Oversized Bumper Cars -- not so much fun it turns out

[greyias]

So, I was planning on making a very thought provoking post about Amazon-Fail, censorship (intentional or not), and how to make a proper apology (ie: "I am sorry. I am so sorry, we did not mean for this to happen. Please accept our apology as we attempt to fix this" over "It's a glitch, just hold on and it'll be fixed. Gawd.")

Sadly, those plans were cut short by being granted the opportunity to share with everyone yet another fun-filled car story, this time with direct involvement!

Not-so-long-story-short: I am fine.

Actually, it's not a very long, complicated, or nearly as hilarious of a story as the last one I was able to share with everyone. Basically I got invited, by the front bumper of another car, to join in a very minor traffic snare on my commute home this evening. I've been embellishing a little and calling it a "four car pile-up", but that's probably unfair, because there was very little piling involved. More like a slow-paced, domino effect of one car bumping the other, and with me at the front end of the train. Long story short, as it usually happens someone couldn't stop in time and slammed into the car in front of her, and that person hit the one in front of it, which was bumped forward and would have missed me had the driver behind me... not stepped on his gas?

Yeah, luck of the Irish, right?

Welcome home, Grey, we've missed you--*CRUNCH*

I was moving at a low-speed though, the person behind me wasn't going very fast either, so it felt more like a bump on my end than a full-on collision. Luckily, I leave an obscene amount of space in front of me usually, so the game of bumper cars ended with me. Since there were so many cars involved, we did have to wait for the police to come (and the obligatory tow-truck brigade... and the ambulance that I couldn't figure out if any of the other cars needed... and a few members of the toll road authority... for a second I thought a fire truck was going to join in, but it passed us up.)

Rather uneventful after that, as it was mostly waiting for the police report to be written. Other than a dent in my trunk and some scuffing on my bumper, my car is fine -- and I'm feeling no ill-effects myself. So for an unexpected afternoon full of bumper cars, I think I got off pretty easy!

Comments

[fic-kitty.livejournal.com]

Horaaaaaay crumple zones!

Though rly a bumper can't even quite be considered a crumple zone. Maybe more like a crumple... area? A crumple spot?

Glad you're well and have gotten a funny story out of it :P

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Well, it's nowhere nearly as amusing as my last car story. And I swear, my bumpers hardly get any damage, or at least they just hide it well.

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

Meep! Glad you came out of it okay and your car mostly so, and here's hoping you don't have a lot of hassle dealing with any aftermath. That sort of stuff is supposed to happen before the vacation!

And you're so right about Amazon. Watching that unfold has been interesting. I've been speculating astroturfing myself, and thinking that Amazon's extensive automation and offshoring were going to bite them some day anyway, but wow have they ever not been helping themselves here.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

That sort of stuff is supposed to happen before the vacation!

I know, right? Although, it's probably a testament to the vacation that I'm hardly frazzled about the whole thing. (Although having no liability really does help out in that area.)

but wow have they ever not been helping themselves here.

I know. How freaking hard is it to issue an actual apology with something along the lines of saying that they understand how it appeared to the public, but their intention was never to hurt anyone and they are sorry for that? I mean really. Right now as a consumer, that's why I want to hear. While I do want to know the mechanics of why a mistake occurred, it's more important to me to know that they're sorry this happened and they're sorry for the pain it has caused. *sigh*

[sgatazmy.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you're safe and not injured. Welcome back!

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Thank you! As far as car accidents go, it was minor, so that's a relief.

[trystings.livejournal.com]

Glad you're okay and glad you're back and good for you to leave insane amounts of room between you and the car in front of you. That will save you a lot of hassle in this case. How was your trip?? (I'm browsing backwards on my flist, if you've already posted a 1000 word entry with pictures of leprechauns, ignore me)

[greyias.livejournal.com]

I've been accused of driving like a grandma by some people, but I'm really glad in this case it worked out in my favor.

The trip was good! I'm trying to pretend I'm not scribbling furiously on some stories with upcoming deadlines, but once those are done I'll probably have a few picspam posts to show everyone the pretteh! :D (And how was yours? Are you back yet?)

[trystings.livejournal.com]

I'm flying back on Friday (and my books still haven't arrived *sigh*). But I will be back in time for the genficathon, so that's a silver lining. And there's a handmeme waiting for me! :)

[friendshipper.livejournal.com]

Yikes! Glad you're not hurt. D:

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It definitely could've been worse, so I'm not complaining. (Well, much.)

[amalthia]

I'm glad no one was hurt.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Me too. I've seen some really bad accidents on the freeways here, so it could have easily been much, much worse. I think this is one case where the snail's pace of Houston rush hour worked in my favor.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

Eep, glad it wasn't too serious. Real cars do not make good bumper cars.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Sadly, they do not.

[gnine.livejournal.com]

*ack*!! Glad no one was hurt and it was just a bump. Been in rear endings three times, and they are NEVER fun, cause there's just nothing you can do about 'em. I leave obscene amounts of space in front of me as well, but there's no way to control those behind you, ne? *sigh* But glad you're all right! *huggles*

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *hugs* I think the most frustrating thing about being rear-ended is that almost never are they something you can avoid (unless you're slamming on your brakes at inappropriate times). But the good news is that you're not liable for them.

[leesa_perrie]

*hugs* Glad you're okay and the car isn't trashed. I try to leave lots of space myself as well - it's always a good idea!

[greyias.livejournal.com]

It really is a good plan. I'm probably leaving even more space now than I was before, but I'm sure I'll relax soon enough.

[aelfgyfu_mead]

Sorry to hear about that! I'm glad you're okay, but it's a hassle at minimum.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Thank you! It is a hassle as it seems I have to deal with the other insurance companies... but at least mine is doing most of the legwork.

[twit1217.livejournal.com]

Holy cow. When you mentioned traffic snarl yesterday, I didn't imagine this. Due to the road construction in front of my office, I was thinking there was some kind of street repair going on or water main break that slowed traffic.

Glad you're okay. Ooooh, dent in the new car? That sucks.

I'm the same way about obscene amount of space in front of me. The vehicle behind me usually makes up for that though and is on my ass. And, no, it's not just my somewhat faulty depth perception. My sister's is fine and she's noticed it, too.

What's the deal with Amazon? I feel so out of the loop.

[greyias.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the dent sucks, but it seems like the only damage is cosmetic, so that's nice. I hate dealing with the insurance company though, because it's very clear how much of an accident n00b I am.

And Amazon... this article (http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=135967) has a nice recap that's actually accurate on the facts. (A lot are misreporting it as a hack attempt.) Basically a cataloging error stripped a lot of books of their sales ranks, which in turn removed them from search results and other things. A lot of books were affected, but the most glaring were the thousands of GLBT titles that were basically made invisible. (And the one that really pissed me off, when you ran a search on "homosexuality", it brought up a list of books on how to "deprogram your gay children", and nothing else for pages.) And throughout everything, Amazon remained silent, and didn't try to address anyone's concerns, which made them look more guilty.

The most they've offered as an apology is the statement: "This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection." Which is not an apology. (But I'm trying to contain a rant in the comments section. I'm really... disgruntled to put it midly.)