When you almost had an accident, did it improve your driving?

Question

Today, as I was waiting at a red to turn left, a car came roaring up beside me at about 40 when a semi-pulled into the intersection to turn left from the right hand cross street. The next sound was an incredible screech of tires, smoke and a car coming to a stop at an angle in front of the semi and the cars facing me. I glanced up and the light was still red, but changed to green. After a long moment, the car moved out of the intersection to the left cross street and stopped a half block down near the curb. The semi cleared the intersection and the other cars went on their way.
As I drove down the street, I saw the driver was a young woman (under 20 probably) who was hugging the wheel and weeping. At the speed and direction she was going, if not day dreaming, she clearly expected the light to change green for her and if she had been unable to stop, would have hit the semi-tractor about at the fuel tanks.
Did you have a near accident and did it change how you drive?

Answer 1

Mike,
I was a truckdriver for 2 yrs after I retired from the US Army. In Meridian Ms, I exited off the hw and needed over 3 lanes to make my right turn. Blinker on, I rolled gradually into each lane, cancelled blinker and then turned it on. I made my right turn and drove to get my next load. As I sat there, a police car pulls up with another car, they walked towards me and asked to see my CDL...shaken I complied. I in my final lane change, I missed a car in the middle of my 54ft trlr and pushed a car off the road. No, it wasn't at high speed, maybe 35 mphs, and no aggressive lane change of swinging the trlr over. She was a mother of two and her husband an Alabama police man. I really almost cried, I could hurt someone and not realized it. I bolted out of sleep one night thinking I came over a hill and a school bus was sitting there, I couldn't stop, so end result, I drove my remaining two years remembering how I could kill someone very easily in the truck. I backed out of situations were cars were chasing trucks or vice versa. I left plenty of distance in front of me EVEN if cars thought it was a space for them. By my doing that I saved a young person's life up on 81st street in MD. They clipped the nose of the car in front of me in an unsafe lane change, as they lost controlled, they were sliding backs, we both were facing each other in morning traffic, but I had space to slow down and not drove over them. Consequently, they slide off the road and I was able to not lock up my breaks and keep rolling.

Answer 2

i am also a professional driver of 27 years and am on a daily basis confronted with close calls. each and every driving condition demands full and undivided attention to try not only to complete you daily delivery routines but most importantly to not injure or kill anyone in the process. i for one wish that some type of simulator could be invented to allow everyone to experience the helplessness of trying to stop 80.000# worth of freight when someone pulls a negligent maneuver in another vehicle because they wanted to get there first and didn't or wouldn't show just a little bit of patience. it is my opinion that every near miss makes you more aware of what could happen in that particular situation, combine that with more and more time behind the wheel and you begin to look for the signs of people who are about to make a sudden or erratic maneuver then you have in essence improved your driving skills. live and learn

Answer 3

every time i have any sort of close call it gets added to my mind permanently as a lesson learned, this is why we get to be better drivers as time goes on, i just hate the thought that even with all the care i do take i could have an accident, not just with driving either, theres so many things out there that can hurt or kill a guy , it pays to always have it in the back of your head that you are mortal and made of thin flesh.

Answer 4

Yes sir. I would say that it is unusual for people to modify their behavior due to mistakes on the road. I have rolled through some intersections on my motorcycle, and not come to a full stop. Unfortuantely that confuses people coming from the other direction. I have tried to learn from this habit

Answer 5

IT WAS 1993 WE LIVED THAT TIME IN DALLAS TX. WE HAD BEEN THERE 10 YEARS . AND EVERY TIME WE RENEWED OUR INSURANCE THEY TOLD US THAT WE WERE OVER DUE FOR OUR ACCIDENT. SEEMS THAT A PERSON THERE IS INVOLVED IN AN ACCIDENT EVERY THREE OR FOUR YEARS. THE SEAT BELT LAW HAD JUST WENT INTO AFFECT AND MY WIFE WAS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT WEARING HERS BUT ME NA. WELL WE WERE HEADING FOR THE MALL AND WHEN I GOT INTO THE CAR SHE ASKED ME TO PUT ON MY SEAT BELT BEFORE STARTING OUT THE DRIVEWAY. SO I DID JUST TO SHUT HER UP WE WENT TO THE CORNER AND I TURNED LEFT AS DROVE THREE BLOCKS AND WE WERE HIT HEAD ON BY A YOUNG VERY DRUNK DRIVER. I WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE LOCAL ER TREATED AND RELEASED. MY WIFE WAS NOT THAT LUCKY. A BROKEN ANKLE BROKEN WRIST BROKEN COLLAR BONE AND A BROKEN KNEE CAP. WE BOTH WERE OUT OF WORK FOR 6 MONTHS . WITH ME TAKING CARE OF HER AND AND DEALING WITH ALL THE INSURANCE . OH. THIS YOUNG MAN DIDN'T HAVE INSURANCE EITHER. NOW WE WERE 40,000 IN DEBIT AND NO INCOME... AM I A BETTER DRIVER YES I HAVE HAD ONE TICKET IN NEARLY 40 YEARS OF DRIVING AND TWO ACCIDENTS NEITHER OF WHICH WAS MY FAULT. BUT I NOW TRY TO LOOK FAR AHEAD AND ANTICIPATE WHAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO DO . AND WHY.