Drive carefully out there!

Yesterday, I saw a traffic accident. I stopped for a light. Around when the light turned, a car in the left turn lane going the other way finally made her turn.

When she was halfway through the intersection, a largeish truck smashed into her car. I think he was doing 30-35 when he hit the intersection, although he did hit his brakes at the last instant. The truck smashed into the side of the car pretty much perfectly broadsiding it.

There was a passenger in that car. I have no idea whether or not she lived; I saw blood, but she was still moving some. The ambulance was there within a couple of minutes.

Anyway, here’s the thing:

If you get hospitalized, you will not get to keep looking for that elusive Wii or Tickle Me Elmo or whatever it is that you haven’t got yet.

Your kids would rather have you for Christmas than a toy. Even a very good toy.

Drive more carefully.

A person I know on a bulletin board wrote about being on duty on Thanksgiving once:

Nikitona talks about being a cop.

I was called to the scene of an accident involving a family of four. The father (driver) appeared to be in the worst shape, his neck was broken. The mother had been holding a pumpkin pie which was spattered on the dashboard. The little girl in the back had extensive face and head injuries. The little boy in the back had crushed legs. All were unconscious, unmoving, silent. I don't know if all survived. I suspect the father was already dead, although the Paramedics did what they could to revive him.

Later that evening, I pulled over a car that was speeding and driving erratically. He would drift over the center line and then overcorrect. It turned out he was drifting because he was turning around to yell at his kids in the back seat. He was speeding and driving in anger, probably because they were running late. When I approached the car, you could feel the tension. This, too, was a family of four. This time the little girl in the back was holding the pie.

And then drive more carefully. It’s not just that you have to not drive badly; you have to remember that a lot of other people are driving especially badly.