It was around 0230 hrs, and we were in Shimogo, about 20 minutes south of Aizuwakamatsu. I wasn't necessarily falling asleep at the wheel, but the fatigue was slightly starting to kick in at this point. As we were rounding a slight curve in the road, I took the curve way too close. Next thing I knew, I heard a scraping sound, and felt the car move up slightly to the left, so I pulled the car back onto the road and stopped the car immediately, then reversed it off of the road into the parking lot of a defunct restaurant. As it had turned out, I had not only clipped the curb, but I'd also knocked into one of the reflector posts lining the side of the road. The post was still standing, but the reflectors were knocked out of the post.
The car took some cosmetic damage. The corner of the front left bumper had a dent in it, with the black plastic piece covering the fog light hole knocked in. There was also a slight gash on the front left hubcap, and the rear left hubcap was gone, along with the rim slightly bent in one area. Normally, this would be a cause for a serious meltdown, but I had already thought of this ahead of time. I booked the rental car with the "Super Safety Package", which meant that in the event of an accident, I would pay absolutely nothing for the repairs to my car, another party's car, or any property damage. There were, however, two major caveats involved for the insurance to kick in. The first was calling the police and the rental company hotline to report the accident. Bit of a bummer for me as this will now give me an accident record on my license.
The second was that all of the car's hubcaps had to be present. We'd checked along the side of the road, where the impact had happened. It was gone.
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At this point, I was starting to get very nervous. Oono-san kept trying to calm me down as the police took down our information and asked us questions. I told one of the policemen that I was not falling asleep at the wheel, as I wasn't in the first place. All I did was take that corner too close. He had no objections to my testimony, and told me to be more careful next time. While we were outside waiting, a neighbor came outside to check out the commotion. As we had learned from her, I wasn't even the first person to have an accident on that particular corner. Apparently a truck driver also had an accident there a few years back.
The policemen took various photos and measurements in the road and of the car. At each of these locations, in what I thought was a shaming attempt, I was asked to stand next to the damage and point at it as they took three different pictures. Thankfully for us, another policeman found the hubcap, which had somehow made its way deep into the yard of someone's house on the other side of the street. However, because he'd found it there, we had to wait first until the owner got up to confirm that the hubcap was indeed ours and not his. (It was the same size and design as the other hubcaps; we were sure of it.)
At one point, my friends decided to take over for me, offering to drive the rest of the way back to Aizu. I agreed to it, and retreated to lie down in the third row while one of my friends got into the driver's seat to start the car. It didn't turn over. The battery had died due to us using the defroster and wipers without running the engine. We had to wait for JAF (Japanese AAA) for a jump start , which just added to the shame of it all. We then went back south a bit to a convenience store so that some people could use the restroom, and then we drove back to the scene of the accident. The owner of that house had finally woken up and came outside to confirm what we kind of knew all along. From there, we went back to Aizu. Along the way, I got carsick, and ended up chucking in a separate convenience store parking lot.
Two of my friends parted ways with us there. From there on, I felt confident enough to drive us back to campus. While the others waited in the car, I went back to my room and slept for about an hour and a half. Then I got back in the car, drove it to a nearby gas station for fuel, and then drove back to the rental agency. My friends explained all the details that weren't included in the news from the main office, and the shop attendants assured me that because I had done the right thing, I wasn't going to pay anything extra. I messaged a colleague at work to come get us, and he came and picked the three of us off, dropping the other two people off at home first. As we were leaving my friend's apartment building, I had to chuck again.
My colleague dropped me off at Somei House, and I went inside, collapsed on my bed, and proceeded to sleep for the entire day. I mean this literally, as I woke up once in the afternoon, and then once late at night to shower. Even getting up this morning was a challenge. I was physically and emotionally drained, and I made myself look like a fool in front of my friends, who kept patient looks on their faces while probably internalizing their rage towards me for making them late to return home.
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| The damage, in better lighting |
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| Thank God I was paranoid enough to book the top-end insurance |
All I can say now is that I've learned my lesson. Take longer rests, and/or book extra drivers on the rental. As it had turned out, I am not as endurant of a driver as I'd originally thought I was. I've decided since then that I will be cancelling my plans to go to Hiroshima this summer, as I just don't think I have the capacity to go on a trip like that anytime soon. I could drive halfway and rest a night on my way there and back, but I just don't have the time or money. I'll just stay on campus and work on my research for my vacation. At the very least, I'll be less of an inconvenience then.
In the meantime, the next challenge is being able to look my friends in the eye again. That part may take a while.
-wp
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