces court costs for all parties involved including the state. But this system has the distinct disadvantage that when one person is clearly at fault the other person is screwed.
If we aren't satisfied with the laws and regulations that are in place, it's tempting to say that we should look to our own sense of duty for guidance. But it's pretty obvious that different people would have different ideas about how much responsibility they should take when they cause trouble. I know plenty of people who would quickly walk away leaving their victim completely out of luck before they would accept any responsibility for their own actions.
Right now it seems tempting for me to say that the best bet is to stick to the law as a bare minimum standard, and to use our own judgment only when it means going above and beyond, and giving more than is required. For example, I have a friend who was on a bicycle and rode out in front of a car without looking. His bike was totaled and the car sustained some damage. The accident was entirely my friend's fault just as tonight's accident was entirely my fault. But instead of owning up and trying to make things right, my friend wanted, if possible, to get the driver's insurance to pay for his broken bike. This is a perfect example of why we can't rely solely on people to use honest judgment.
But what about situations where there is no law or standard? What do we do then? What if a well-intentioned person is performing a random act of kindness that goes wrong and injures someone? Should he take responsibility in that situation? These are the kinds of tough situations that we unfortunately find ourselves in sometimes, and I encourage you to think about them in advance because careful advanced thinking sometimes leads to the kinds of good choices that might be pushed aside in the heat of the moment.
As a final thought, I've come to terms with the fact that this whole ordeal is probably going to cost me hundreds of bucks, and I'm not too hung up on it, because like everything else in life, it's a learning experience. But I'm having a hard time with the fact that a few hundred dollars could make a huge difference in a lot of places in this world by providing food or health care to people who really need it whereas a repainted bumper, while it is my responsibility, is quite honestly a luxury that any of us could probably do without. Maybe I'll think of a tactful way of bringing that up to Stacy and see what she says. Tactful might be hard in that situation, but I hate to think that I could be passing up an opportunity to do something really meaningful with a near stranger just because I was too afraid to open my mouth. And after all, saying what I mean is on my list of New Years Resolutions.
I'd love to hear what you all think about any of the ideas discussed here, so feel free to post any thoughts or ideas as comments.
love, Joshy Woshy
