Fix the damned car

The other day I was driving my usual car. Two weeks prior to this fateful day I had reported issues with the car to my dispatcher. The two issues reported were the ABS and the TCS. These systems are also called the Anti-lock braking system, and the Traction control system. Herein referred to as The issues. The warning lights for the issues were both illuminated on the instrument cluster. I knew the TCS was not working properly due to tire slippage on wet roads during acceleration. I ,therefore, assumed that the ABS was also not working properly. All that being said, I alerted the proper authorities. I was told to bring the car in for the night and it would be taken in for repairs the next day. Arriving at work the following day I was shocked to see my car still in the staging area and even more shocked when I was told to just drive it. So it started, my fateful day.

The other day I was driving my usual car. I know I said that already but it needed to be said again. The roads were wet. It was raining. Not a terribly heavy rain. Just enough to piss people off. As I was exiting one freeway and merging onto another via a long uphill bridge, the two cars in front of me slammed on their brakes. I followed suit but, A-HA! The issues man, the issues. Both systems ARE required to stop a car on a wet road in the rain. Needless to say, my car did not stop in time. I plowed into the car in front of me who then hit the car in front of him.

This would normally be written up as a "my fault" accident. That is how the owner of my company saw it too. I saw it as a system failure that the company was well aware of but chose to ignore. I was wrong. The owner was not made aware of the issues by the fleet manager. That is until I was told that I would have to pay the $1,000.00 deductible as required by the insurance policy. Now he is well aware of the issues and is also questioning the job performance of the fleet manager who simply needed to fix the damned car.