The A75 Grand Prix
I've been married to a man for 20 years who's described in very minute detail what can happen to bodies destroyed because of fast and stupid driving; a foot in a shoe, or half a head lying somewhere, debris scattered over 300 yards, eyes that have bled because the heart exploded before impact.
That's the main reason why I don't do fast and stupid driving. I've heard so much about it that I could almost feel I witnessed it first hand. My husband was involved in an accident in which 4 boys were killed when they hit his bus at 90mph, airborne. Three of them were dead before impact and the other died on impact. My husband was lucky to have survived.
That's why tonight's journey home frightened and angered me so much. There are people who don't understand, don't know, or simply don't care.
Tonight it's piddly pouring and it's pitch black out there on the road - no street lights, limited cats eyes, bends, turns, double white lines for some of the way and several miles from the nearest street. So tonight I stuck to 50 on the road instead of 60. It seemed fair enough; there wasn't much traffic on the road and it wasn't so slow as to to hold people up unnecessarily and it wasn't too fast in the circumstances. However, when a car did finally catch up with me it did so with such speed that I knew well before it had reached me that I was going to have to be careful. I even looked for a P sign so I could pull in momentarily and let this car go.
However, there wasn't anywhere to pull in and so it landed on my bumper - not literally you understand, just close enough so I couldn't see the headlights - you know, THAT close. I nudged my brakes on to let it know that I was slowing down and I went down to 45 in the hope that the driver would overtake or, if I was hit, the damage or risk might be less.
In response to this the mother's little miracle put the headlights on full-beam. Lovely. I'd waited until there was a stretch of road where the car might overtake but it decided to blind me instead. In response I slowed down to 35. The fact is, I was so nervous at this point that I was just as worried about my own driving as I was about the other driver's.
Thankfully, the car overtook and went on its merry way to terrorise some other poor sod, hopefully a plain police car.
I suppose I should feel lucky that I got home safely.
But I don't feel lucky. I feel angry. I feel angry because nothing ever seems to be done to stop this kind of driving, or even to educate people on the reality of causing accidents by stupid driving; what it can do to other people and what it can do to them. Making people pay for dangerous driving after the fact isn't quite the same as making efforts to stop it happening in the first place.
Perhaps people could be shown pictures of shoes with a foot in them, or detached arms lying in the middle of a road, or half a head. Perhaps spending a day in a room looking at these pictures as part of the learning process and to earn the licence to drive might help people to understand that a car is only as safe as its driver and everyone is at risk, even them.
A safe driver doesn't drive 20" behind the car in front. A safe driver doesn't put the lights on full beam to irritate the driver in front. A safe driver doesn't do stupid speeds in wet conditions. A safe driver doesn't ignore the dangers of such idiocy.
But stupid drivers are just that - stupid.
I would really hate to think that flowers were being left for any of my loved ones because of people like the stupid driver I came across on the road tonight.
If I hadn't felt like my heart was pumping in my throat I might have had the wherewithal to make a note of the registration number.
That's the main reason why I don't do fast and stupid driving. I've heard so much about it that I could almost feel I witnessed it first hand. My husband was involved in an accident in which 4 boys were killed when they hit his bus at 90mph, airborne. Three of them were dead before impact and the other died on impact. My husband was lucky to have survived.
That's why tonight's journey home frightened and angered me so much. There are people who don't understand, don't know, or simply don't care.
Tonight it's piddly pouring and it's pitch black out there on the road - no street lights, limited cats eyes, bends, turns, double white lines for some of the way and several miles from the nearest street. So tonight I stuck to 50 on the road instead of 60. It seemed fair enough; there wasn't much traffic on the road and it wasn't so slow as to to hold people up unnecessarily and it wasn't too fast in the circumstances. However, when a car did finally catch up with me it did so with such speed that I knew well before it had reached me that I was going to have to be careful. I even looked for a P sign so I could pull in momentarily and let this car go.
However, there wasn't anywhere to pull in and so it landed on my bumper - not literally you understand, just close enough so I couldn't see the headlights - you know, THAT close. I nudged my brakes on to let it know that I was slowing down and I went down to 45 in the hope that the driver would overtake or, if I was hit, the damage or risk might be less.
In response to this the mother's little miracle put the headlights on full-beam. Lovely. I'd waited until there was a stretch of road where the car might overtake but it decided to blind me instead. In response I slowed down to 35. The fact is, I was so nervous at this point that I was just as worried about my own driving as I was about the other driver's.
Thankfully, the car overtook and went on its merry way to terrorise some other poor sod, hopefully a plain police car.
I suppose I should feel lucky that I got home safely.
But I don't feel lucky. I feel angry. I feel angry because nothing ever seems to be done to stop this kind of driving, or even to educate people on the reality of causing accidents by stupid driving; what it can do to other people and what it can do to them. Making people pay for dangerous driving after the fact isn't quite the same as making efforts to stop it happening in the first place.
Perhaps people could be shown pictures of shoes with a foot in them, or detached arms lying in the middle of a road, or half a head. Perhaps spending a day in a room looking at these pictures as part of the learning process and to earn the licence to drive might help people to understand that a car is only as safe as its driver and everyone is at risk, even them.
A safe driver doesn't drive 20" behind the car in front. A safe driver doesn't put the lights on full beam to irritate the driver in front. A safe driver doesn't do stupid speeds in wet conditions. A safe driver doesn't ignore the dangers of such idiocy.
But stupid drivers are just that - stupid.
I would really hate to think that flowers were being left for any of my loved ones because of people like the stupid driver I came across on the road tonight.
If I hadn't felt like my heart was pumping in my throat I might have had the wherewithal to make a note of the registration number.
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