Let's cut to the chase: I am FINE. Everyone is FINE. I did not hit anyone or wreck my car. But Monday wasn't a very good day of driving for me.
First of all, I left for work at my normal time on Monday morning. Usually I get to work at 7:45 and sit in the car until 7:53. I try to be in the parking lot with plenty of time to spare. But for some reason, even though I left for work at my normal time, I found myself about 5 minutes away from work and it was 7:50! I didn't understand how I was running so much later than normal. I really needed to be at work on time, so I picked up my speed. I drove faster than normal... faster than I probably should have been driving. Luckily I got to work with about 20 seconds to spare. Whew!
It was on the way HOME when things got hairy. I take a back road home, so I am not on any highways or anything. But like most people who drive the same route day in and day out, I zone out. Do you ever do that? You drrive home from work and not remember anything? How is it that we are able to drive on autopilot like that?
On Monday afternoon, as I was driving home, I suddenly saw that the car in front of me had braked. Unfortunately, I didn't notice this until I was much too close to the car. I SLAMMED, I mean, SLAMMED on my brakes. All my bags and stuff flew off the passenger seat onto the floor. My tires squealed LOUDLY and my car slid forward and fishtailed. I don't know how I didn't end up hitting the car in front of me, but somehow I didn't.
I was literally shaking after this happened and I was embarrassed. I do not ride people's asses, so one would think that even if the car in front of me had stopped abruptly, if I had been paying attention, I should have been able to stop in time without literally slamming on my breaks. I guess I was zoned out... I am so ashamed.
This is a reminder to me that I have to focus more when I am driving. I guess it is kind of hard after work.. After teaching all day, my mind is just a pile of junk and I have a hard time concentrating. Well I need to hold my shit together for 20 more minutes so I can get home in one piece!
Have you ever gotten rear ended?
Glad you are okay and that you have good brakes on your car!
ReplyDeleteI actually had this same thing happen to me years ago (before I was married). I was driving Scott's vehicle and I was crossing the bridge around 4:00-ish when the sun was at its brightest. I was blinded and ran into a van in front of me because I guess I didn't realize he had come to a stop on the bridge. This was my first experience with an airbag explosion! I was a little bruised but thankfully the person in front of me was fine.
Oh my I am glad you are okay! You must've hit really hard if you airbag exploded.
DeleteOMG, I am so glad you are OK! No wonder Monday was a shitty day for you (you had a few things not go ideally that day). I have had a lot of close calls and it is awful! I am glad you are OK!
ReplyDeleteMonday was CRAY CRAY!
DeleteThank goodness it's behind you and you can focus on the weekend!!
DeleteI'm glad you are okay and avoided an accident. I have had instances like that before where I've had to slam on my breaks. Sadly because Miami is such a crazy place to drive stuff like that barely phases me anymore. I do think I'm a more cautious driver now than I was before I moved to south Florida though.
ReplyDeleteI've luckily (knock on wood) have never been in an accident. I do remember one time I was driving on the highway at night and it was raining hard and really windy. I was at a part of the highway that has a barrier to the left. At one point I had a big semi on my right and the barrier to my left. Due to the rain / wind I suppose the semi started swirving and came into my lane. I had no where to go bc there was a concrete barrier to my left and I distinctly remember just screaming out in my car "oh f*ck please God don't let me die!" Somehow I was able to speed up fast enough to not get crushedz Ever since then I have been scared to drive next to semi trucks and if I see I'm going to have to go next to one I'll change lanes or make sure I can speed past them.
That sounds so scary!!! I'm so glad you were okay. I worry about that and try not to pass tractor trailers on the left unless I know I am going to be able to get right past them. The whole time I am nervous though. Wow, that could have been really bad.
DeleteEvery single day driving home from work is this for me. People are ridiculous around here. There are so many close calls.
ReplyDeleteMy main beef is on the highway when people ride my ass. It's so unsafe.
DeleteI'm glad you were okay after this! I accidentally rear ended someone at an intersection a few months ago, but it was like literally tapping their car. Also, someone backed into my car a few years ago and the guy paid me like $100 to not tell insurance or the police. It didn't do any damage so I just took the money and drove off! Then I used the money on race registrations haha.
ReplyDeleteWow you scored on that one!
DeleteOoh yikes! I'm glad everyone drove away unscathed.
ReplyDeleteI drive a stick shift so zoning out really isn't an option since I need to be changing gears. I think I became a better driver when I started driving a stick a few years ago.
That makes sense! If I had to constantly be "doing" something that would help. I wonder how many accidents each year are caused by people like me zoning out?
DeleteMy dad inspects trains for Amtrak and one time he showed me where the conductor sits. There is a red button he has to push every 15 seconds. That's so they don't zone out! If they don't push the button, the train will automatically come to a stop.
I have been rear ended! It was early in the morning and I was waiting at a light. The guy behind me fell asleep, so his car bumped into me when his foot went off the brake! I know what you mean about zoning out though - I used to drive 45 mins one way out in the country and some days I'd be surprised where I was at because the drive was just so routine that I didn't pay attention to the surroundings! One day a deer stepped out in the middle of the road, and luckily I was paying attention that day!! Glad no one got injured in your "accident". :)
ReplyDeleteThank goodness he didn't fall asleep on the highway or something. I'm so scared of hitting a deer!
DeleteI've been in two car accidents, both my fault. Thankfully the last one was when I was 20. My parents made me take defensive driving courses since learning to drive in Boston isn't exactly defensive driving.
ReplyDeleteI had a nervous breakdown driving in Boston. I'm not kidding. I can't believe you learned to drive there!
DeleteI rear-ended one person in slow motion once. We were sitting in a line of traffic, slowly rolling forward bit by bit. I had turned around in my seat to give Freddy (he was a baby at the time) his soother, and I bumped into the car in front of me. Unfortunately, I tore a small tiny hole into their spare tire cover attached to the back of their SUV and apparently those things cost $500 to replace. So I had to pay her cash so I wouldn't have to go through insurance and have my premium go up. DAMMIT.
ReplyDeleteEw! Who knew those things were so expensive!?
DeleteI've done worse: I accidentally ran a red light a couple years ago. Luckily it was a smaller intersection where there isn't much traffic on the cross street so I didn't hit or come close to hitting someone. It's one of those stoplights that's kinda off to the side, not prominently displayed and easy to miss (not that that's an excuse!). I was pretty rattled and I was so upset with myself for doing that.
ReplyDeleteI've never rear ended someone in traffic or been rear ended, but when I was a teenager I was pulling out of a gas station parking lot and apparently not looking because I bumped a car that had pulled in behind me. I was terrified to face the woman, but luckily she was super nice about it and didn't seem to care that much.
I rN a red light a couple months ago! I was so emba re assed. It could've been bad. That's one of the worst things I ever did. That is good the woman was so nice to you. I already decided I am going to be nice if someone hits me because it could happen to anyone!
DeleteI'm glad things turned out okay here! This happens to all of us; there are definitely times in stop-n-go traffic that I am giving it too much gas and then have to break really hard to avoid an accident! But these days, with so many tourists in town, the bad driving is mostly from out of towners. I see people turning left from the right lane, or right from the left lane, daily. I see LOTS of meandering over lines and into various lanes without realizing it or signaling. I get nervous that I'm going to get hit because snowbirds are the worst about watching where they're going!
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned snowbirds and out of towners, one of my best friends from work is moving to FL because she retired! It is near Venice Beach, which looks like it's near you. :) Paul's Aunt lives on the Gulf Coast too near Tampa. I am thinking eventually Paul and I need to take a FL trip to visit all our FL peeps!
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