ROAD HAZARDS

I am sure that at one time or another, we have all encountered unexpected hazards on the roads/highways while driving.  I am going to describe several incidents that I have had to endure and there are more.  I shall include them as I recall.  My only advice is to pay attention while drive.  Try to keep your eyes on the road.  Pay attention.  Do not argue with the wife or kid's.   One day or perhaps in the past, you will encounter or have encountered something really life-threatening while driving and you need to be made aware of the situation at the earliest possible moment. 

 I would like to share some of my experiences with you. As we were heading to Antioch (on Nov 7)  around 9:15, we were traveling on Highway 242 (from Concord) in the second lane from the right, I saw the car in front of me swerve to the left and I took my foot off the gas and touched the brake and then saw a huge, perhaps 8x8 container sitting in the right hand side of my lane, taking up a bit more than half of the lane.  I glanced over to my left and saw a truck far enough behind, thank gosh and I swerved around the box, avoiding it completely.  Wow.  Close call.  Wow.  Close call. 

Over the past two years I have encountered a tire rolling off a car bouncing its way across the highway in front of me, just north of Castaic on Highway 5.  Another time, heading south on Highway 99, I went around a curve and immediately saw an older car stopped dead on the highway in the same lane as me.  I had to veer off quickly to the right to avoid slamming ino it. See how important it is to be aware of the road situation. Many times when you see an obstacle like that, you just can swerve automatically.  You must have time to locate surrounding vehicles and to react accordingly. 

In May, we were driving up to Lake Tahoe, I was heading up and incline on Highway 50,  I began to pass a truck in front of me and as I made my way around, a board flew out of nowhere....and I do mean nowhere.... smacked into the side of my van and caromed up and over my van.  Unbelievable.  Never saw where it came from...I looked all around me.  Very Lucky it didn't go through the windshield.  There were no other vehicles in from of me and the truck that could have been carrying the board.  I was in the first and second lanes from the right side and my only guess would be that it came from the other side of the highway.  But even that doesn't make sense because it flew into me..wrong direction.  Don't know and will never find out.

We did a stage right exit and pulled over into the parking lot and 'surveyed' the damage.  There was just a small nick where the board hit.  Amazing that there was no other damage.  I must have more than nine lives because I have had so many close calls.  

Many years ago, I was driving to work on Highway 880 towards Oakland.  I was in the fast lane and there was a guy driving a sporty car behind me and he was a bit closer than he should have been.  I saw a car swerve in front of me.  I couldn't slow down because this idiot in back of me would rear-ended me and it wouldn't have been pretty.  There was a garbage can in the right side of the fast lane and I quickly decided to do the same as the vehicle in front of me....swerve to the left.  Much safer.  As I veered off and passed the garbage can this guy in back of me sees the garbage can and over reacts.  He hit his brakes. HIt the garbage can and then spun around a couple time.  I don't know who but I saw his car heading backward down the 2nd land from the left and it was approaching me.  I never thought that would be possible, but it happened.  I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and got out as fast as I could.  I looked in my mirror and saw the other car come to a rest and other cars swerving around him.  Wow.  Something like that only see on TV.... one of the worst driver shows or something.

So, of course, it is easy to figure out the moral of the story.  DO NOT TAILGATE and if you are going someplace, please allow more time.  It just might save your life.  These are true stories, people of things that happend to me.  Pay attention when you drive.  Don't allow yourself to get distracted.