I had a near miss yesterday with a very large fast moving truck. I cant stop thinking about it. It was on a stretch of road where old and new has met on a slight bend. The truck leaned into the bend while a mound of dirt that has been left on the edge of the join also threw me into the bend. I was at the time doing the speed limit if not less.
I saw what was going to happen before it had happened. I had hit this bend before. I tried to slow down and braced the steering wheel holding my breath literally but the truck didn’t slow down, there was no where to go safely. He just kept going if anything he speed up perhaps he didn’t but it felt that way.
I swerved to miss the trucks back end, hit a pot hole (as you have in a new stretch of road) and fish tailed somewhat out of control. I remembered to just take my foot of the accelerator, no brakes, relax on the steering wheel and just slow down go with the flow so to speak. Its what my parents taught me when I started to drive. (I’m not sure if that’s the technical and correct way to get out of a sticky situation but it worked yesterday) I slowed right down until I came to a stop.
I looked in my rear vision mirror as the truck kept going not even stopping. The dog crate in the back had tipped over and the kids had hit their heads on the side of the car. I didn’t cry, I didn’t even swear, I just fixed up the dog’s and the crate, insured the kids where good and got back in the car, thinking to myself ‘I’m glad I didn’t panic that could have been messy’.
But now perhaps delayed shock it has occurred to me since though that my whole world was in that car, my husbands whole world was in that car. Really everything that was important was in that car. I’m sure its the same for you.
Its given me a fright, a real fright and to be honest I wish there was an alternative to me driving right now but I guess its a matter of ‘sucking it up’ and getting on with it. I cant avoid driving here there is no such thing as public transport and big trucks and farm equipment are common as the city has taxis.
Now I’m no angel to the occasional bouts of ‘come on’ and the arm throwing that comes with that but I’m since I have had kids I have been so careful to control my behaviour in the car. Before kids I drove to fast and took risk that seem ludicrous now all to save what I thought was a hugh amount of time when in reality it was minutes if that. Looking back I was a selfish driver. I only considered myself on the road. It was about when and where “I” had to get too. Everyone else just got in the way. My past behaviour behind the wheels is somewhat regretful. Im just lucky I didn’t kill anyone.
All I can ask is for others to slow down, we are all as important as each other.
xxD
