At the Traffic Light

[missmuffet]

Being in my car on our roads is a scary place to be today. I have to be aware of drinkers, which there are many. Also those on their cell phones and texting and also people under the influence of marijuana which is legal in my State. There are many now that cut me off, go through stop signs and stop lights. You have to be a very defensive driver to stay safe. There are so many accidents on our roads and I can see why the number is so high.

[Annette]

5 hours ago, Neighbor said:

Oh that accident was scars ago,  long long scars ago. Half a century has gone by since that one. The only one my own fault. I've been punched in over seven times that I can remember. Craziest one was when I  was moving along speeding a little on the fast lane when a pickup truck  going even faster hit me and crushed the rear of my car pushing me out of my lane  up onto the center raised island. I just went airborne, what an incredible noise crushing metal makes! The other driver a young rather timid young mom said she had dropped baby's pacifier reached down for it evidently pushed down on the gas petal and swerved left as she did. She hadn't even been in my lane before she yanked on the steering wheel trying to reach th efloor of the truck as she drove.

That particular car went airborne in wrecks twice. The first time on the way home from the new car dealership. I had seven miles on it. I was totally stopped at a light couldn't move and saw it coming  in my mirror they never even slowed down, Just hit me  taking out  the front and the back of the car as it drove me into the one in front of me an dlifted my car into the air.

Weird stuff does happen. But God has been most kind through it all! There was one other that I guess was my fault if stupidity counts same as fault.

I was hustling along in a severe rain with tornadoes in the area when one caught me, spun me around multiple times then slid me down the center grass island toward some horrified driver in the oncoming lane. That  guy's eyes were big as saucers. I had no control at all, we were in a bit of a tornado, but I managed to flip my own work van on it's side still in the center island grass before it could reach that other vehicle . And there I was, looking out the side window with the giant side mirror facing me wondering why I  was laying  there with grass pressed against my driver's side window and the engine cowling resting on my right side with hot engine oil dripping on me. I felt like a parakeet in a cage with a mirror.

Anyway, I managed  to open the hatch, which had just minutes before been  my right side door, and lifted up out of the van. A Toyota truck  four wheel drive pulled up with a chain and hook. We pulled the van upright, the engine fired up, I waved, and we were all off again. Before even the cops could arrive.  Next day I kicked the  busted truck panel ribs back into place somewhat and drove that van for another year after. Thing ran on propane was always hard to  get fuel for it back then.

God is so awesome He has brought me through more follies of my own making.

You really have had quite some experiences there Neighbor. It looks as if God definitely had plans to keep you around for longer! Thank you for being willing to share. 

I have been involved in two accidents, one as a child in the back seat of a car and another time when I was just starting to drive. Both of them were in back in Africa where animals were not fenced in and left to roam on the roads. One was at night and the other during the day.

Blessings  

[Annette]

4 hours ago, Yowm said:

It is the safest, unless we are speaking of the course of this world. lol

Agreed! Just this week we were discussing some of the things that people are now making issues, that at one time never was an issue. I keep going back to Psalm 139, and thinking more and more that this is something that I need to be teaching my girls as they go out into school and the world. 

[Annette]

44 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

Being in my car on our roads is a scary place to be today. I have to be aware of drinkers, which there are many. Also those on their cell phones and texting and also people under the influence of marijuana which is legal in my State. There are many now that cut me off, go through stop signs and stop lights. You have to be a very defensive driver to stay safe. There are so many accidents on our roads and I can see why the number is so high.

It is a good thing that you have found a way to adapt with the other drivers on the road. It is a pity when drivers put others at risk because they are being careless. I hadn't even thought about marijuana and the impact it is having.

I love that, for the most part, I do not have to drive in the big city. 

[Sower]

On 9/26/2017 at 6:30 AM, Annette said:

  23 hours ago, ayin jade said:

 

I do have an issue with the person behind me who couldnt stand that it took me a second to take my foot off the brake and start moving when the light changed, so he honked at me. Man I was watching the light and immediately put my foot on the gas. I was not slow at all. But he got nasty and floored it around me, weaving in and out of traffic. So rude.

SPLIT SECOND: definition; the time it takes from when the light turns green, and the car behind you lays on the horn.   (most commonly understood in NYC)

New York Minute

"A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.

It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do.

"I'll have that ready for you in a New York Minute"

[missmuffet]

6 hours ago, Annette said:

It is a good thing that you have found a way to adapt with the other drivers on the road. It is a pity when drivers put others at risk because they are being careless. I hadn't even thought about marijuana and the impact it is having.

I love that, for the most part, I do not have to drive in the big city. 

In our State a person under the influence of Marijuana while driving can still get a DUI. They can take your license away from you. That can be serious.

[Annette]

16 hours ago, Gary Lee said:

SPLIT SECOND: definition; the time it takes from when the light turns green, and the car behind you lays on the horn.   (most commonly understood in NYC)

New York Minute

"A New York minute is an instant. Or as Johnny Carson once said, it's the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green and the guy behind you honking his horn.

It appears to have originated in Texas around 1967. It is a reference to the frenzied and hectic pace of New Yorkers' lives. A New Yorker does in an instant what a Texan would take a minute to do.

"I'll have that ready for you in a New York Minute"

That was interesting to read. Thank you so much for sharing that Gary Lee.  

[Annette]

15 hours ago, Davida said:

I don't care what the person in the next lane does as long as they stay there in their lane LOL! When I'm at a stop light , I am usually faster then the cars opposite. Some people aren't even texting, it seems they just zone out for some reason when they are sitting at the front of the line which is really annoying when you are stuck behind them!

It has been interesting to learn a bit about the driving habits and experiences that others have had here. I agree, though, I do think it is easy to kind of zone out at stops like traffic lights. 

[Neighbor]

17 hours ago, Davida said:

I don't care what the person in the next lane does as long as they stay there in their lane LOL! When I'm at a stop light , I am usually faster then the cars opposite. Some people aren't even texting, it seems they just zone out for some reason when they are sitting at the front of the line which is really annoying when you are stuck behind them!

Hi, Perhaps they are old and catnapping.

Or perhaps their car is just so much more comfortable than yours they  just luxuriate  in it's comforts.

 I know I suffer from that a bit right now! And I look old,- well I am old. My new car, nothing special just a Sante Fe, is really comfortable, and I too get a little "loungy" at stop lights. Now when the opportunity comes, and I am first off the line  I might  be distracted  in my sense of sofa-like comfort and silence, except for classical sound of Willy's Roadhouse playing  through Sirius radio. I tend to look left right then Hit the on button on the floor till  I reach 9mph over the speed limit.

[Dennis1209]

Humm, I'm learning a little somthun here. I thought those numbers on the side of roads were suggestions, and practicing on moving targets?

But seriously, seemingly normal people become different, careless, preoccupied and rude when they get behind the wheel or a computer. And that's not to mention, you don't know who is in front, behind or on side of you in traffic or in public. We have the highest prison incarceration rate in the world. So where is the other 99% of the criminal population that should be behind bars? HONK HONK? I think we would all be surprised if we knew who we came into close contact with daily in the public, with there prior criminal history and future criminal actions and intent. 

I don't like or allow anyone on the road pacing me next to me. On different occasions I've looked over and was being eyeballed by the occupants of the vehicle, probably for nefarious reasons in my observation? Driving defensively is more than just avoiding collisions and tickets. It's paying attention to your environment and what's going on around you. Rant off...