Saved Myself Today

[Socks]

So there I am doing 60 (in 55) in the speed lane blazing down U.S. Route 1 South when out the corner of my eye I see a bright white object quickly fill my peripheral at the 2-3 oââ,¬â,,¢clock position. Within an instant the shape becomes recognized as another car's grill. Before I could fully turn my head to get a good look at it, or have time to maneuver further left against the curb (a two inch concrete embankment treading a 75 foot wide divider littered with half century old oaks and covered with grass), boom. We are now maybe .5 second into the incident and my state of mind and body up to this point is fairly benign and not in high gear yet. I went from thinking about nothing in particular and everything in general to... 'what...is...that...oh...shit...no...fucking...way...'.

The impact was fairly loud and very brief. The momentum transferred upon the passenger side of my car, combined with the slight left turn I was in, and with my reaction of quickly yanking the steering wheel left, then back right, and back left, and back right (about a 1.5-2 seconds worth of maneuvers) swerved and jolted my car violently. I struggled to maintain authority and not stray out of my lane, either right (because I don't know if there are more cars in that lane, or even whether the car that hit me is still there, etc...) or left (because I'm convinced now, as I was then, that had I hit the embankment and went up the divider I would have totally lost control and either hit a tree, flipped over, or experienced countless other undesirable and more serious outcomes).

Finally I applied the breaks a little as I regained positive control of my car. Still in my lane (just several hundred feet downrange), I tried to gather composure and figure out exactly just what the fuck happened. Instantly from the moment of impact my heart rate shot through the roof, that feeling of your heart falling through your stomach kicked in, and the adrenaline made every perception last a life time due to hypersensitivity. My passenger side view mirror was folded up against the window from the impact so I was partially blind on that side. I turned around and also used the rear view mirror to see that most cars were some distance back from me. The lanes were all clear and the late model white Nissan sedan that hit me was trailing along a bit closer than all the other cars. Now driving MUCH more slowly than before looking sheepish and shaken. I think his/her (probably her) driver mirror was also folded inward due to the impact. I quickly reasoned that I could not really do anything to confront this driver in the middle of this busy freeway without potentially causing another accident or getting LEOs involved. My general dislike for third party bureaucratic involvement, plus the fact that I had illegal substances in my car and blood system made either of those undesirable. I didnââ,¬â,,¢t seriously consider some sort of primitive physical outburst driving parallel to an idiot that almost seriously fucked me.

Plus at this point my car is still functioning well and everything beside the mirror looks fine from the inside. As I pull out of the freeway and into a nearby Marshalls parking lot I'm hoping against hope that the damage is as minimal as possible. In my mind I had a range of possibilities flashing through, from minor scratches, bumps and dents, to paint smears, major damage to the skin, doors, bumper etc... I was relieved and relieved, and somewhat shocked to discover that miraculously all I had suffered was a small 2 by 4 inch black smear on the right corner of my front bumper, that my right front tire hubcap had popped off, and that I had some minor body bumps and dents along curves in the body of the car. So nothing thatââ,¬â,,¢s too big a deal. I also had to wash off some white paint residue on my back right door. Anyway, trying to gain composure and peace I stared at the damage for a few moments and reflected on how such little specific circumstances had conspired and caused a complex situation which lasted but a few second, putting me through a brief emotional rollercoaster and leaving my car in a condition I can be content with. So I circled back and drove the exact same route a few minutes later, both for psychological reasons and because I wanted to find my missing hubcap. Tragically I could not spot it.

Oddly enough, besides quickly thinking about, and eventually being indecisive on, whether to brake or speed up ( in retrospect doing neither was the right move), nothing of significance occupied my thoughts. All of my reactions, until I regained control, were essentially instinctive. Only briefly did I consider the fact that I could crash head on into the trees, flip over, or hit other cars, etc. That notion zoomed away and gave way to a desperate struggle to minimize outfall from this. I also briefly thought about what my friends, loved ones, etc... would do if they should suddenly realize that I had been in a car crash.

Overall though I'm not that upset by the damage done to my car, and I feel more dissatisfaction with the other driver than contempt. Shit happens. In light of how this ended I find it an interesting experience and am sort of glad it happened. You cannot really fully replicate something like this and it's one of those things that just does not happen everyday. It was a nice little unusual and unexpected rush. Plus you don't know with certainty how you will react to such situations until they happen. I was relieved to find out I didn't lose my cool nor control of the vehicle, when I so easily could haveââ,¬Â¦ had I allowed myself to. Anyway, several blunts later, I never thought I would totally agree with what my father used to yell at me during driving lessons. 'Even if you're the best driver in the world, it means shit if someone else is not paying attention and barrels into you.' He constantly kept telling me not to take for granted and always presume that other drivers will be competent, coherent, or in compliant with normal traffic and driving laws and etiquette. It just sucks that you have to worry about idiots in the road who want to switch lanes without looking. Apparently being 6 feet further to the left, even when there are no cars in front of you, seemingly no cars to the side, while the rest are some distance back, will make you go faster and give you a more orgasmic ride.

Edit: Holy fuck that's longer than I expected. 

[Travis]

i read that as "shaved myself today" and i'm like


whoa

[Cookie]

Can't believe I just read all that. Thankfully I haven't been in an accident or had any close calls.

[FAMY2]

I read it all too. Good thing you were high and your reaction time was slower.   

[Daddy]

Maybe she died. 

[FAMY2]

You make me laugh JMV. 

[the shortest route to the sea]

You take a life-threatening experience and talk about the high you got, and the implications to the wider world

That's just awesome

[Nyerp]

tl; dr

[snorkel]

yeah, it's weird how you start acting completely instinctively even whilst controlling a car. I've had a couple very close incidents where afterward I thought "holy shit... I wouldn't have been able to do that that quickly had I been thinking about it"

hurray for good reflexes and driving skills I guess

[Claquesous]

'Even if you're the best driver in the world, it means shit if someone else is not paying attention and barrels into you.'

This right here has a lot to do with why I don't drive and am paranoid to start. Good job at not dying.

[rdl]

Seems like you took the situation well. Good for you, near death experiences are actually pretty enlightening. They teach you a lot about yourself.

[Nyerp]

This right here has a lot to do with why I don't drive and am paranoid to start. Good job at not dying.

me too

also i suck at drivng so that adds to that

[the shortest route to the sea]

You should have beating him with a bat.

Or shot him with a crossbow. Did anyone else have to watch that clip?

[Cookie]

Or shot him with a crossbow. Did anyone else have to watch that clip?

The old guy who shot those kids when they thought he needed help?

[the shortest route to the sea]

The old guy who shot those kids when they thought he needed help?

Nah, the clip with the two guys who cut somebody else off, and this reverend got so pissed that he started following them while honking. After a while they pulled over and got out of the car to try to work things out.

He took a crossbow out of his trunk and shot and killed one.