A close encounter

[davidn]

I think I just nearly died. That is, we made sure to buy a car with an incredible safety emphasis and that virtually transforms into a bouncy castle as soon as the bumper is hit, but I'm glad that... by about an inch, we didn't find out how effective the airbags were.

I can't really type just now - here's a diagram of a junction on our normal route home from the supermarket. There's no traffic light - the lane in our direction widens, to let cars who are turning left get out of the way of oncoming traffic, and I was sitting there...


On this particular occasion, someone coming in the opposite direction sped forwards to overtake the car ahead just before the junction - I couldn't believe it when he came out, and thought that he would surely brake and reconsider right up until the moment when he swerved back into his own lane, surely missing me and the car he had illegally passed by no more than an inch.

I have never seen a car coming head-on towards me at 40 miles per hour before, and I hope never to again. This is the stupidest thing that I've ever seen anyone do on the road - there's no excuse for overtaking on a corner at that speed, unless he was delivering an emergency case to hospital or had just robbed the bank. Once I'd got through what's usually a very unremarkable junction, I had to pull to the side of the road and breathe for a while before continuing - my heart still sounds like a Michael Jackson song.

Never mind - he'll be dead soon.

Comments

[rakarr.livejournal.com]

You pretty much have to drive that way, don't you? It's not enough just to drive skillfully for yourself, you have to assume that everyone else is going to do the stupidest things imaginable, because sometimes they do. Even before I was driving I used to point out hazards to my father, things like "Watch out for that person coming out of their driveway," and his answer was always that it was safe because the other car wasn't allowed to just pull out without looking or whatever. Sadly, rules and common sense don't stop people from doing ridiculously stupid things and endangering themselves and others, and I think I managed to convince him of that eventually.

I'm going to go for "Wanker" for the W - F can be suffixed with "ing" and a space in this instance.

David, I'm glad you're okay, and also that you didn't have to test the safety of your car. That intersection does look a little dangerous, but there's absolutely no excuse for what that FW did, and you're right, he probably will be dead soon. I just hope he doesn't take anyone with him.

I'm also trying not to be vaguely amused that you couldn't type but had the time to make a diagram with GTA cars.

[rakarr.livejournal.com]

P.S.
You're in a Cassio, you're fine. Even with the stupid birds-eye controls.

[xaq.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think there was ever any mystery as to the first half of that particular acronym. XP

[davidn]

I'm just going to assume that at this moment he's upside-down in a ditch on fire somewhere, a thought that gives me equal parts comfort and relief.

When I realized that against all human reason he wasn't going to stop I actually jerked myself to the right a little - I'm not sure if I actually helped as that movement requires going forwards as well, but... on balance I'm glad that I did, seeing as I'm still alive. But what was most frightening about this was that I realized just how little you can do - you can drive as carefully as possible, and yet when a car comes at 40mph towards you on the wrong side of the road while you're stationary, the other driver's luck is your only chance.