I Almost Killed Someone Today

Ugghhhhh!!!!!

Driving to school this morning. My six year old is regaling me with his "Lobster of Doom" stories and I'm paying attention to the road, because its dark and deer have a tendency to commit suicide on the stretch of road I'm driving on.

A car coming my way is drifting into my lane, so I veer slightly to the right to avoid it. And in doing so, I almost killed a pedestrian.

He was walking on the wrong side of the road, in the dark, wearing dark pants and a dark jacket. He had no reflective clothing, no flashlight, nothing. If it wasn't for the fact that I happened to see him at the last second and was able to hit the brakes and swerve back in my lane (almost hitting the other car), I would have run him down.

We were going the speed limit, 45 miles per hour. I'm sure it would have killed him.

Please, folks, use common sense when you are walking in the dark. Make sure you are wearing something reflective, walk on the correct side of the road, and carry a light.

I'm still shaken up by this, still upset. Thanks for letting me rant.

reply to post by smyleegrl


That's a good thing to think about.. I have to walk everywhere and the only warm thing I have is a black hoodie I have had for the last 5 years..

I also walk very consciously. Something the Army drilled into me. I would have noticed your lights hitting me at a weird angle or the other car being out of it's lane. I would have been way off the road, or if I was blocked off I would have been jumping around for your attention.

This is the most important rant I have read on ATS so far. I think I'll start carrying a flashlight though.

I'm glad everyone is ok.

Why would I wear reflectors when I'm out creepin at night?
Stay on your part of the road and we'll all survive!

Just out of curiosity,

Was there a side walk on the road of which you speak?

Also as the poster above me says, as a pedestrian in that situation, i would have noticed the light and made sure i was no danger to either myself or the car.

And i agree, if you for what ever reason are out on an open road, in the dark, wear some reflective clothing (or item), and if you are thinking "waste of space or money", think of it like this, its like the condom and you would
" Rather have one and not need it as opposed to need it and not have it "

Stay safe,
Namaste

reply to post by WiseThinker


No side walk, this was a country road out in the middle of nowhere.

Originally posted by Samuelis
Why would I wear reflectors when I'm out creepin at night?
Stay on your part of the road and we'll all survive!

I think as someone who would lose the fight between 2 tons of metal and a body... the motive is for you to not get hit...

I don't trust anyone. Why would I trust people I don't know in big fast moving metal boxes?

Just because it's illegal to shoot someone doesn't mean you won't get shot.
Just because it's illegal to drink and drive doesn't mean millions don't do it.
Just because there is a road doesn't mean a car will stay on it.


It's in YOUR best interest to:

Stay Alert,
Stay Alive.

reply to post by smyleegrl


I was taught to walk against traffic, ride with traffic. The reason to walk against traffic was so i could watch the head lights heading toward me, and give me a safe distantance from the cars that are coming from my back. I never understood the ride with traffic, as in ride a bike with traffic.

When I was young 9ish, I got hit by a 1980 blue firebird. It was traveling around 45mph (this was not me walking down the road, it was me stepping in front of the car, not looking both ways properly). I was small maybe 80ish lbs, maybe less, i don't remember. Anyway, i got tossed in the air about 20feet up and traveled about 45ft through the air. I landed on payment, and the only thing that really happened was a broken left leg, which i did not find out about till i was trying to stand up. I put pressure on my leg and passed back out.

So if you would of hit the person, depending on a few factors you might not have killed them. But still I agree to walk on a country road at night with nothing that identifys you is pretty damn stupid. I always carried one of them little pen lights on my house key chain.

Glad you did not hit them, or the other car, just some shookin up nerves is easier to deal with then a bad accident.

I get this all the time where i live as it is in the countryside.
You would have thought people would use some common sense when walking down an unlit road, with no pavement that has a 60mph limit on it.

