Hit and run

I was sitting at home, watching movies and minding my own business, when Martin called me and told that I should come out. I wasn’t in the mood, I was in the middle of the film, and it was too hot outside, so I said no. But he insisted. His argument was very convincing – someone hit my car.

I came outside and found both Martin and Manni standing outside, staring at my car. The bumper was damaged pretty badly and the right rare light was broken. It looked that car’s body wasn’t hurt though.

Manni saw the whole thing. Some lady crashed into my car and went away without even stopping to check the damage. Not even a note with her phone number. Nothing. She drave straight away. Luckily, Manni wrote down her car’s registration number.

Martin helped me to call the cops and explain the situation to them. We were told that because the other car left the accident, the police won’t be coming. Instead we should go the police station and file the report. Good enough.

Both Manni and Martin went with me to the traffic police station near old Limassol hospital. We explained everything to the police officer, who went outside with us to check the damage on the car. He filed the report and said that either he himself or the woman driver will contact me.

Now, everyone knows that things are a bit slow in Cyprus. The national sega-sega theme (Greek for “slowly-slowly”) often gets in the way. Especially when government workers are concerned. But not today!

We barely came back to Martin’s shop when I got a call from the police officer. He gave me the name and the phone number of the owner of the car – husband of the woman. He also said that he already talked to the guy and he acknoledged what happened.

Two minutes later, the woman called. She appologised for the whole thing and said that she was in a hurry to do something and that she knew that the car was mine and that I lived in this building and that she was going to find me later and blah blah blah. She said that she was coming back from lunch in about one hour and so we coul meet and talk.

So I went home and finished watching the movie. She called me in about an hour.

First thing she said to me when I came out was that she didn’t realize that she did any damage. Yeah, right. Her own car was damaged pretty bad. Mine was damaged. You have to be a totally insensitive clod (© Slashdot) to think that know damage was done. Anyway, she suggested that we go and see her insurance guy.

And we went. She was driving her car and I was following with mine. Man, the way she drives I am surprised she is alive. I know that many people neglect using their turning indicators and mirrors. But she wasn’t even looking around or stopping before driving out into a busy main street or a roundabout. If I hadn’t see her, I would have to assume that she was suicidal or something.

Luckily we managed to get to her insurance office without any accidents. The insurance guy was one of those old time Cypriots whom I admire a lot – kind and polite people with good hearts and some brains that they aren’t afraid to use.

I spend about one hour in that office. During this time I’ve heard a lot of talking in Greek, was offered a drink a couple of times, heard a three or four jokes, and showed the damage to my car, watched the woman being politely humiliated by the insurance guy, heard the woman being inpolitely humiliated by her husband over the phone, and was promised that everything will be paid for. It’s that last thing – the promise to pay for the damages – that made me fill a little bit better.

I took the business card and went home. I am going to see my mechanic on Monday. I don’t think that it will take more than a couple of days to fix the car. It shouldn’t also cost the insurance company more than 300-350 CYP. These were the prices the insurance guy had in mind and they seemed rather reasonable. I’ll see what Perry of E.F.I. Technics Garage will tell me on Monday though…