Minor scrapes still merit attention

The young woman looked at me with sorrowful eyes and said, “I didn’t see you.”

I don’t think I’ve ever shot daggers with my eyes, until that moment.

All I kept thinking was: “You didn’t see me, BECAUSE YOU DIDN’T LOOK!”

My inner voice growled in anger.

Most of you have probably guessed by now that I was involved in a collision. Some of you are probably thinking: “Great, the Road Warrior’s been in another crash.”

I’ll quickly go over what happened.

First off, crash is a bit of an overstatement. It was more of a tap.

The incident happened at night in a strip mall parking lot. (This was a strip mall with perpendicular parking right in front of the stores.)

I stopped the vehicle behind some parked cars, near the restaurant where my passengers and I intended on dining. My plan was to let them out near the front door of the bistro, before parking the car farther away.

Somebody — I’m still not sure who — yelled out, “Stop! There’s a car!”

I looked just in time to see the brake lights of a black sedan bearing down on the front passenger side of the vehicle I was driving.

Bump.

I immediately lost my temper. I repeatedly pounded my fist into my other fist, making large slapping sounds. I grimaced with indignation. In retrospect, it was wrong, immature.

The other driver pulled up to put some space between our kissing vehicle frames.

I got out of the car as did the other driver. I had parked my vehicle in her blind spot. There was no way she could have seen my vehicle just by looking in the rearview mirror. She would have actually had to turn around to have seen me.

The passengers from my car and the one from her car conferred and made sure no one was hurt.

We each began to look at our respective cars to see if any damage had been done. Upon quick review, none could be seen.

Hey, no harm-no foul, right? So I told the other driver to forget about it. I parked my car and she drove away.

The whole experience got me thinking about car accidents, specifically minor ones, here in Las Vegas.

In the process of reviewing my actions, I discovered some interesting facts.

For instance, if the damage from a crash is estimated to be under $750 and there are no injuries, Las Vegas police are not going to come out to the scene.

Further, if the collision happened on private property — for example a strip mall parking lot — no matter what the dollar amount of the damage is, as long as no one was hurt and neither driver was suspected of being impaired, police will not respond, said officer Barbara Morgan, a department spokeswoman.

One thing that flabbergasts me is when I see two crashed vehicles with only minor damage sitting in the street, clogging traffic. I wonder if the drivers are waiting for the crime scene investigators to show up.

“For some reason, people think they have to leave their cars the way they are,” Morgan said. She said investigators will be able to figure out what happened through the statements of those involved and witnesses.

State law actually says that drivers should move their vehicles after an accident to a safe location that does not obstruct traffic. Other requirements say that drivers involved in a collision exchange names, addresses and vehicle registration numbers along with other information.

Morgan said even if there is no apparent damage, such as in the incident in which I was involved, drivers should still exchange information. She explained that some damage might not be apparent right away, or an injury might not be felt until the next day.

GEICO, the auto insurer with those annoying TV commercials, offered some additional useful advice.

• Check for injuries and call 911 for medical help.

• Don’t leave the scene.

• Keep these items with you in your vehicle: insurance identification card, vehicle registration, emergency contacts, medical card listing allergies or special conditions, pen and paper, a flashlight, flares, first-aid kit, blanket, jumper cables, rags or paper towels, trash bags, a cell phone and a disposable camera if your cell phone doesn’t have one.

• Collect information from the other driver including, name, address and phone number. Also get the year, make, model and the license plate number of the other vehicle, as well as the insurance carrier and policy number of the other driver.

• Get the names, addresses and phone numbers of any witnesses.

• If a police officer responds, get his contact information and the report number.

• Shoot photographs of the crash scene, damage to your vehicle and people involved.

• Don’t panic, remain calm and polite, and cooperate with police.

If you have a question, tip or tirade, call the Road Warrior at 702-387-2904, or e-mail him at roadwarrior@reviewjournal.com. Please include your phone number.