Why Tell Me Why

This is week two since my car was hit by a Yolo Bus, but the incident is far from being resolved. Foreseeing this being a long-lasting battle, I can’t help wondering reasons for many things that are made mandatory in our life.

At the beginning of the week, I was still waiting for the police officer to respond to the email I sent him last Thursday. Having to prepare for a tough math midterm at the same time, I was hopping back and forth between the textbook and my laptop the entire day. Eventually when the sun disappeared from the horizon, I knew all the time I spent waiting and not being able to focus had once again gone in vein.

The next morning, I again called the station and inquired about the accident. The lady on the phone was still unable to find anything relevant on their system. She was kind enough to suggest that I contact my own insurance company first even without any information. So I did. After going through a complicated automated phone service system, I received a claim number for my case.

On Wednesday as I was still patiently waiting for the police officer’s reply, I received a phone call from my own insurance adjustor. Basically I was informed that I had to pursue this case mostly by myself with their minimal assistance because I was not the party at fault. “There’s not much we can do for you, Mr. Huang,” I was told.

The police officer’s response never came. I picked up the phone and contacted Yolo Bus myself.

“Yolo Bus!” A grumpy voice answered.

“Who may I speak with if my car was hit by one of your buses?” I asked.

“Hold on!”

After waiting for ten minutes on the phone, I was connected to a person who didn’t even state his position. I explained the my situation, and the person offered nothing but instant denial of any accident happening on their record in the past three weeks. I asked if I could show him the police report, which I didn’t actually have. He had me wait for another 5 minutes and transferred me to another lady.

This time around the lady seemed to know the circumstances better. She said she would mail me a claim form to start the process, though I would have loved to know what the actual process would be and how long it would take. And of course this had to be on the 4th of July weekend when the postal service is not in service.

I don’t understand why I never had an answer when I only simply requested a fair policy report on the accident as a dutiful taxpayer. I don’t understand how the bus driver got away without leaving any identification for me. I don’t understand why I couldn’t receive any service from my own insurance while I am mandated to pay them faithfully if I want to drive a car. What are the reasons? With a million questions, my journey of pursuing the insurance claim continues.