Hoo boy.....very nearly had a serious car wreck yesterday.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

Was driving to my chiropractor appointment Wed. afternoon. Doing about 50 mph on 2 lane blacktop. All of a sudden from a street on the right, I see a HUGE pickup truck (probably like a Ford 250 or a Dodge RAM) nose right outside the passenger window, from a farm road on the right. He's pulling out to make a left and doesn't even see me, because I'm in a much smaller vehicle.
Dear Hubby is riding shotgun.

I'm in a little four door Mazda. So I stomp on the gas. And I guess I swerved to the left over the yellow line. When I see him, he's probably a foot from my car, the front end of his pickup is maybe a foot from my car and looming over it, and I thought he was moving slowly.

I stomp on the gas to get ahead of him. I see his nose in my right rear view mirror, and by the time I get out of the way, his front end was probably just a few inches from my rear end.

I go a few more feet, do a U turn. He makes his left and pulls over. I pull over behind him, get out and yell at him that he better be more careful. He said he only looked one way in the lane of traffic he was pulling into. I guess that means he didn't have to look to the left since he was turning left. What a senile old man!! He really should not be driving.

I have never been in a near-wreck situation like that before. The whole time it felt like he couldn't have been more than a foot, and less, from the whole right side of my car. I'm gonna ask the local cops what to do to look out for him -- I got his license number.

Dear Hubby was amazed and thrilled and relieved that my reflexes and impulses were fast enough to get us out of the way and keep us from a major T-bone accident. I do all the driving at night since DH is growing cataracts. I am 55 and have never gotten a ticket for causing a wreck, although I have been in several wrecks. He's 64 and trying to hang on till he's eligible for Medicare.

I'm posting this here because the whole situation and memory feels so different from a wreck -- this wasn't quite in slow motion, but the part I remember was a bit slowed down -- and the truck was SO CLOSE to the side of my car for several feet down the right side. By the time I passed him it was just a few inches. Weird.

I'm praying "To whom it May Concern" like a good Unitarian. :D

[Celebration]

1. Good job!

I imagine that all got your adrenaline going.

To Whom It May Concern: Thank you.

[I Have A Dream]

2. I'm so glad that you're OK, MofL.

Thank you, Universe, for protecting her vehicle.

Good for you for staying calm in such a stressful situation.

:hug:

[OneGrassRoot]

3. I'm amazed and thrilled, too!

Wow.....my adrenaline is pumping just reading about it.

Great job, Manifestor!

:hug: :hug: :hug:

:loveya:

[MorningGlow]

4. Wow--scary!

So glad you're all right! :hug: Good work with your defensive driving!

I have a phobia about people pulling out onto a road and hitting me--always have. Maybe because I see too many eedjits barely pause to look before they come barreling out onto the main road. Lots of near misses (and lots of swearing on my part!)

[Manifestor_of_Light]

5. Thanks to you all.

Out in the country, we have people that pull out without looking from side streets, either quickly or slowly. You never know when a horse trailer or shitbox or truck will pull out.

Both are dangerous. A lot of old people think that if they drive slowly, that they are safer. That is wrong. My grandmother grew up in the days of the Model T, and she thought that driving slowly was safer. The safest speed is the same as the rest of the traffic, usually.

The turnoff this guy came out of goes to someplace called "BROOM CITY". I kid you not.

Maybe we can get Christine O'Donnell a job there, as a test pilot??? :evilgrin:

[elleng]

6. Good work, and THANKS, 'To Whom. . .!'

[liberalmuse]

7. That is some good defensive driving, m'dear.

And 'near-wrecks' are good. I was in a wreck that still gives me the heebeejeebees. My daughter and I were just a rock away from going over a cliff. I'm so glad you and your hubby are alive and well enough to tell this story. :)

[murielm99]

8. I am so glad you are all right.

I remember my near accident too well. I understand how you feel.

I live in the country, too. It seems that people used to stop and all the intersections on the country roads. It is a good idea to slow down because many of the intersections have obstructed views. There are also many slow moving vehicles on those roads, like tractors and combines. People don't stop or slow down much any more.

We had a bad accident at the intersection north of my house. That one is marked with stop signs. The country road that crosses the highway requires a stop. Two teens unfamiliar with the area did not stop. Both were killed. The boys were not drinking or anything like that. They were simply visiting friends in an area they did not know well.

Your dh should have his cataract surgery. I had both eyes done this spring. It makes a huge difference.

Good for you for getting through this safely!

[SheilaT]

9. This is also a good example of why

smaller cars are actually much safer than larger vehicles. If you'd been driving a full-sized something or another that wasn't half as responsive as your little Mazda you very well might not have been able to avoid a collision.

I drive a Honda Civic myself, and it's the liveliness of it that I like best. That and the unexpectedly large trunk space.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

10. It's an old 626 four door.

I bought it new in '94 and it's still going. I like the fact that it's easy to park. So many people in Texas drive big pickups and SUVs (I call 'em Bwana-mobiles) and they park 'em in little bitty spaces.

Third tranny, but I have had problems with a tranny in a previous Mazda too. I think that Houston destroys trannys b/c either your fluid will break down from the heat if you have an automatic, and if you have a stick you're gonna wear out your clutch in the stop and go traffic on the freeways.
I refuse to drive a stick because of the freeway traffic.

I paid $1000 more to get a V6 instead of a V-4, so I would have more pickup. I wanted to be able to get out of the way of the nuts in Houston on the freeway.

[SheilaT]

11. In a related note,

a lot of reviews of Honda Civics often complain that they don't have very good acceleration. But that's because they always test drive the automatics. I drive a stick, and in the standard transmission the acceleration is excellent. I can usually pull away from any other car at a stop light.

[PhillyGurl]

12. Glad you two are OK. I've had enough of this

pre-Scorpionic weirdness lately. Believe me, I've been asking the universe nightly for peace, harmony and sanity for all of us.

Harumpf. Too much sickness, impending death, deaths of acquaintances, friends in distress, overdue babies, babies not yet born in distress. Blech!