2349 Driving Change

A couple of driver-related stories today. The first is about a city worker in St. Paul, Minnesota who's suing the city for $1900 because a certain city worker, while driving a city vehicle, crashed into a private car. Hers.

Yep. She crashed into her own personal parked car in a lot while she was driving a city vehicle. She thinks since she was driving a city vehicle the city should be responsible for the $1900 in damage.

"Because I was working for the city and driving a city car, I think they are responsible," she said. "I feel they are responsible for the damage done to my car." 

Um. Yeah. I feel, like the AIG story I did recently, our culture's sense of personal responsibility needs to change.   

Speaking of change, the average driver has too much of it. As in, they have almost $22.00 in spare change in their car. That's according to a poll taken with 3,500 drivers. By way of comparison, that's more cash than most Americans carry in their wallet. Or old people like my friend Rick carry in their change purse.

49% of Americans, according to a different poll, carry $20 or less on them, while 9% carry no cash at all. Those must be the ones with the signs on their trucks that say, "Drivers carry no cash." 

It would be interesting to figure out how much money is lost every year because of the additional weight $22 in change adds to your vehicle. It's got to affect gas mileage. 

I hope the loose change is confined in some way. It would be even worse to have someone fatally injured in a crash because of flying coins. 

Give a whole new meaning to being nickel and dimed to death.

America, ya gotta love it.