This morning I was almost t-boned by a large (American?) pickup. I was first off the line at a traffic light and this guy must have been asleep until the last second. Also, he was hidden by another vehicle. Fortunately he (I'm assuming it was a male but not positive) realized his error at the last second, slammed on his brakes, turned the wheel to avoid me and ended up turning to the right instead of his intended direction straight across the intersection. I thought about following him just to say "Thank you for taking action to avoid a collision," but one never knows what his reaction would have been, so I drove on with my heart in my throat. I have survived 50 years of mostly accident-free driving, so I hope my luck continues. No reply is expected or needed.
This is why I don't pull out first or make a right turn on red if my vision is obstructed by a larger vehicle. If you are behind me you can honk all you want--you'll just wait even longer.
Wow, Bobbie, I'm glad you are OK! 13 years ago I was in a similar situation that didn't end as well. A lady ran a red light at an intersection and realized at the last minute she was running a red. She hit the brakes and came to a stop in the middle of the intersection. There was a stopped car in the cross lane that obscured her as she skidded into the intersection and I ended up broadsiding her at about 45mph, totaling both cars. Thank God for seatbelts I walked away, and she survived too but her injuries were more serious. Ever since then, and especially here in AZ I've been very defensive about crossing intersections even on green. You just never know who's not paying attention because they are too distracted with cellphones, kids, sleep deprived, or whatever so you have to drive for yourself and watch everyone else on the road too.
Truly have to be careful here in AZ. I've driven all over the country, and in a few places in Europe. I can say that AZ has among the very worst drivers in the world. :car:
Great comments! Thanks, everyone. This has reminded me that you're never too old to learn (or be reminded) about something. I usually do take it easy if I'm first in line and look both ways, but from now on I will be like JimN. Thanks again!
Some of you may remember that in April a girl in a 2000 Hyndai pulled out of a shopping center driveway right in front of me. I had about 30 feet to slow down from 40 mph. The Prius breaks are good, but not that good and I t-boned her. Don't know what happened to her car but my front drivers air bag went off and my 2007 Prius ended up totaled. Both of us walked away from the crash with no visable injuries. I was very impressed with the crash worthiness of the Prius and that tere were none of the air bag injuries I've heard about for so long. I didn't hesitate to replace the 07 with a new 08.
Just the other day I had a near miss at the *horrible* intersection just outside my work campus. It was my fault, but I did not see the other car (I pulled out in front of them). I actually avoided being hit by stepping on the accelerator. We were in mostly battery mode and so I had some acceleration. I felt bad. But this intersection is poorly designed, sort of a blind spot for cars in my same position. Because I knew that I might be in the "wrong" some day, I am never mad at anyone who cuts me off or makes a bad mistake. Thankfully my beautiful red prius is still in good shape.
