It was only a matter of time before the shit awful drivers on I-95 between DC and Philadelphia nailed one of us. Bitter called me and told me she had been rear ended. She’s OK, but the car is screwed. Don’t know if she’ll be able to make it up now. Might have to go in a rescue mission, though she says the car is drivable, but I don’t know how drivable. More later.
UPDATE: Bitter called me back. She’s resumed her journey. The MD State Trooper said the car was road worthy. Doesn’t sound that bad. They hit the rear tire and shattered the windshield.  The door is probably toast, but the main body, I’m thinking, is probably OK.  Door and window will have to be replaced.  The question will be whether to get it done here, and have her rent a car to take home, or drive the car home and get it taken care of there. The State Trooper said it was the 9th accident today, the tenth happened while Bitter was off to the side, and she witnessed it.  I’ll need to be careful when going through Baltimore.  In my experience, drivers along the I95 corridor in the Northeast are among the worst in the country.
Glad she’s OK. I wouldn’t take the car on any long drives until it was thoroughly checked out by a mechanic.
Sorry to her she got rear ended,but pleased to hear she is okay.
Down here in Georgia we got a similar highway called GA-400,which can’t go 4 hours without an accident happening.
Hope the car gets fix and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.
Glad to hear she’s okay.
Echoing Michael: hope the repairs aren’t too expensive.
I hope you aren’t too sore tomorrow, Miss B.
I-95 is no better South of Washington than North. Same idiots.
rent a car. Don’t drive it until fixed. Two reasons. Her safety is paramount. The other, if she gets hit again, the other driver will have enough muddy water to blame the condition of her vehicle and her operation of it. She doesn’t need that kind of hassle and her odds of being hit going back are exactly the same as they were coming up. Ball’s law, I think it is.
Plus even if drivable the structural integrity of her vehicle is compromised and cars aren’t all that sturdy to begin with.
From an insurance standpoint, I agree with straightarrow – don’t drive it home.
Also, drivers on I-95 do suck; just terrible. Of course, the drivers on the Penna-Turnpike aren’t much better.
Thanks for the kind words, guys. I won’t be driving it home. I’ve filed the claim with my insurance since the driver and owner of the other car (not the same person, but they were both on the scene) use a smaller insurance company that doesn’t do much work on weekends. But my big, bad insurance company has my lined up with a collision shop for Monday and I’ll get a rental to go home.
Good that she is ok. 95 is a nasty road, and having driven most of it… it really doesn’t have a good stretch. At least the hitties were pleasant folks.
I know I drive that chunk of I-95 in a heightened awareness level. (knock on wood) I’ve been lucky so far to have not been involved in an accident, but at least once it was sheer dumb luck – the Jeep behind me skidded into the shoulder while doing a complete 360 (horizontal – no wheels left the ground) rather than into me when he had to panic-stop because we came around the corner to face the stopped traffic on the north-bound approach to the Delaware tolls. I was barely not tailgating the guy in front of me, the Jeep wasn’t so smart. Luckily for him he went into the shoulder without hitting any of the barrels in the shoulder – otherwise not only would he have hit me, but the the guy behind him would have him him. And the Jeep driver wasn’t wearing his seatbelt…
Though the worst part of the drive, for me, has always been taking (when I choose that way) the BW parkway/I-295 through the district – 2 lanes in eithe rdirection, and a range of speeds from 45 to 80
The Delaware tolls are the suck. Fortunatly, if you don’t mind spending an extra 10 minutes, they are easily bypassed. Saves me six bucks every time I go to see Bitter. I haven’t paid that toll in a while.
I keep meaning to figure out how to bypass – but I usually end up driving through them now when there’s very little traffic; at least in the EZPass lanes (I had a fit of pique on one trip and signed up at the Delaware Memorial one day on my way down; so I’m not paying the “NJ drivers are not criminals after all” dollar a month surcharge). Call me a lzay SOB who doesnt’ care if I don’t see the money coming out of my wallet – but I didn’t give a damn when I was paying cash either