a letter to the taxi cab driver who totaled our car

Dear driver of a green taxi cab,

Hello. I don't really know you, and I doubt I'll ever meet you, which might be a good thing right now. I think I'd have a hard time being calm if we were in the same room. Nothing personal, but I'm sure you remember that car accident a week ago. The one where you suddenly changed lanes on a three-lane highway and crashed into my husband's car, sending him careening into another car in the right lane and then back into your taxi cab. I saw the impact marks on our car, where the hood was completely busted in, and the green streak where you made first impact. It was pretty ugly.

I know you'll never read this, and you probably will never even know that the driver of the car you hit had a wife (and who knows about the driver of the third car; does she have kids? a sick grandma?), but you've made our past week pretty rough. My husband is still feeling poorly. The ER said his back and neck looked fine, but the pain hasn't gone away and he's worried he might have a concussion, or something worse. It's really hard seeing someone you love in pain. Plus, it's hard to all of a sudden be the only person who's really up to doing chores, cooking, driving, really anything. I'm proud of my husband for following through with all the insurance stuff, but it's been hard on both of us having him out of commission.

My husband's a PhD student. (He's pretty smart!) And for the first time, he's going to teach a class this Fall. Actually, the class starts at the end of August. But instead of preparing for it as he planned, he's been sleeping, aching, calling insurance reps, and going to doctor's appointments. That kinda stinks. And he's probably not going to get reimbursed for his lost time (so a lawyer friend told us) because even though he gets a stipend, he's not employed. We're going to fight it though.

Also, I was supposed to go to the beach this weekend. I know in the grand scheme of things that doesn't matter a lot, but still. I haven't been to the beach all year, and I had a weekend planned with some college friends I hadn't seen in a while. But instead of spending time with them and relaxing, I drove with my husband to his hometown (a 6 hour drive; I drove both ways) so we could buy his grandpa's car. It was nice to see family, but it wasn't the beach.

This week, I have a day off midweek. It doesn't happen a lot. I work for a Catholic institution, and we actually get off for the Assumption! I was looking forward to spending a relaxing day at home, maybe canning salsa, going for a run, catching up with friends, being leisurely. But instead, I'll be driving my husband to a doctor's appointment, and then going with him to register our new car. Not really the way I wanted to spend my day off.

I'm trying not to be bitter. I really am. But let's be honest - you could have killed my husband. It's a miracle that he's alive, given the speeds you all were driving and the heavy rush-hour traffic. I'm grateful he wasn't more injured, that's for sure, but it would have been nice for him to not go through a near-death experience!

All in all, I really wonder what you were thinking. Did you just not see him? Not check your mirrors at all? Think you could squeeze in a tiny little space? So many drivers do that - zip around like they're playing a videogame or something. Were you in a rush? I don't think your passenger wanted to get to her destination that badly!

Did you think you were the only driver on the whole road? Did you forget that real live human beings drive cars too, that it's not all just a game to see who can get there fastest?

All I ask is, if you get your license back any time soon - and sorry to sound retributive, but I hope your taxi cab career is over, and that you're not on the road for a long, long time - can you do everyone a favor and drive safely?

Thanks,

+EcceFiat+