23.7μs before crash
I just met up with an accident today. The car we were in crashed with a taxi at an intersection. I felt unlucky yet lucky at the same time. I wasn’t driving the car at that time, but the driver (name withheld) was in a hurry since she was late for work.
It all started the day before when a friend of mine’s car had broken down. We didn’t get to tow his car until today afternoon. By then, we were already running late. So she was more concerned about getting there on time, than sticking to the speed limit or safety precautions. We reached the intersection when she started turning right when the light was green. However she didn’t realise that the green also represented that cars from the opposite direction had the right of way to go straight first. So by the time she crossed the road divider mark, I was staring at an oncoming car coming fast at my direction. As much as everything seemed to have happened quickly, it also seemed to have a time expansion from my perspective. In those split seconds, several thoughts crossed my mind:
1) I saw the light was green as well as the cars on the opposite direction.
2) I wanted to stop her from moving forward when I realised that she had already crossed the divider.
3) I saw the cab was coming rather fast towards me.
4) I saw his expression when he jammed his brakes to a halt.
5) I thought it was gonna hit me and that my legs would be caught.
Amazingly, this being my first experience in a car accident I was rather calm and composed. I asked if everyone in the car was alrite and stepped out immediately to check on the cab driver. At that point I thought I was gonna get whacked by him and I was prepared to have a defensive stance against him. Luckily that didn’t happen and I hadn’t had to use my crouching tiger hidden dragon moves on him. He replied that he was fine in a rather harsh tone, which I can understandably relate to being pissed and traumatised.
We exchanged particulars and hope the damage to the wallet will not be as much as the damage to our emotions.
Everyone seemed to claim a part of the responsibility for the accident. For the driver, it was because she was at the wheel, and wasn’t aware of the impending danger as she raced against time. For my other friend in the car, it was because had we not helped him with his car, and it was just plain running late with the towing service. For me, it was coz I didn’t warn her about the impending danger, even though I saw it coming. At the end of the day, we were all pretty uneasy yet amicably understanding of each other. We didn’t push blames nor shout and nag about the incident. We just thought about how to best settle the problem at hand and the repair of the car later. I felt unlucky coz of the accident, which I thought shouldn’t have happened, yet felt lucky that the damage to both cars were amazingly less than expected of such accidents. I also felt extremely lucky that if the car had gone any further, and the cab driver had not braked in time, I might have had injuries to myself, which I cannot guarantee I may walk out alive. Although I felt I was always ready to give up my life to God, I also thank God He didn’t have to make me suffer for it. Its times like these that makes you think what blessings you have in life, and cherish them before its too late.
It all started the day before when a friend of mine’s car had broken down. We didn’t get to tow his car until today afternoon. By then, we were already running late. So she was more concerned about getting there on time, than sticking to the speed limit or safety precautions. We reached the intersection when she started turning right when the light was green. However she didn’t realise that the green also represented that cars from the opposite direction had the right of way to go straight first. So by the time she crossed the road divider mark, I was staring at an oncoming car coming fast at my direction. As much as everything seemed to have happened quickly, it also seemed to have a time expansion from my perspective. In those split seconds, several thoughts crossed my mind:
1) I saw the light was green as well as the cars on the opposite direction.
2) I wanted to stop her from moving forward when I realised that she had already crossed the divider.
3) I saw the cab was coming rather fast towards me.
4) I saw his expression when he jammed his brakes to a halt.
5) I thought it was gonna hit me and that my legs would be caught.
Amazingly, this being my first experience in a car accident I was rather calm and composed. I asked if everyone in the car was alrite and stepped out immediately to check on the cab driver. At that point I thought I was gonna get whacked by him and I was prepared to have a defensive stance against him. Luckily that didn’t happen and I hadn’t had to use my crouching tiger hidden dragon moves on him. He replied that he was fine in a rather harsh tone, which I can understandably relate to being pissed and traumatised.
We exchanged particulars and hope the damage to the wallet will not be as much as the damage to our emotions.
Everyone seemed to claim a part of the responsibility for the accident. For the driver, it was because she was at the wheel, and wasn’t aware of the impending danger as she raced against time. For my other friend in the car, it was because had we not helped him with his car, and it was just plain running late with the towing service. For me, it was coz I didn’t warn her about the impending danger, even though I saw it coming. At the end of the day, we were all pretty uneasy yet amicably understanding of each other. We didn’t push blames nor shout and nag about the incident. We just thought about how to best settle the problem at hand and the repair of the car later. I felt unlucky coz of the accident, which I thought shouldn’t have happened, yet felt lucky that the damage to both cars were amazingly less than expected of such accidents. I also felt extremely lucky that if the car had gone any further, and the cab driver had not braked in time, I might have had injuries to myself, which I cannot guarantee I may walk out alive. Although I felt I was always ready to give up my life to God, I also thank God He didn’t have to make me suffer for it. Its times like these that makes you think what blessings you have in life, and cherish them before its too late.
posted by Mereel at
7:08 PM
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