Omari's Blog

I am proud to rely mostly on my own two feet, my gluteus maximus, and chauffeured vehicles for nearly all my urban transportation needs, so for me the rare need for a car necessitates a trip to the rental car counters at National Airport or Union Station.* The Hertz line was awful today, but I marched right past it to walk up to the self check-in kiosk. Then people started to realize they could use them, so they started lining up behind me. Good thing they didn't realize that before I got there.

I am one of those rare freaks who actually likes to read the rental car contracts. They are full of fun things--for instance, You agree that You will not operate the Vehicle on unpaved roads.

One of the things from the Hertz contract sticks out in my head. It says that the "Loss Damage Waiver - is not insurance." Of course they will be happy to sell you actual insurance.

I'm a bit of a daredevil, so I don't get the insurance, even though I have no car insurance of my own. By law they have to cover me for a minimal amount. Certainly it isn't much, but I figure that for me to incur really big damages would require that I be negligent. I pay attention when I'm driving.

My credit card covers me if the car is damaged or stolen.

Unfortunately most folks do not understand all this stuff. They didn't go to law school, after all, and who really likes reading those contracts? Well, I do.

* Don't tell me about Zipcar. They suck.

posted at: 18:00 | path: / | permanent link to this entry