Letter from Limpopo: When a GTI driver swerved in front of her to cause a smash, Thabiso Sekhula feared the worst…
This life comes with many frustrations, and when we are unexpectedly thrown into uncomfortable positions humans can be very mean and unpredictable.
So when I got into an accident with my children in the car this week, a lot of fear and a bit of anger crept in.
Let me explain my anger. A GTI driver was showing off at a filling station. I had just filled up, on my way with my kids to McDonald’s next door, on the day we were moving into our new place in Tzaneen.
There was only one lane where I was exiting the garage, but the driver still cut in front of me, causing an accident. His explanation was that he thought his car would make it past me – that ViDab confidence, right?
It all happened suddenly, so I applied the brakes sharply, managing to keep us out of any real danger but still driving into his front tyre on the driver’s side.
My first reaction was to check my kids in the back to make sure they were all right, the youngest being three. None of us was injured but my tough Kia sustained a few tears and scratches, which I’ve been told will cost R15,000 to fix as they don’t repair a bumper, they replace it. But if you think my car is bad, you should see the other guy’s.
But what stood out the most wasn’t the trauma or the ridiculous costs. In fact, apart from the actual accident, everything else was amazing. The driver, I and everyone on the scene agreed it was his fault. More than that, he had given us a story to laugh about: seconds before he had done the very VW thing, a turbo rev, and earned everyone’s attention. Seconds after that, Baaaam.
During the incident, a lady helped to keep my kids calm while the garage security guard called the police. A few tough guys made sure to tell me they would be witnesses if the driver gave me any trouble with the insurance claim.
While we all waited for the police, the driver’s friends arrived with some cool drinks, because this is South Africa, and it’s a long wait. By the two-hour mark we were all friends.
The cops were really friendly and a van eventually came despite the policy that they don’t come to the scene unless someone is injured.
These were all small acts, but with two little kids, that accident could have been hugely traumatising for my family, as we’ve seen many times. The people of Tzaneen instead made sure we all laughed through this silly accident, which should have never happened; we must talk about VWs one of these days.
The driver just has to process his insurance claim and my car has to be fixed, and I’ll really have faith in humanity.
Pictured above: His bump was worse than mine
Source: Thabiso Sekhula
