Hitting a gas pump...

 {This is a true story of my adventure moving to New Hampshire in March, 2018 while driving a rental truck.}

Well…we finally made the move to New Hampshire, and of course, there was drama. For those who don't know me, if there wasn’t some sort of drama in my life, then it means I'm dead. Drama has followed me gleefully since I was a baby.

As we did when we moved up to Northampton, Massachusetts 14 years ago, we rented a truck to take our possessions to our new home and I was the designated driver.

When I was describing to the Penske Representative how much furniture and stuff we owned, I over estimated. It was suggested that I rent a 26’ truck and I said, “Why not?” Oh, such a big mistake. I should have rented a 22’ and things would have turned out so much better than they did.

When I picked up the truck, I couldn’t believe how BIG it was. It looked like a mini-version of an 18-wheeler. Holy crap! There were two steep metal steps that I had to climb to get up into the cab. Yikes!

I joked to friends that my driving a large rental truck up I-91 would result in my appearing on national news. And before my trip was over, that came very close to being true.

One of the men that I hired to help load up the truck, backed it out onto the road for me (he is also the one who pulled it in to the driveway) so I could begin my trek. I couldn’t tell if the transmission was in “Drive” or at a lower gear because I couldn’t get it to go above 25 miles an hour. Since the State Patrol Headquarters was nearby, I stopped for instructions. The Trooper was very kind and helpful. I had been in “Drive” the whole time!

My next issue was accelerating and keeping it at about 50 miles an hour. It was a struggle and scary as hell. I stopped at the Vermont Visitors Center and had a nice chat with a driver of an 18-wheeler. The best advice he gave me was to keep the headlights on and to use the flashers if my speed went below 50. A two-hour trip took four hours as I rumbled up I-91 at 35 miles an hour using the flashers the entire time.

My next hurtle: Up near Exit 6 on I-91 (VT), there is a bridge that has been under construction forever. It is a one-lane nightmare. I've seen 18-wheelers barrel through that section so I know it can be done. But not by me. I drove very slowly, between 5 to 10 miles an hour. I was so afraid of having an accident and blocking traffic for hours. Thankfully that did not happen. Right after the bridge is a steep hill which requires momentum to climb it which I didn't have, so the truck had to crawl up the hill, while cars went speeding by.

Mary had done some research in finding a local motel where we could keep the truck overnight with easy access into and out of their lot. I woke up on that fateful Tuesday morning to find the truck covered in snow from a blizzard. Schools and businesses were closed for the day. Could it get any worse?

We were concerned that due to the storm we wouldn’t be able to have the truck unloaded. The movers (Robert and Mark) that I had hired from Daniels Moving and Storage were wonderful. With the snow falling heavily, they continually swept off the ramp. There were many times that they ended up sliding down the ramp carrying our beloved possessions into our new home.

After six hours of unloading, it was time to return the truck, thank goodness! The night before, Mary and I had searched for a gas station near the drop off point and we found a Sunoco. If I didn’t return the truck with a full fuel tank we would have been charged $8 a gallon! In retrospect, that would have been a much wiser way to have gone.

There were two driveways to enter the station and I took the first one which put me and the truck too close to parked cars in front of the station. I was so worried about the cars as I was rounding the pump, that I wasn’t making a wide enough turn. Then I heard a GIANT CRUNCHING sound. OMG! I hit the gas pump. Crap!

I immediately turned off the engine, and ran into the station saying, “Call 911! I just hit a pump!” My main concern was that an explosion could happen, and all the people at the station could be hurt. No one seemed concerned. The staff just shut down all the pumps. I could see heads popping up as people realized there was no gas being pumped into their tanks. The pumps were slowly turned back on and when they got to mine, they just left it off.

I insisted that the police be called. My first encounter with the local Police Department started off badly. I addressed the individual as “Officer” and he informed me that he was a Corporal. Yikes! I almost rolled my eyes, but I don’t look good in orange and didn’t want to go down that path. 

The Corporal then asked for my personal car insurance card, which I’ve never carried on me and probably should. I just stared blankly at him. All I could think of was that I was not driving my car. I was driving a monster of a truck which I definitely didn’t have an insurance card for.

He then called Dispatch and asked them to verify the Indiana license plates. He informed me that they weren’t showing up in the system. Oh God, could this nightmare get any worse? 

I showed him my Penske paperwork and he called them to verify it was their truck. (What did he think? That I had stolen it and painted the Penske logo on it during the night?)

He explained the situation to the Customer Service Rep who informed him that the limited liability coverage I had paid for only covered damage to the truck and not to property. And, a gas pump is considered property. Yikes! It just kept getting worse.

I tried calling my Insurance Company in Massachusetts, but due to the snow storm, they were closed. Their recorded message said to call their Insurance Claims Department, which I did. It seems that their office was closed as well. 

In the meanwhile, I had to return the truck and the office closed at 5 p.m. It was 4:30. I needed to get the infamous diesel or pay a late fee of $109. First, the truck was straddling the u-shaped metal protector at the end of the island.  It sure didn’t do a good job of protecting the pump.  

It was suggested that I move the truck and I just stared at the Corporal. He drove it over to the diesel pump. Sunoco staff couldn’t assist me with fueling the tank. Mary who had just come over from her office, volunteered to do it for me. The other option was to drive several miles to another gas station (the next victim) and seeing what damage I could do to their station.

The next morning, I called my favorite person at our Insurance Company back in Massachusetts.  I was informed that my policy didn’t cover damage that occurred while I was driving a rental truck.  She suggested that I call my credit card company. She knew that her credit card company covered accidents if the rental was charged on the card.

I then called my bank and was given the number to the Card Benefit Services where I had a lovely conversation with one their Customer Service Reps based out of Richmond, VA.

With my sense of drama and a touch of humor thrown in, I had her laughing about all I had experienced. I realized that the details of “the incident” would make a great monologue if I ever decided to be a stand-up comedian.

Unfortunately, she informed me that the policy to pay for damage when renting a vehicle applied only to cars but not to trucks or vans. Double shit! Well…it looks like Sunoco was getting a new gas pump thanks to my checking account. Could it get any worse?

Well folks, that old saying that “in every black cloud there is a silver lining” it's true in my case!

A week after “the incident” I heard from the Penske Claims Department. Sunoco had made a claim.  The Claims Adjuster called me for the details and I went into the saga of the whole event. She informed me that she would need to do some research and would get back to me and she did!

Penske would pay for the damage to the gas pump. The reasoning was that it was not a malicious act on my part and I was the driver of record on the rental policy when the "the incident" occurred -- hence I was covered. Amazing! 

P.S.  I am done driving rental trucks. In my lifetime, I have driven five of them and this last one did me in. For our next move, we will be using Daniels Moving and Storage again. They were the ones who unloaded our possessions in the freaking snow storm. They are my heroes. Plus, they know how to drive a moving truck!

Until the next time…