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We all have them, sometimes a number of them in one week or one month, where if you hadn't been extra-alert, at the time, behind the wheel of your car, your life would have come to a crashing halt, and not just in a physical sense. It could have resulted in a 2nd degree manslaughter charge!
Thurs. nite around 3am (I work the nightshift and up all nite on days off), after walking my pet, I make a right turn onto a busy avenue (3 lanes on each side). Naturally, I look to the left to look for traffic, and as I'm about to accelerate to enter the far right lane, a speeding bicyclist comes racing down the wrong side of the street with no headlight, and there he was, in front of my headlights, inches away, as I was ready to accelerate! Yes, I know, the police would have probably ruled the bicyclist at fault, but even those ruled innocent in these cases, it can haunt you for years, having killed or injured someone permanently.
I envy those that can shake off these incidents, and think nothing of it later! Merely chalk it up to luck!
Years ago, driving on a rural road, driving too fast, with passengers, I came across a black vehicle parked in the road, being so dark, and the car being black, if I had been ultra-alert that night, do I even want to think of the ramifications of what could have happened!!! And, to this day, this close call can still haunt me when I'm out driving on a rural road at night.
Yes, it's easy to say: Get over it! Get over it! But, for some of us, we so wish we could, and bury the memory once and for all!
How about others? Memories of close class buried immediately?
Pretty sure everyone has this issue. Even when people have an awkward interaction with someone and it stays with them for 10 years....... we have the innate ability to recall things that hurt us or could have hurt us or others and we use those to avoid further incidents. I think that's just human nature.
My worst close call was when the autistic kid down the street rode his bike right in front of me on the street. I pushed the brake as hard as I could and stopped literally inches from the little guys head. I thought I was going to lose it after that.
Was driving home from work about 2 weeks ago at 10PM. Dark street, took a right and missed a couple of idiots walking in the dark on the wrong side of the street, steered the wheel at the last second. Didn't bother me much, I did what I could and now they live to pollute the world a little longer with their stupidity.
I once had an accident where a kid ran out of a field into the side of my car. It was a small kid. High weeds I did not see him coming. I was really shaken. You could see on the side of my car where his head hit. No charges were filed. I was concerned but my insurance company told me to have no contact with the family.
I once had an accident where a kid ran out of a field into the side of my car. It was a small kid. High weeds I did not see him coming. I was really shaken. You could see on the side of my car where his head hit. No charges were filed. I was concerned but my insurance company told me to have no contact with the family.
That's crazy, absolutely no way that could have been prevented by you but I know how you must have felt. Just waiting for the big lawsuit and the legal fees.
I have been in at least ten major accidents in my 54 years of life. Before you get excited and think I'm a terribly unsafe driver, let me say the following:
1. I was a passenger in four of the accidents.
2. In five of the accidents the other driver was cited for being at fault.
3. I was truly at fault in one accident that occurred.
I need to drive. I don't have the luxury of being shaken up to the point where I can avoid driving for longer than one day. I just sucked it up each time and I kept going. Today, I am extremely comfortable driving an automobile even in heavy traffic. I even drove over the George Washington Bridge in New York during rush hour about six weeks ago.
PTSD is for people like soldiers who experience the stress of combat. Its not for ordinary every day events.
A nurse in a facility, next to where I work, hit a teenager (a group of them was playing, daring each other to dodge cars passing by), the body splatted against the windshield, she was innocent. She came to work the next day with a uniform top, pajama bottoms, slippers, her hair undone, glazed eyes, in an all-but catatonic state, crying: "I killed someone yesterday!" The Director of Nurses tried consoling her, and sent her home to recover.
I once read a book about innocent people killing others, thru no fault of their own, and for some it can take months, years to recover.
And then there's always the fear the victim's family will go off the deep end and call you at home repeatedly/occasionally, to remind you what you did (innocently) to one of their loved ones.
I've never forgotten the stories in that book, and it all came to mind when I almost hit this bicyclist last Thursday nite. How long would it take to recover from it? And knowing something about that person might even make it worse!
I can typically forget about that type of stuff and move on right away as though nothing has happened. That's just a consequence of living in a big city where close calls happen on an almost daily basis, whether it's kids, pedestrians, or other drivers.
I have a harder time letting go of incidents of road rage (not from me, but from other people directed toward me.) Being threatened is not something I take lightly.
With a friend back in the day in a VW Beetle. Teenager ran a stop sign and next thing I knew I was staring at the kid face to face as he hit the windshield. We hit the brakes and he flew off into the road. Thankfully a State Trooper was right behind us and saw the whole thing.Kid survived and even had the balls to call my friend up and demand he pay for his bike. 30 years ago and I still can vividly picture the kid plastered to the windshield.
I think a prudent person would slow down a bit and be more cautious after a number of close calls. Maybe that's why you drive so slow in your old age ?
If I have a close call it's usually a significant event clustered with a bunch of smaller ones - people pulling out in front of me without warning, a car passing on my right out of nowhere, etc. On those days I try to get home safely and avoid driving for the rest of the day. Why tempt fate?
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