So Cyndi and I decided to head over to Café Ladro in Fremont this morning after we dropped off PJ at school, as we’ve been doing many mornings over the past month, and on our way home, got hit by a 40 foot semi trailer while stopped at a red light.

The truck was turning right from the left hand lane. I had been driving alongside him for the last block, so I wasn’t able to see his turn signal, and he obviously didn’t see me.

When he made the turn, the trailer (an empty “double drop” trailer that is very low to the ground) basically pushed our car 10 feet over into the intersection, tearing off our front right wheel and damaging the rims.

The police officer who came to the scene listened to everyones stories and found the truck driver at fault. It is his responsibility to make sure his blind spot is clear, and given the length of the trailer, he really needed to be extra careful on such a tight turn.

The left side body all pretty much has to be replaced, but the rest of the car seems okay. It looks like it will take a few weeks until we get the Jag back.

But a couple of lessons from the debacle:

• 1995 Jaguars are an incredibly well built car (which is probably why they are so popular with Jag enthusiasts). The thing is like a steel cage. I can only wonder what damage could have been done if we had a newer car without such a durable body cage. The immense force of being sandwiched between a concrete curb and a semi tractor trailer couldn’t get past the steel frame.
• If it had been a normal semi trailer, I could very easy be seriously injured or even dead right now. Even when you think you are in the right, make sure you come alongside semi trailers carefully. The longer the trailer, the more cautious you should be. They really can’t see you.
• People can sometimes really suck. Some normal looking woman came out of Peet’s and announced “It was the Jaguars Fault!” The Policer Officer asked, “Did you see it?” and she said, “No.” First it is lame that someone would think that just because a Jaguar is involved in an accident, that we are inherently at fault. Hell I’m sure we paid less for our Jag then she did her Subaru. Second, if you didn’t see what happened, then shut up!
• Use your horn! I’ve been in the Northwest for most my life, and seldom use my horn. It is considered impolite here. When I saw the truck making the turn I really should have used my horn. I could see his mirrors, so I thought, “he has to be able to see me.” If I had used my horn at that second, the whole thing might have been avoided.

Anyway, Cyndi and I are fine. PJ thankfully wasn’t in the car. It looks like everything will be right as rain with the car in the next week or so.

It could have been a LOT worse.