Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Another Close Call

I stopped counting close calls a long time ago. I don't even consider being cut off by texting drivers as a close call anymore. I call that a fact of life.

But, today I had yet another one. So today after a nice coffee in town I was waiting for a clear window to make a left turn from the parking lot of the coffee shop. It's a four lane with a center turning lane. Turning into the turning lane didn't appeal to me since I'm pretty sure that's why I flunked my driver's test the first time.

So I found a window as soon as this car and truck (triangle) coming from the right had passed. It looked something like this:
All clear. So I lay on the throttle and am almost in the left lane behind that car when out of nowhere the triangle (truck) had slowed down and decided he wanted in my lane. No blinker, just elbowed right in. Trucks, I swear. Just because you feel like you're in a monster truck rally doesn't mean you have to drive like you're in one. And while we're on the subject a F-150 doesn't qualify for the monster rally... just sayin'.
So now my situation looks like this (yes, I can't even doodle with the help of Microsoft Word):
I've had a lot of close calls, as mentioned before, but I've never experienced any sort of adrenaline rush. I have this uncanny ability to remain calm. Time slows down a bit and the only excitement I can muster is "...Well, this isn't good."
Yup. That's about it. And, then I usually weigh my options and react. In this case I did some major leaning to my left when I noticed I was awfully close to the rear quarter panel of that monster rally wannabe truck. Braking didn't seem to fit the situation.

The best part is that the guy never even saw me.

3 comments:

  1. What a frightening experience!!! Glad you are okay!!

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  2. I made you some pictures for future diagrams.

    http://tinypic.com/r/426iq/5

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    Replies
    1. Haha, you rock, Joel! That's awesome. Saved for future use. I feel empowered...

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