Chris' Close Call
So, I almost lost my husband last night.
That's a terrifying thought. He was biking late at night from work when he approached an intersection. And before I hear comments like, "Cyclists are all crazy!" I should point out that he obeys traffic laws, stays out of the way of cars as much as possible, has bike lights and wears reflects when he bikes. He's visible and he bikes safe.
While biking home, he heard a car speeding up to the intersection he was stopped at. He saw the car and thought, "That guy's going to have to hit his brakes hard to stop - he shouldn't ride the car so hard." But the light had turned red in the other direction and the light was green for Chris. He was most of the way through the intersection when the car decided not to stop for the red and blow through the intersection on a right hand turn. It was going through fast enough that the car tires screeched and the car power slid through the turn.
Chris was centred on the fender of the car, but based on the noise and the guy's speed he got a bad feeling - so he dodged. And by this I mean, he swerved way out into the oncoming traffic lane where there was no one and because it was the only place he could go. He felt the car brush past him.
HE WAS NOT HIT...thank God. Once the car was past, he pulled off on the side for a bit to try and shake the whole thing off because he's never had something that close happen to him.
What terrifies me is, I've seen this happen before to another guy. Between that guy and myself, we caught the plates of the reckless driver who did this and reported his dangerous driving to 911. But Chris was alone last night. The guy never saw Chris, never slowed down, never stopped.
So when I got home, he was in shock. He said he felt "weird"...that everything looked and felt different. His eyes were as big as saucers and it was an hour or so after this had happened. He had done almost every chore that he'd been putting off for months and was running around like a bat outta hell. He just went full-on adrenaline crazy and then later collapsed into tears because it was so terrifying that he'd almost be killed.
If you know Chris - he's pretty steady. It takes a lot to shake him up.
So to that driver - be careful. Because some day you're going to kill someone...and I don't think anyone should ever have that on their conscience for a vehicular accident. And to our friends...be gentle and supportive...Chris is still feeling a little off today. And to me? I need to try and shake this feeling that at any point...I could lose the love of my life.
That's a terrifying thought. He was biking late at night from work when he approached an intersection. And before I hear comments like, "Cyclists are all crazy!" I should point out that he obeys traffic laws, stays out of the way of cars as much as possible, has bike lights and wears reflects when he bikes. He's visible and he bikes safe.
While biking home, he heard a car speeding up to the intersection he was stopped at. He saw the car and thought, "That guy's going to have to hit his brakes hard to stop - he shouldn't ride the car so hard." But the light had turned red in the other direction and the light was green for Chris. He was most of the way through the intersection when the car decided not to stop for the red and blow through the intersection on a right hand turn. It was going through fast enough that the car tires screeched and the car power slid through the turn.
Chris was centred on the fender of the car, but based on the noise and the guy's speed he got a bad feeling - so he dodged. And by this I mean, he swerved way out into the oncoming traffic lane where there was no one and because it was the only place he could go. He felt the car brush past him.
HE WAS NOT HIT...thank God. Once the car was past, he pulled off on the side for a bit to try and shake the whole thing off because he's never had something that close happen to him.
What terrifies me is, I've seen this happen before to another guy. Between that guy and myself, we caught the plates of the reckless driver who did this and reported his dangerous driving to 911. But Chris was alone last night. The guy never saw Chris, never slowed down, never stopped.
So when I got home, he was in shock. He said he felt "weird"...that everything looked and felt different. His eyes were as big as saucers and it was an hour or so after this had happened. He had done almost every chore that he'd been putting off for months and was running around like a bat outta hell. He just went full-on adrenaline crazy and then later collapsed into tears because it was so terrifying that he'd almost be killed.
If you know Chris - he's pretty steady. It takes a lot to shake him up.
So to that driver - be careful. Because some day you're going to kill someone...and I don't think anyone should ever have that on their conscience for a vehicular accident. And to our friends...be gentle and supportive...Chris is still feeling a little off today. And to me? I need to try and shake this feeling that at any point...I could lose the love of my life.