Vinnie and the Big, Bad Lorry

Being hit by a pebble is something I experience everyday in my commute to and back from school. It has been like a routine; being beat up with dirt from gargantuan lorries carrying timbers to rocks. Not just lorries, filthy and muddy pick-ups also played an encouraging role in deteriorating my ride to an (God-forbid!) premature defacing. Since being "thrown" a pebble or two on my front windshield by these trucks is a daily thing, I took it for granted.

I wished I had taken extra careful measures.

2 days ago, I was driving back from school, when lo and behold there was a big lorry in front of me. It was carrying a full load of rocks and despite its maximum load, it was travelling at a precarious speed. I myself was driving at 90mp/h, when what seemed a daily occurance turned into an expensive nightmare.

A tiny peeble, around 2-3 cm in diameters hit my windshield at bullet speed. I ignored the incident because I thought everything would be okay. Nothing happened anyway, so I thought. The next day, I noticed a 8cm line forming in front of my windshield. I thought it was a stray stem/stick.

The annoying crack. It gets longer the next day!!

Throughout my drive, I couldn't focus. I blamed it on the damn crack and damn lorry. So, I decided to call my car's agent to ask about my insurance coverage. She was kind enough to ask the insurance company for me. She informed me that although my insurance was a comprehensive one, it doesn't cover windshield. This means I can't claim my repairs through the insurance company. I could claim through NCD but I would lose my NCD (No-Claim-Discount) prematurely. Plus, it's quite a hassle to file a police report as well. But at least, I learned something about dealing with minor repairs concerning insurance and cars! 

So, I decided to call up the service centre and ask whether they do windscreen repairs. They didn't but they were happy to introduce me to a mechanic who does. Cost? A whopping RM723 including labour charges. There goes my savings! 

So, what did I learn throughout this minor ordeal? 

#1. Never take seemingly innocent incidents for granted. For all we know, they might be deadly or costly. (not that I'm a cheapskate or what, but I could use those extra savings for other stuffs).

#2. Keep calm whenever the goings get tough...it's good to have a clear head to think with, which leads to...

#3. Have a plan B or C or D...and last but not least...

#4. Have a good support system (by which you'll forget about the incident and couldn't help but feel lucky to have friends that care. The status comments are hilarious :-))

All in all, I should have been more careful on the roads. But, it's so much fun to say:

DAMN YOU, BIG, BAD LORRY!!!!!!