My first and hopefully last car crash

This week has been rather stressful. I was in a car crash. I also completed a painting of a butterfly on a sunflower.

It's the first time ever, in over 30 years of driving, that I have made an insurance claim. I'm a bit peeved that I am needing to fork out NZ$500 for the excess but it's better to be insured than not.

The crash knocked my confidence a bit. I've always been a confident and capable driver, even though I have limitations with my medical conditions (bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD). I usually just putt around town and only take a trip out of town if I'm up to it (not too fatigued).

The crash itself was a bit surreal. I was approaching an intersection that has a road on an odd angle. I've been through that intersection probably hundreds of times. Then, there was the shattering of glass, which took me a second to register was the glass from a rear door window of another car.

It's all a bit hazy but I did wonder why the other car was so close (way more left than usual). I didn't even get a chance to see it until the crash, as I was still approaching an intersection that has awkward visibility (have to look back, pretty much).

The other driver didn't speak much English, so was translating through an app on a phone.

I was anxious that perhaps I had dissociated for a few seconds before the crash (as I was tired). It's a bit of a shock and I spent the rest of the day in hibernation, in a blanket in bed. I can't drive to the extent as most people but being able to drive to nice walking spots and to have a part-time job give me some sense of freedom and independence with my disabilities.

I walked back to the crash scene the next day. I could see fresh tyre marks on the road, where I would have been. They match my tyres (at least I have good tyre tread, aye?) It looked like my car was dragged around the corner, sideways. Fortunately, didn't smack into a pole. Most of the force, I think, was from the other car that was already moving at speed.

I could see the likely reason the other driver was so far left (into where I was about to turn). There are roadworks on the median strip.

The damage on my car is mainly on the right bumper and mudguard. My wheel alignment is now out and the hubcap has since fallen off. (I couldn't even remember what the name of a hubcap was, with the shock).

​The headlight and indicator still work but the light fitting has a bracket snapped from the force. The crash repair people have done a temporary job with duct tape until it can be repaired (when they can do it, basically). It's driveable but not ideal.

It's considered my fault, as the car was coming from my right. Although, I do think the other driver was inexperienced and not able to make an adjustment. I think there were a number of factors contributing to the crash, including the roadworks in the middle of the main road.

Anyway, it was unnecessary stress and I am glad both of us were physically uninjured. Cars can be dangerous. I drove to the supermarket today, with extra caution, after a few days resting (resting for me included painting and generally avoiding people). I was able to talk to a support person at the doctor's (via phone) to process some concerns about the accident. Just someone to listen really, not actually do anything.

I now have a dedicated art blog on my art website: soarpurpose.nz. I still need to take a better photo of the most recent painting. More about that in this blog post.

I have some feedback from a writing award I entered. I will update with a new post after I've had a rest. Going forward, this website and blog is for my overall creative hobbies. My other website Soar Purpose® NZ is a hobby art business.

I haven't had a chance to go through old blog posts to remove dead links but I deleted my Bipolar Courage website blog a while back. Partly because I wanted to move on from it but also I didn't want to pay for domain names I'm not actively using.

Some of the videos for Bipolar Courage are still up (at this stage).

I guess I painted the butterfly because I felt vulnerable. In addition to enjoying watching the butterflies visit the sunflowers outside my room.
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Sun Flutter by Xanthe Wyse

Update

Spot the difference. I drove through the intersection today and noticed there were road cones positioned to stop traffic going hard left. Went back to take photos. I was coming out of the side road, similar to the car in the pic.

​I watched several cars go through the intersection, and they all paused where the skid marks on the road started (matching my back tyres). The skid marks would have been at time of impact and were dragged around the corner.

The impact would have beeen by the blue sign with the arrow.