I was a witness to an accident that happened directly in front of me this morning. And I wish I had my Treo in my hands to document it, because I had a feeling that it was going to happen right before it did.
There was one car, a Subaru wagon, directly in front of me, and another car, a Nissan Sentra, to its right. And as we made our right turns onto the two-lane onramp to the freeway, both of those cars stopped because the slow lane was blocked by a fire truck, which had been called to deal with a situation with another vehicle that had pulled over to the right shoulder.
So what happened next?
Both cars proceeded slowly, with each driver thinking they had the right-of-way, and the Sentra wound up plowing into the right side of the Subaru! It actually wasn’t that bad an accident as it sounds, but I couldn’t believe what I had seen, nor that I wasn’t taping it with my Treo!
Remind me not to drive near you. Oh yeah, and I’m glad you weren’t trying to tape something while you drove.
I am confident that the Fire Engine was displaying its emergency warning lights, and remain eternally hopeful that such was helpful to the majority motorists who approached the scene. I know… precious few people look more than ten feet in front of their bumper, and we’re aiming to do something about it!
While I have no personal or professional knowledge of this particular incident, the more astute among you will note that I rarely refer to traffic collisions as “accidents” – for indeed most are entirely preventable.
If you happen to hear me make the regrettable mistake of using the word “accident” in a media interview regarding a traffic collision, please let me know. The (non-alcoholic) beverage of your choice at Traxx is on me!
Before I head back to the dungeon, I would like to encourage everyone who drives in Los Angeles to visit and bookmark a site specific to our region:
http://www.watchtheroad.org
Remember: Knowledge Is Power!
Respectfully Yours in Safety and Service,
Brian Humphrey
Firefighter/Specialist
Public Service Officer
Los Angeles Fire Department