<p>I don’t know if this is legal but … I would really appreciate and would be willing to pay, if someone is going that way for a ride to DFW airport 8/20/06 from OCU. S has spent the summer doing summerstock in Montana and won’t get home (Minnesota) until late 8/14/06. He leaves 8/18/06 to get back to school and has asked that I come along to help get his dorm apt. in order before school starts. It’s a new place and he learned how much he appreciates Mom’s organizational skills last year, when all he had us do was drop him and his stuff off. Airfare is $200 more and about 3- 5 hours more from OKC to Mpls. than DFW to Mpls. Please contact me via e-mail.
Thanks, Jenifer</p>
<p>I feel so bad not getting back to all of you who kindly contacted me with ideas about my return trip. Alas I didnt need it. S had a mishap with a deer 45 minutes into his trip back from his summer stock job and flipped his car on its side. Lesson learned: If a deer pops out slam on your breaks DONT swerve. Insurance will cover a collision with a deer as not your fault but damage caused by missing the deer is considered your fault. Then all your hard earned money working 50-60 hours a week doing summer stock goes to car repairs. S ended up only being home 48 hours because of the accident. However, S didnt have a scratch on him, we are so thankful. I drove him down to OCU with our car on Friday and drove the 800 miles back by myself on Sunday. His car sits in our garage awaiting repairs.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the good ideas.</p>
<p>Jenifer</p>
<p>Jenifer,</p>
<p>Your son’s story reminds me of an accident I had while I was in grad school. I was driving north on I-75 out of Lexington, KY in a light rain during January. I, and all of the other drivers on the road, had our lights on. We’d had an extremely snowy winter. The state road crews had piled the snow onto a triangular median between I-75 and I-64. As I approached the junction of the two interstate highways, a semi that had been heading north on I-75 decided he wanted to be on I-64 instead. The driver plowed through the mountain of snow and ice in the median and sent a rooster-tail shaped shower of slush raining down upon my car. When the slush hit, I was momentarily blinded. I told myself not to panic, and I didn’t! I took my foot off the gas and told myself to follow the tail lights of the car in front of me. I realized that my windshield should soon clear because I’d already had my windshield wipers on. Sure enough, in a couple of seconds I could see again. Unfortunately, a moment later the slush that hit my car made it onto the rainy pavement. My car hydroplaned and struck the side of an abandoned semi-trailer that just happened to be parked where my car decided to veer off the road. I hit the truck at about 50 mph. My car was totalled. I was very lucky. I walked away without a scratch. Thankfully, I did not have my nephew with me that day. He frequently caught a ride home from college with me. The roof on the passenger side of my car collapsed. Anyone who’d been sitting in the passenger seat would have been killed. </p>
<p>The downside of the story is that the insurance company said the accident was my fault. They said I was not driving safely given the road conditions. I thought that driving 50 mph in a light rain was reasonable. The condition of the road did not include slush on top of water until the truck plowed through a mountain of snow and ice. How the insurance company thought I should have been able to anticipate that, I do not know. The company did pay the claim, but a year later they declined to renew our insurance policy.</p>
<p>I’m sorry that your S has had to face huge car repair bills. I am glad that he was not injured. Despite the fact that your insurance company refused to pay, your S may have done the right thing in swerving. Hitting a deer can cause major damage to a car and to the people inside inside the car. People have died in car - deer collisions. Hitting a male deer with a full rack of antlers is particularly dangerous. I’m no driving expert, but I do know that in cases where a deer runs in front of you you only have a split second to decide what to do. Your S’s instinct told him to swerve. Perhaps he made the right choice.</p>
<p>I hope your S’s car will get well soon :)</p>
<p>Jenifer, </p>
<p>I am so glad your s is ok…cars can be fixed. I, too, have a car incident that happened two days before my d left to go back to OCU. We had purchased her a newer car on Saturday of that week to take to school this year and on Monday, I backed into the side of it while it was parked in our driveway! ($1400.00 damage and the car hadn’t even been put on the insurance when it happened.) With only two days to get it repaired before she traveled back to school, I was in panic mode (as was she). We didn’t get to leave as early as we had hoped, but she did get back safe and sound with her new and newly repaired car. </p>
<p>As for hitting deer, here in NC we have a huge problem with that. In fact, I often joke that I hunt with my car (I have hit several deer and nearly hit several more). I think swerving is just a natural reaction (and I have to agree with dancermom, it might have been the safer option).<br>
Glad you got there and back safely!
Best wishes for your s for a great sophomore year.</p>
<p>Kim</p>