Traffic was really bad everywhere in the Metropolis last week. I tried to avoid some traffic by passing through some shortcuts but eventually, you'll need to use a main thoroughfare.

In my case, I avoided C-5 by using EDSA. I had no idea traffic would be as slow as a turtle.

Right near EDSA Buendia in the midst of crawling traffic, I was startled that my car moved when I knew my foot was on the breaks. I realized it immediately that I moved when I checked my rear view mirror and saw the car behind me kissing my car's rear. I immediately turned on the hazard lights and went down to see what happened. It was a white Fortuner SUV that bumped me. Good thing EDSA traffic then was at a standstill or else we would've been honked by drivers left and right for causing more traffic. I checked for any hits, scratches and dents on my car. I didn't care about theirs, since it's their fault to begin with. All I noticed was that the car plate's plastic cover got smashed and left a 3 inch crack. I was glad that was all there was. And so to shorten the discussion time of what to do (negotiate, wait for police or debate on who was right and who was wrong), I told them it was their fault cause I wasn't moving at all when they bumped me and since the only casualty I found was the cracked plastic plate cover, I said that could be easily replaced by buying another one for around P200. They immediately complied and gave me the P200. I left them a last message to be careful even in traffic and went back in the car.

While still stuck in traffic, I was pondering on what just happened and came up with these thoughts:

1. If you're going to be reared by another car, the best (in a series of worsts) situation is in traffic where all the cars are running at a very slow pace. So chances of high-impact smashing is least likely to occur.
2. I got bumped by a bigger car (an SUV). In this case, your bumper doesn't touch their bumper. So look upward for any dents, scratches or hits. My license plate and the area below it (near the trunk base) got hit.
3. Keep your cool even though you're the victim. Panicking or accusing won't help in a situation like this. Try to even out the situation in a calm manner (no matter how your innter thoughts would like to smash the hell out of their windshield).
4. When both of you leave the scene where the accident occurred, let the car at fault pass you. If the car was careless enough to bump you, chances are it may happen again, even seconds or minutes afterwards. And at this point, you already know the car, just avoid it.