You did good to not hit him. I hit a guy once a long time ago. It was 3am, pitch black, i was turning into a road and he stepped out in front of me, wearing all black clothing, and he himself was black. Thankfully i was doing less than 10mph at this point, but he did end up on the bonnet.

I jumped out, asked if he was ok. He then started shouting abuse, so i told him what an idiot he was, and how hes lucky i wasnt going any faster....so i went home to bed. Its hardly my fault that the idiot stepped out in front of me...2 big bright lights were clearly not enough of a warning.

reply to post by smyleegrl


He should have been walking facing traffic so he can see the cars coming toward him. You don't have to worry about what is behind you if it is on the opposite side of the street. I almost hit a biker here in FL wearing dark colors on the same side of the road I was driving on. I was sticking near the right since it was a narrow 2 lane road with no sidewalk and when a large truck comes along you barely have enough room to fit on the road with it. There was a large vehicle in front of me and so I didn't see the biker until I nearly brushed him. Very frightening. Heart pumps radically for a while after that.

Bicyclers, runners, walkers really piss me off especially when they refuse to acknowledge the fact that roads were built for cars.. Not for them.
'tis why I have road rage

reply to post by smyleegrl


Why would it matter what side of the road he was on? If he turned around and walked the other way, then he would have been on the correct side of the road, and you still would have almost hit him? What difference does that make? Personally, when I run or walk, I ALWAYS face the traffic, so I know if I need to jump out of the way. I never walk or run with my back to the traffic. If I'm on a bike, then my speed is closer to the speed of the vehicles, and I ride in the correct lane following traffic laws, but if running or walking I advise everyone to face the traffic.

Other than that, I entirely agree with you!! Being on a road with no shoulder, without reflective clothing is suicide. Why would anyone take that risk? If you're there by accident, then turn on your cell phone light, or walk in the weeds, or something. Better to get some chigger bites than to get smashed by a 2 ton vehicle! We take a little canopy road on the way to work some days, and it is fast moving with no shoulder, and I've encountered people walking in all black clothing and being on the pavement

Attn pedestrians, just for the record, I won't be swerving my car full of loved ones into a tree to avoid your dumb ass, if you want to live, stay out of the road! And I say this as a runner that often finds himself running along roadsides, but as such, I know my safety is my own responsibility. Never wreck your car full of loved ones to avoid an animal or pedestrian or debris or anything else. Natural selection. If someone isn't smart enough to not play in traffic, then something was going to get them sooner or later anyway.

Op, what you did is actually on the road test in michigan....so i dont fault you for it....

However, i have little sympathy for most people. And due to the nature of my job i do not ever ever ever swerve. I drive a tanker truck, and the liquid in the tank, which weighs more than the truck does, will make the truck roll over very easily. And the moron that caused the accident wont stop and wont be caught. And ill be dead....or at minimum, unemployed. And most people cant drive worth a crap.

So basically, i wouldve hit the car. i do want to point out as well...had you hit the pedestrian, the car that caused the wreck wont stay around. And the pedestrian probably wasnt paying enough attention to see them at all...or he might be dead. You couldve ended up in jail for it. At minimum, lost your license for 2 years for reckless driving.

Something like this happened to my dad once. Except instead of a pedestrian it was a mailbox. Swerving around the mailbox caused the 93 firebird to roll over one time. Of course, he didnt bother to slow down. We had had the car for a month, this was in 94..... The idiot that caused it didnt stick around of course.

That said....i will slow down. I will leave rubber on the ground trying to stop. But i wont allow someone to kill me.

Your pedestrian was an idiot though. Probably was black too. Not being racist, but theyre even harder to see at night due to the skin color....and probably texting.

Originally posted by Holidakd
Bicyclers, runners, walkers really piss me off especially when they refuse to acknowledge the fact that roads were built for cars.. Not for them.
'tis why I have road rage

What the #? Roads are not built just for cars. Roads existed before cars did. Everyone has a right to travel hkwever they wish.

