Thursday, 27 August 2009 07:44
Yesterday, we were driving home from school in heavy traffic when an enormous German Shepard darted out into the road, smack into our car. It was one of those moments when time slows down and you watch it all happen frame-by-frame: you know you're going to hit the dog before it actually happens. We couldn't stop--it would've caused a traffic accident--but it was clear the collision had caused some damage to the car. As soon as we turned onto our road, Tim got out and looked: the plastic part of the front bumper and undercarriage were cracked and dented, and covered with blood and hair from the dog.
We got home and called the insurance company. Since we had already left the scene, the company felt we would have a hard time--blood and fur notwithstanding--proving what had happened. So here's the advice they gave us: "Go find a boulder or something that's the right height to have caused the accident, park near it and call the police. Tell them you just hit the boulder; they'll write an accident report and we'll reimburse you." At this point, our eyes began to cross slightly.
We decided to explore Plan B. We went to the police--always a risky proposition in Russia--and told them what happened. Their "expert" "examined" the car (read: cast a vague glance in the direction of the damaged bumper) and proclaimed that the accident had obviously happened a week ago. Clearly waiting for us to make him a better offer. Which we declined to do. Instead, Tim argued with him until eventually the officer compromised by writing the report but omitting any reference to the time of the accident. On one hand this is good because he didn't report that it happened last week. On the other hand, he also didn't say that it happened yesterday.
Now we're at the mercy of the insurance company, whose stage-the-accident advice we neglected to follow in the first place. We'll see what happens. Meanwhile, as alert readers may have suspected, this incident has spurred another all-day round of The Paper Chase, in which Tim runs around to various, unmarked points in the city and stands in long lines until closing time in order to get all the neccessary documents filed.
A word about insurance: Here in Krasnodar, drivers are only required to have liability insurance. We've had our car just a year and for most of the time that's all we carried. After awhile though, our innate American love for being insured asserted itself and we bought comprehensive. That was a month ago so...just in time.
And what happened to the dog, you ask? Tim reports that after being tumbled around under our tires, it was able to limp back off the road (I can't say: I had my eyes covered) where it will probably die. It wore a collar, so all day I have not been able to stop thinking about a family somewhere in the city who lost a beloved pet. A bad incident for everyone.
