Taking Responsibility Is Really Hard

I rear ended a car last Saturday.  I was exiting the freeway, turning right into Telegraph Canyon Road East.  It is a route I take every single day to get home.  Here is the scenario; I am the red x following a car as shown in the picture.  We are turning right from a 2-lane street into a 3-lane street so basically the right most lane is almost always free.  The light is red but as drivers know, you can turn right at any time as long as you stop first to check for oncoming traffic. 

 

The car in front of me stops and goes.  I immediately follow after a quick stop, assuming that she actually went since I saw that our lane was clear.  Big mistake.  She did a stop.....go.....then another stop.  To quote her, "I could not really tell if the car in the other lane was going to move into my lane."  It just happened so fast. 

After the initial shock wore off, I called my insurance company to report the incident and file a claim.  He took my statement and said that he was going to file it as an at-fault accident.  That was a very hard pill for me to swallow.  In my mind the woman had no business stopping again; it was her hesitancy that caused the accident.  However, another part of me knew that the one who rear ends is always at fault because you are supposed to stay a few car lengths away just in case someone did step on their brakes unexpectedly. 

To add insult to injury, I got "interrogated" by the insurance company for the other party and received a letter after a few days indicating that my insurance had accepted 100% liability on my behalf.   I must confess I was pretty belligerent in the said interview even asking them if their client had in fact caused another accident in the past.  My injured ego just could not admit to being wholly responsible for the accident.

I am finally going to be able to pick up my car next week.  Thank God for insurance, I am shocked at the amount of money they are paying out.  I know we will eventually end up paying for it in some form, I am just crossing my fingers that they will take into account that we have been with them for 12 years.  I am also thankful that no one was hurt, and that the damage was not more.  Most of all, I am thankful that Henry and Jason have not rubbed my nose in it too much because in the end, no matter how I feel, I have to take responsibility for the accident.  I have learnt from my mistake, I am a more cautious driver now so be careful if you are following me ;-)