Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[jack]

Beware the ides of March, or something like that. Been hit twice in my Prius today, both times when I was quite stationary. The first time was this morning, as I waited for the light on Connecticut at Van Ness to change. Bang! The car behind me whacked right into me. This was a Salvadorean diplomat's driver, and he was evidently paying more attention to his cellphone conversation (yes, hands-free) than to his Cadillac.

No damage that time. But this evening, as I sat in a metered parking spot on the circle in front of Union Station, waiting for my wife to arrive, a van pulled into the space in front of me -- SCRAPE! There's a law against pulling into a parking space going forward, instead of backing in, and maybe this is the reason.

Twice in one day. I must have offended somebody. Fact is, I was planning to take my Prius in pretty soon anyway, to fix up the numerous dings and scratches garnered in 10 years in the city. Guess I'm glad this happened just before I had that work done, and not just afterwards. Yes, I've found a good body shop, a place that just did a nice job on Emily's RAV.

-- Jack

[jack]

Estimate for repair is $1100. The driver of the minivan admitted responsibility, so his insurance company is covering it. Presumably his van took some damage too. Pretty hefty bill for a moment's carelessness, diving into a parking space without realizing how close he was to a parked car.
-- Jack

[jack]

This is crazy. Yesterday Emily got hit, as she was stopped, stationary, on Connecticut Avenue, waiting for traffic ahead to clear. A Lexus rear-ended her, and hard, the back door of her RAV now being dented by the attempt to shove the spare tire through it.

That's three collisions, in three weeks, each time with our vehicle being perfectly stationary, a sitting duck for oncoming drivers who seem to be unable to avoid plowing into stopped cars. Why have our cars suddenly become collision magnets?

I found the Cherner Collision Center, 5013 Georgia Ave NW, convenient and capable. It's even a walkable distance from Mount Pleasant, a straight shot out Piney Branch Parkway and Arkansas Avenue.

-- Jack

[Bill]

They say "three's a charm"...or "it comes in three's!". Pick one. There's a 3rd one. Red cars are more prone to accidents.