re: My road companion in the USA - "White Katana" Mazda CX-9 SUV. EDIT : 30,000 miles up! Couple of weeks ago, a friend visited with family from Chicago and we were driving around as I was showing him around town
One of the day when we were returning from Detroit downtown where we had gone to watch the Christmas lights and returning home ( ~25 miles away) and were on the freeway ( 5-lanes) and I was in the middle (3rd lane) and it was late in the evening and I was at around 80mph and suddenly saw something in the middle of my lane and I thought it was an aluminium sheet/paper on the road
As reaction time was less and I couldn't change lane due to traffic, I drove over and and there was a loud THUD and fellow BHPian who was sitting next to me said, that was a "Step Ladder"
Well, I absolutely cannot stop the car being on freeway so kept driving and checking for signs of any issues with car. I found none and car drove as if nothing happened
However, when we reached home I was shocked to see the condition of the car. The step ladder went under the car below the driving seat and may have got deflected and came out from the right side of the car and while exiting the bottom it took away the side cladding with it
Thankfully, there is no damage to the car as only the side cladding came off and the under-body cloth shield protector got ripped and all of which needs to be replaced
I got a few quotes from some collision folks and and finally settled with dealership of Mazda where I got the best quote of just under a grand for the parts replacement and labor and since my insurance is $1000 deductible it goes from my pocket...Sigh !!
I got the parts ordered and it will get fixed on Jan 6th when I'm back in town from my holidays which is a long road trip (sad to drive the car in this cosmetic condition but, just couldn't help it)
Well, this was a freak accident and never could imagine a thing like step ladder being in a middle of busy and broad freeway. I guess being more alert is the way to move forward |