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I once made a coffee for someone, gave it to him and he sat down on a couch, the cushion moved when he sat down and he spilled some coffee and the first words out of his mouth were 'Agh, you're coffee's all over the couch!'
It seems that whenever something bad happens it's someone else fault. I've had a car accident, not even a dent, but I've had two close calls. One time I was looking out for a building number and almost went up the back of someone, another time it was on the down slope of a hill in the rain and I wasn't paying attention, so I didn't notice the car in front slowing down for a red light. Both times were because I wasn't paying attention, but stories don't work like that.
When telling someone a story we tend to embellish it slightly I suppose. Saying 'I almost had an accident tonight because I wasn't paying attention' isn't as interesting as saying 'I was on a downhill slope late last night, and it was pouring with rain. The car in front braked suddenly, I hit the brakes but my tyres skidded a bit but eventually stopped just inches away from his rear bumper!' The responsibility is sort of implied, I suppose, but the interesting parts of the story (the 'dark and gloomy night') are focussed on because they're more juicy than a simple 'I suck at driving'.
I think there's also the obvious humiliation or embarassment that comes along with an accident or a near accident, especially if it's a dent or a cracked light, something that was totally avoidable. The more avoidable or minor the accident is I think the more likely it is that the one at fault will shift the blame, or complain that the other person made too big a deal out of it, because they're embarassed about the proof that they screwed up. It's fair enough I think.
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