yes, I think this story is recognizable for every traveler/backpacker...
Been on some horrible bus rides too but luckily accident free. Altough I came close ones in Thailand when our minivan went trough red and trough the traffic of a busy cross point because the brakes snapped.
Oh that would have been terrifying! I'm glad you came out unscathed and lived to tell the story.
I'm just grateful that the crash happened on a motorway and not up in the hills during the night. I may not have been so lucky then.