An Accident and a Driving Licence

An Accident and a Driving Licence

 Part One

I have already introduced you to my beloved Prince Rupert, my lovely little sports car. Sad to say, Prince Rupert has a little dent on his behind. It is a tiny scratch and dent, and it is very peculiarly placed, and I shall tell you why.

The incident happened last September. I had been staying at a hotel near Leicester and had to leave early to get to a meeting near Nottingham. I left the hotel shortly after eight (YES – I do think that’s early!!), loaded my case into the boot, opened the convertible roof (had I mentioned that Prince Rupert is a convertible?) and started the engine.

The ‘car park’ was, actually, a wooded area with spaces between the trees. As I was loading the boot, I had carefully taken note of the fact that there was a tree stump some two metres behind Prince Rupert. I remember thinking that this wasn’t very clever, since it would be invisible in a rear view mirror. I don’t know about you, but I don’t routinely walk around my car to check there are no hidden obstacles before driving off. However, happily I had seen it, and there would be no problem.

Ah, you are ahead of me. As I backed up very slowly (I was doing no more than 10mph), there was a tiny bump. I ******. But it was such a tiny bump that I didn’t even bother getting out of the car to check. I KNEW, with absolute certainty, that I could not have done any damage. I even forgot to look when I got to my destination. But as I walked back to the car after the meeting, I could see it, the small but unmistakeable sign of my driving error that morning.

Poor Prince Rupert! However, as I examined it more closely, I became puzzled. The bumper, the most prominent part of the car, was unscathed. The damage was to the top rim of the boot. The more I looked, the more I was convinced that I could not possible have hit the stump – that would have caught the bumper. I can only imagine that there was a branch sticking out of the stump at an angle, which I failed to notice and which did the damage.

However, as I have said, Prince Rupert is the love of my life, so the following week I took him to Mercedes to ask about sorting out the barely visible damage. Imagine my horror when I was quoted £1200!!! Now, I’m not complaining about Mercedes – they are a great company and they make wonderful cars – but I do wonder if the body works shop is not just a smidgeon over-priced?

Let that be. I decided this would have to be an insurance job. And that’s where the real trouble started. I shall complete the tale next time.