Over my career I’ve driven many miles for work, vacations and pleasure. I like to drive and think I’m pretty good at it.
I’ve had one accident on the road, admittedly my fault, resulting in a fender bender. But with probably over a million miles driven in a lifetime, I think that is commendable. I’ve written about driving before, but I think it wise to remind others of idiots on the road.
One morning while driving to work on an expressway, I passed a young woman weaving but staying within her lane. While passing her, I looked her way and discovered a cigarette hanging from her mouth while she was evidently putting something in her eye area – probably eyeliner or some such thing ladies do in the morning while getting ready for work, but not while driving.
Evidently she was late and doing it on the road. But I had to hand it to her, she was doing a great job until a two trailer gravel truck merged onto the roadway and she almost hit him by not paying attention. Such is life.
Another morning on the same expressway, I passed a guy speeding and slowing, speeding and slowing. Many passed him and gestured or honked their horns. I slowly passed him and noticed he had a newspaper spread across the steering wheel and a coffee cup in one hand. Yikes.
I was behind a young woman at a left turn lane. She was at least 15 feet behind the vehicle ahead of her and third behind the leading cars. I knew this light was a short left turn signal, so timing was important to get through the intersection with the signal time.
The arrow turned green, the first two vehicles made a quick left and the lady sat there. I gave a short toot to wake her up or from looking at her phone. Her head popped up and started to get through the intersection as the signal turned yellow and I was right behind her. She rolled her window down and shot me the #1 signal with her middle finger.
How rude when it was her causing the delay. Whatever happened to responsibility toward others while driving?
On a Friday afternoon driving home from work on a main two lane road, I came upon a man driving about 45 in a 55 speed zone, weaving over the middle line and back to the shoulder. Obviously drunk, drugged or had a medical condition. After following him for a few miles, I called 911 and told them the situation, his license plate number, and the description of his vehicle. I turned off the road to go home and he stayed on the road. Hopefully the county police apprehended this menace to the public. If you ever see a vehicle weaving all over the road, please call 911 and help them apprehend the person driving before they kill someone.
One winter morning while close to work, I turn down a secondary street from a main thoroughfare and viewed a dark form coming at me from the opposite side of the road – no lights, no parking lamps, no nothing. A car pulled out in front of the unlit vehicle and they almost collided. Again, no lights came on, and the vehicle turned into a driveway to deliver kids to school! I saw this same vehicle throughout the year from time to time with no lights in early dark mornings.
And what is with the parking lights on moving vehicles with no headlights when headlights are needed at early dawn and dusk? Parking lights are for a parked vehicle on the side of the road so people know there is a vehicle there, not for a moving vehicle.
And pedestrians walking, running or pedaling bicycles – walk or run against traffic, ride bicycles with traffic. I learned this in school at an early age and again in driver’s training in high school. Don’t they teach that now? People wonder how others get run over by vehicles – drunk or drugged drivers, distracted drivers looking at a phone or doing something other than what they are required to do while driving – watch the road!
If your skills are so bad you don’t feel you are capable of driving safely, please don’t drive. Have someone take you where you need to go, use public transportation, ride a bike, walk. Don’t be a hazard to yourself or others.
I witnessed an accident one afternoon while driving home from work. It was at an intersection where cross traffic didn’t stop, north and south had to stop, east and west traffic had the right of way. There was a car three ahead of me that was traveling slowly and weaving. The car stopped at the sign and moved ahead right into the path of a van, hitting the car broadside in the passenger door. The car was driven down the street about 50 feet and did a U-turn into an empty lot next to a house.
I drove to the shoulder of the road and looking both ways crossed the street to help person in the car. Inside was an unconscious woman probably in her 70s. She was just coming to when I opened the door and told her she was in an accident and not to move. She had a seat belt on and wanted it off so she could breathe. I hit the release button and she had a cut on her forehead with a little blood and a blue area from blood under the skin from the impact to the steering wheel.
Just then a young woman identifying herself as a nurse said she would take over until the ambulance arrived. I found out later the woman passed away from her injuries (evidently internal) after a few days.
I knew the driver of the van. I was riding my mountain bike down his road and pulled into his driveway. We didn’t know each other well, he was a few years behind me in high school. I told him I knew he was involved in the accident and it wasn’t his fault, she drove into the intersection without seeing his van. I also found out from a nurse at the hospital where the driver was treated and had a reaction to medication she was taking which probably confused her vision and/or ability to drive. I told him what I found out. Unfortunately, she died as a result.
Animals are an everyday hazard on the roadways; dogs, cats, raccoons, skunks, deer, etc. are always a possible encounter. Even turtles. I once slowed down because a few vehicles ahead of me were stopped. There was a huge turtle in the roadway and nobody knew how to make it move. I got out of the car, approached the turtle stomping, clapping, and yelling and it took off over the other side of the road, across the riprap stone beach and into the lake. Problem solved – happy motorists and an animal save from being crushed on the road.
Another time while riding my bike, I saw a mother duck with eight ducklings trying to cross the south side of Gun Lake. Traffic was stopped because nobody knew where the ducks were. I stopped, placed my arms out in a stop motion to both lanes of traffic and the herd waddled across the road with momma quacking and the ducklings close behind. Not a life lost and I felt like a hero for at least a few minutes. I hate hitting an animal with a vehicle – they are so vulnerable and live in our crazy world, but I sure love seeing them.
Happy driving and be safe out there on the road!
