in the market for a new car

Looks like I might be in the market for a new car.

The girls and I were in a car accident this morning, around 11:45am. We had gone to the church office for an errand and were on our way home for naptime. I was driving in a business park, about 40-45mph, when out of no where a woman (who was cited for not having a driver's license) completely blew through a red light. I was already in the intersection when I saw her come flying in front of me and hit the rear passenger side of her car. The entire front end of my car is thrashed and the airbags deployed. I am so grateful that I hit her and that she did not hit us. Not only was she going faster than me, but if she had hit us I am most certain we would have had more serious inuries since she would have hit my driver's side. As it is the girls are fine and my biggest injury is my arm. Cuts/scrapes, bruises, and burns from the airbag. It feels like a burn and is very tender to the touch. The back of my hand is a bit sore also. I think the force of the airbag threw my hand into the rearview mirror.

Thankfully the girls are not injured. Keilah may have jammed her thumb slightly because she was sucking on it during impact, but other than that they are perfectly fine. I have always been a carseat nazi (as Jason likes to put it) and it is for this reason that I will happily wear that title. I spent countless hours researching the carseats and I break a sweat every time I have to move/reinstall the carseats. When I am done installing them, the carseats do not budge. They are rock solid. It bothers me so much when I see people who do not buckle their kids in right or do not install the carseats properly. Statistically 80% of carseats are not properly used--whether it be installed wrong or too loose, or the harness straps/chest clips are not in the right position or are not tight enough. You can't control getting into a collision sometimes, but you can control how well you protect your kids! I've given serious consideration to going and getting certified to be a carseat technician because I feel so passionately about it.

[stepping off my soapbox now]

We took the girls to the pediatrician this afternoon as a precaution. While we were there she wrote me a prescription for some burn cream for my arm and also worked her magic to get me an earlier appointment tomorrow with one of the other doctors in her office.

Not certain if the car is going to be totaled or not. One of the officers on the scene said it probably would be. The insurance agent told me that 8 out of 10 cars will be a total loss if the airbags deploy. I won't know for certain until after they do their estimate. We are tenatively researching cars just in case.

Here are some pictures. I wish I had taken pictures at the scene. I thought the camera was in the other diaper bag at home....but I later found that it was in the car with me. Doh! It was hard to get good pictures at the tow yard :shrug:

AirbagNotice the lack of a bumper?The other car

My arm. The bruises are just now starting to show up in the upper right corner. The rest of it is burns.