Now don’t look at me like that, it wasn’t my fault. I didn’t go do it on purpose. But none the less, I think some poor guy/girl isn’t having a very pleasant day/night because of me. Now please save the judging for the end of the post.

How It Happened

I was speeding along on the highway, following the speed limit and trying to be alert. There was a tailgater on me for some time, but I hadn’t noticed. I mean, we’re all doing 60, so my eyes are to the front. It’s a three lane highway and I was in the center lane. Now, I usually drive in the center lane. This gives me options when I need to switch lanes and I usually don’t have to bother with slow folks and people trying to merge on the right; and the speed demons in the far left lane. For some reason, the center lane was quite empty; I would soon find out why.

Now I can’t remember if someone got out of the way, or if it just showed up, but some distance down the road I noticed some stuff in the lane. From a distance, I thought it was a cardboard box, but when I got closer it appeared to be a huge pile of clothes wrapped in a sheet or blanket. My assumption is someone moving house lost it off a roof rack. Now it was more towards the right side of the lane and it also appeared that some people had already driven over it a few times because the end towards the left was open and some stuff was coming out.

Think Fast Baz

Because I saw it in advance I had time to process some options. I glanced back and to the left and noticed someone coming up; so no left. I looked ahead. I think that if I stayed well to the left in my lane, I would have made it; and probably only driven over the low end of the pile. Then, I glanced back and to the right; hey, an opening, cool. So I put on my indicator, glanced in the rear view mirror, peeked back to the right again and switched to the right lane.

It Wasn’t My Fault

TailgatingSo all is well with the world, until I noticed something in my rear view mirror. Apparently, this person in a Chevy had been riding my bumper for some time, going 60 mph on the highway. Now when I switched lanes, it appears that the pile jumped out at him. So after tailgating on the highway, he/she committed the second cardinal sin of driving: he/she panicked. The person pulled the steering wheel to the left to avoid the pile, then of course, pulled it back to the right to avoid drifting into the second lane. At that point, he had already passed the pile; he was home free, but he had started the fishtail process. He was now rapidly cutting across the center lane going into the right lane. Now right there, he should have just stopped. He was right behind me; the right lane was clear. But no, he pulled the steering wheel again, trying to correct and he was now sideways. Two seconds later he slammed into the wall of the median head on. Ouch!

Was It My Fault?

Now I’ve been wrestling with myself for the entire day now. I feel guilty. I mean, I didn’t litter the highway with stuff, but he was right behind me. If I hadn’t switched lanes he wouldn’t have been blind sighted. But then again, what could I do?

I kept trying to think of reasons it’s not my fault: Maybe he was on the phone, maybe he’s a bad driver, bottom line is he should not have been on my butt going 60 on the highway. I guess most of all, I feel guilty because I didn’t stop. When as the fishy business was going on, I was already a ways down the highway (I was doing 60) and some people had already stopped to help, so I guess things are worked out. I just hope nobody ended up in the hospital; doing 50 mph into a brick wall cannot be a good thing.

I welcome all comments. Actually that’s the reason I’m posting this right now. How would you feel? How would you have handled the situation?

Photo: waterlilysage

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