TINS (this is no...)
On the way back from dinner tonight, the person with whom I had chosen to carpool tried to enter the freeway with an 18-wheeler on his left rear quarter panel.
The guy tried to accelerate to get in front of the truck. We didn't make it, had to hit the shoulder, and the truck moved over!
Life immitating art, I guess.
As for the "I hit the gas, and it worked!" argument, all things are possible. I have heard amazing stories of people surviving car accidents after being ejected during a roll over. "If I had stayed in the car, I would have died!"
Sure, sure... it happens. We all get lucky, once or twice. I still wear my seat belt.
However, the math, laws of physics, and the nature of us all tends to eliminate luck over time.
You should ALWAYS THINK NEGATIVE when driving a vehicle.
Saying that, and I promise I am not harping on any one, a near collision like this is a failure on each person's part for not anticipating, planning, and preparing for these events.
I teach Driver's Education, and I still find myself driving with one finger, daydreaming behind the wheel and exceeding safe speeds at night, etc. I am no saint.
Don't let luck make you complacent. I KNOW that you think you have made the right decision when you survive a near accident. However, the fact that you are in a near accident proves you were not doing your job in the first place.
This post is not directed at anyone. This is just a basic lecture from a guy who has seen far too many dumb excuses for life threatening misakes. A guy who has seen too many stupid, lame, excuses for unsafe driving, poor decision making, and lucky breaks that almost got someone killed.
Spend some time in a car all day with teeenagers who are learning to drive and you wil understand basic, primal fear of imminent death and dismemberment.
Fear is a powerful motivator.
I know these same teens, and thier unsafe parents who told them crazy/mythical things about driving are on the road with me everyday. Heck they SCARED ME when I sat in teh car with them and had BRAKE that could be used to STOP them! Now I have NO CONTROL over their hairbrained decision making skills!
Driving is the single most dangerous thing each of us encounters in our daily routine.
Imagine the others drivers are either:
1. Drunk
2. Stoned
3. Stupid
Take you pick, and plan accordingly. You will seldom underestimate their next unsafe/dangerous/moronic act of with this logic.
TheRedGoat/Baphomet