Originally posted by newcovenant
reply to post by smyleegrl

 

He should have been walking facing traffic so he can see the cars coming toward him. You don't have to worry about what is behind you if it is on the opposite side of the street. I almost hit a biker here in FL wearing dark colors on the same side of the road I was driving on. I was sticking near the right since it was a narrow 2 lane road with no sidewalk and when a large truck comes along you barely have enough room to fit on the road with it. There was a large vehicle in front of me and so I didn't see the biker until I nearly brushed him. Very frightening. Heart pumps radically for a while after that.

Bicyclists should have lights. And its the law here. And lights cost like literally ten dollars

Glad everyone is okay !
always drive carefully .. it take only 1 distraction to make a mistake
even a little rabbit can cause a huge accident

thanks for sharing Smileygirl
your op will help many to avoid driving to fast especially when its dark
put the high lights to see everything

i think this guy wanted to commit suicide
all wearing black walking in the dark on the wrong side of the road .. i see a patern there
so you saved his life and you gave him another chance to live !
he would have destroyed your life in the same time

next time call the cops on him because he is a public danger

real responsible people walking on the road when its dark should always check for cars
and be sure to stay out of the road at all cost .. he was probably on drugs or something

The idiot you almost hit is most likely a member of the new race of zombies, whose numbers grow by leaps and bounds on a daily basis.

My elderly father is the most defensive driver ever. He hasn't had a ticket in 30 years, and then it was a cop who claimed my dad was doing 30mph in a 25 zone. About a week ago, he was backing out of a parking space at the supermarket.
He always backs out super slow, sort of tapping the break and just inching out. A blind person would be safe if they were walking nearby. A woman walked into the path of his car and began screaming that he was "running her over."

A couple witnesses sided with my dad. The woman wasn't trying to pull a fake injury scam or anything like that. She was just that stupid. She literally lacked the common sense to realize that if a car is backing up, the driver might not see you, so it would be prudent to wait for 5 seconds.

Every time I venture out in public, I see more of these idiots. They are indeed legion.

reply to post by phroziac


swerving is an instinct, I think. Especially when my son is in the back seat.

reply to post by memarf1


If youre walking facing the traffic, its easier to see you from a distance. He was walking the same direction I was traveling, so I didn't see him until I was literally right on top of him.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by phroziac

 

swerving is an instinct, I think. Especially when my son is in the back seat.

Yes, it took me a lot of work to train myself out of the instinct.

Originally posted by smyleegrl
reply to post by phroziac

 

swerving is an instinct, I think. Especially when my son is in the back seat.

Swerving is an instinct, although I've learned to over come it on motorcycles and just use the ABS brakes, and as children we were taught to wear something visible at night, especially if you are going to walk alongside the roadway. Problem here is, the car you swerved to miss would have most likely kept going even if you had hit the pedestrian. So you're left trying to prove the 'phantom vehicle' is why you left the roadway, that would have sucked.

Greater still is the impact on you had you killed the pedestrian. I'm sure after the near miss your heart was pounding out of your chest. Something you will never forget took place in a second.

I killed a woman running across the street at night. Suddenly she was just there, in front of the car, washed in my headlights in the rain....looking at me, the realization of her mistake was clear in her eyes. That second is frozen forever in my mind, and has haunted me ever since.
I'm glad you didn't have to go through something as horrible as that. I think about her sometimes, how old she would be now, how old her 2 kids are now, how they must miss her. There is so much more to an event like this happening in one's life that many don't think about.

reply to post by smyleegrl

A car coming my way is drifting into my lane, so I veer slightly to the right to avoid it. And in doing so, I almost killed a pedestrian.

Let's not forget that in addition to the good advice you gave about walking on a road that the whole thing was caused by another driver not paying attention and coming into your lane.

------------------------------

I see this almost daily now. People fooling around with their phones while driving and endangering themselves and everyone else on the road!!

When you drive ... DRIVE!!