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Back in 2010
my hubby and I were visiting family and friends in the Santa Barbara,
California area. Since we lived in Europe, we had to rent a car to get around
the freeway systems. I'm the driver in the family, and try to be extra careful
when carrying passengers. And I thought I was.
On
this trip I was driving on the on-ramp to the 101 south, and I thought I was paying
attention. But suddenly under my hands the steering wheel changed direction.
It felt like
a strong wind was moving my hands away from traffic, from the left to the right
while I was still gripping the steering wheel. It was just enough to miss
colliding with a trailer tractor passing me at full speed on my left, which
thankfully zoomed by without colliding.
If the angel hadn't taken over my
steering wheel I would not be around now to write this cautionary tale.
Lesson
Look over
your shoulder on the side where you are merging before pulling into traffic.
Don't count
on the rearview mirrors to give the complete view. A vehicle – car, truck,
bike, motorcycle, may be coming up alongside you.
In this
instance, after the truck sped by along my left side I continued driving farther
down the ramp, before looking back over my left shoulder,
to be sure I could safely fit in the flow of traffic.
A couple of lessons
from this near-crash were as I already said, look over your shoulder on the
side where merging into traffic, and if you can't fit in, pull to the shoulder
and wait till there is plenty of space.
There is no
shame in sitting still waiting while others pull out and pass you on the ramp from
behind. Safety has to come first when driving.
This is
similar to the lesson from childhood on crossing the street: Stop, look, and listen
– then look again.
As an adult,
before merging your vehicle into traffic look over your shoulder on the side
where you are merging, and check the rear view mirrors, too.
Story by
Susan Helene Kramer; photo of freeway by Stan Schaap
Anneke and Hans – 30 Tales of
Adventure and Virtue for Kids paperback or ebook
Copyright © 2018 Susan Helene Kramer