A Photograph of me without me in it

A Photograph of me without me in it
A photograph of me without me in it

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Driving Lessons

Driving Lesson #1:

I stopped in my little Honda Civic Hybrid in a gas station driveway. I looked left. Then right. Then left again. No one was coming either way. I pulled out. Suddenly, to my left appeared a fast-moving Chevy Blazer. I slowed. The driver, Mr. Smith, didn't react. I hit the gas to try to get past him. He still didn't react. His big Blazer t-boned my little Honda and pushed my car 110 feet in his direction.

Mr. Smith and I were both taken by ambulance to the regional trauma center. As far as I can learn, we're both (miraculously) fine. My car died that day. I don't know about his.

Though Mr. Smith was almost certainly speeding and not paying attention, I got the ticket. He hit me in his lane, after all. Police budgets are tight. There was no real investigation. I don't know how all of this will come out, but I know now that I can be following all of the rules and driving carefully, and I can get in a bad accident and be legally at fault. That's my first driving lesson.

Driving Lesson #2:

The same accident would have been much worse for me if alcohol had been involved. It wasn't.

Driving Lesson #3:

I don't know if Mr. Smith is having relationship problems, but a friend's therapist told her that 90 percent of people going through a divorce get in a car accident. (Just to be clear, I'm not getting divorced.)

Please be careful. Don't drive fast. Don't drink and drive. Be especially careful if you're going through a divorce.

3 comments:

  1. I am VERY irritated that you got a ticket. Doesn't seem fair at all. Grrrr. It's enough to drive me to drink (but not enough to consider divorce). And I won't drive after that drink, I promise. I am a good student.

    ReplyDelete
  2. These three are really important driving lessons you have shared. They are so important to follow for all drivers, I 100% agree with you. The third lesson and data is a shocker!

    Regards,
    Driving School Sydney

    ReplyDelete
  3. When driving, don’t think of anything else. Just keep your focus on the road and everybody else around you. Don’t drive if you’re out of focus and/or if you think you just can’t. What happened after the accident? Was Mr. Smith held liable for his reckless driving?

    -Marvis Carswell

    ReplyDelete

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