1 post tagged “damage”
It all happened a week ago today, but now is the first time I've really felt like telling anyone about it, though Philippa mentioned it the other day...
What is "it"? Well, my poor beloved Volvo T5, which after having been off the road until Christmas for a considerable (and very expensive) time having its gearbox rebuilt, ended up in a 5ft ditch just a couple of minutes from home. I was driving back from Cirencester at about 10pm on a very wet and windy evening along a relatively fast and open country road, when a fox ran out across my path. Of course I did what anyone instinctively does (and immediately regrets) - hit the brakes to try to avoid the animal. This caused a skid, a 180 degree spin, and a long slide backwards into the said ditch, which was fortunately and unusually at the moment empty of water.
The car ended up on its side with my hanging by my seat belt, luckily without a scratch or bruise on me - I now recognise the benefits of Volvos with greater clarity than ever before! After a moment to compose myself, and feeling utterly foolish, I clambered vertically out of the drivers window (which was still working thankfully), I phoned Philippa who collected me (having woken and put all four kids in the car). After a call to the Police to warn them, and then to the Insurance company, the car was recovered sometime around Midnight. In the dark, it didn't look too bad, some scratches and dents, but eminently driveable....
However, I've just heard today that it is an insurance write-off, which surprises me a little, but is perhaps the best thing in the long run. I've just been to collect the bits and pieces out of the car, and to be honest, the damage looks a lot worse in the daylight, though still not as bad as it could have been. As I mentioned above, the very intense and prolonged rainfall in the Cotswolds this winter has left a lot of the fields and ditches full of water, and a plunge into a 5ft water-filled channel would not have been fun. Also, there are over 200 lakes within 15 miles of our home, and a slide into one of those does not bear thinking about... Given the Volvo has very heavy doors and electric windows, this has made me consider how we would escape if myself and the family were to have a worse accident, a very frightening thought indeed. As a first pass I am going to look into a glass hammer/seatbelt cutter tool for both cars, but I am sure there is more to be done.
As for what we do next car-wise, I think it will either be another V70 7-seater (though perhaps a diesel) or a smaller MPV than Philippa's Grand Espace, but we shall see. Any suggestions would be very welcome!
