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Near Miss This Morning

Posted by $ Abaco 5 years, 4 months ago to Philosophy
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Thought I'd share here. This morning when I was driving in to my office in the dark I almost was in a head-on collision with somebody driving the wrong way on our local blvd. It happened so fast. He grazed the dodge durango in front of me, headed my way, and I managed to swerve very hard across the center divide to miss him. Luckily, at that early hour, nobody was coming the other way on the other side. It happened so quick - from seeing his headlights to just missing him was only about two seconds. I quickly spun my truck around to try to intervene or see how he ended up. Luckily, again, hardly anybody out at that hour. He got turned around and was being visited by the durango driver...who was so frightened he was shaking. I made sure the wrong-way driver didn't leave because he was clearly challenged...acting drunk. Ends up he is an old veteran suffering from diabetes. Guys...this happened so fast. My body just reacted and my mind thought, "So...this is how it happens..." I was shaken, but am at work today...reevaluating my life a little bit.


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  • Posted by fairbro 5 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    That happened to me in upstate NY, too. We drove up the hill from the flatland, and a little way up the hill, the road turned to ice. Our car's wheels spun, we stupidly braked and stopped sideways in the road. We tried to turn around and go back down, but could only spin. A minute later, a car coming down from the top of the hill saw our car sideways in the road, hit his brakes, and his tires discovered the ice. He went into the ditch. The only lesson learned here was the road at the bottom of the hill can be okay to drive on but going up the hill and into the forest, the road can turn to ice. I still remember the horrified looks!
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  • Posted by Katrina41 5 years, 4 months ago
    I was an OTR truck driver (box and van) and saw too many horrific accidents happen right in front of me. Most of the outcomes were not good. Grateful you are still with us in good condition Abaco.
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  • Posted by mia767ca 5 years, 4 months ago
    you can never know...just enjoy life as you can...put the odds on your side...eternal vigilance...
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  • Posted by $ gharkness 5 years, 4 months ago
    There's never a really good time to die, but of course the holidays are the worst! I said goodbye to both my father and my sister in December (years ago, nothing fresh and new, but you never forget).

    And just last month my husband's 31-year old nephew died in a house fire. His wife realized the house was on fire and tried to wake him, but he was already gone from gas inhalation (at least he didn't burn to death). She just got out of the hospital after 3 weeks in ICU. Of course her life will never be the same! And only 31! So much promise. Both were high achievers (of course she still is).

    Now about those people with diabetes. You don't have to be old or, well, anything, to go into insulin shock, especially a T1. But T2s who take insulin can also be affected. And it often looks like drunk driving, but testing tells the story. How do we get affected sufferers of diabetes off the road? I don't know. I tried 20+ years and finally refused to allow my (then) husband to drive our kids anywhere. He just couldn't keep his glucose levels high enough to be competent.

    So glad it was a "near miss" and not a dead-center hit. There's no such thing as being "too" alert when you are driving. These things DO happen fast. You don't see them coming, until they are there.
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  • Posted by bsmith51 5 years, 4 months ago
    So many impaired drivers on the road anymore - (so let's make pot legal!). Good job being aware & ready. Every day is a gift, because you never know.
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  • Posted by $ allosaur 5 years, 4 months ago
    Back during the Seventies I had a job at newspaper located where that if I wanted to visit folks at home, that being Dothan, Alabama, or an hour's drive farther south at Compass Lake, Florida, depending on the the time of year, that meant always having to drive on a congested four-lane called Southern Boulevard in Montgomery, Alabama.
    That's when I was a young man with sharp reflexes in my early twenties and fairly fresh out of the Marines.
    Anyway, year by year, at least twice on the boulevard I drove by multi-car bumper-to-bumper pileups that involved six or more cars. Someone would ram the back of a braked to a stop car and then what followed was a domino effect.
    One day I was driving home and was on Southern Boulevard beside a grass island between the different direction lanes and was in a line of cars stopped by a red light.
    Dead behind me I heard Crash! Crash! Crash! and immediately knew what was coming. I took my foot of the brake and briefly toed the gas while wheeling right onto that grassy median.
    The last car hit got bumped halfway through the space my car had vacated~~that stopping the domino bumper-to-bumper effect.
    Save for some people rubbing the back of their necks, no one was seriously hurt. Well, maybe.
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  • Posted by $ rockymountainpirate 5 years, 4 months ago
    I had that happen to me last year. Lady driving northbound in the southbound #1 lane. The semi driver in front of me must have had to change his drawers. It's a divided highway there, 55mph. Scary stuff. At least it wasn't the 70mph part.
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  • Posted by $ gharkness 5 years, 4 months ago in reply to this comment.
    I am hoping I have the grace and good sense to quit driving when I START to lose my facilities (or just before). If not, I STILL hope whoever cares for me (and the lives of those I might hurt) will make the call, even if I protest (hoping I don't).
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  • Posted by GaryL 5 years, 4 months ago
    God bless you! Not all who venture into oncoming lanes are drunk, drugged or distracted drivers. Medical conditions can happen at any time and anywhere with at times zero warning for the wrong way driver. Thank your lucky stars and go buy a lottery ticket to give to your wife when you hug her tonight. I live in the frozen NE Catskills mountains of NY. Driving up the mountain to home on ice covered roads a car coming down lost all control and was sliding at me doing 360 spins. Just by luck she missed me while passing and spinning backwards with a horrified look on her face. She came to a full stop at the bottom sideways in the middle of the road and never hit anything. Pretty sure she had to do a clean up in isle 2 and even more sure she needs better tires.
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  • Posted by freedomforall 5 years, 4 months ago
    Your quick reactions saved the day. Very happy to hear you and your vehicle are still in good health. 👍
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  • Posted by $ AJAshinoff 5 years, 4 months ago
    Man, close call. Thank God for quick reaction time. Glad you're okay. Yeah, something like this does force a look at things.
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  • Posted by Dobrien 5 years, 4 months ago
    Nice reaction , that comes from being mindful and aware. Glad you are safe Merry Christmas!
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  • Posted by AMeador1 5 years, 4 months ago
    Glad you are okay as well as everyone else - that could have been much worse obviously!

    You never know when the end will come - glad that this is giving you time to think about life - verse your loved ones missing you in theirs.
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  • Posted by exceller 5 years, 4 months ago
    Oh my God!

    Glad you made it. There are a lot of compromised individuals driving who should not be.

    Are you in the Santa Cruz area?

    Just to add my recent experience: I was pushing my cart out of the supermarket the other day, across a yellow band on the road, marked so that drivers should yield to pedestrians.

    I saw a car coming from the left and took it for granted he'd stop seeing me crossing.

    He did not.

    I was in the yellow strip already when he hit my cart. Then he stopped, stepping out of his car, apologizing profusely.

    He was a very old guy who either looked the other way or did not know driving rules. I was shaken up and was less than polite as I told him he was an arse and should not be driving.

    You can't have a drink at work but have one when you go home and relax.
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