Safety

If I am honest, this is a blog I just wrote after an ordeal I went through today. I was on my way to work when I gave way to another car. Simple enough. He was turning right, which meant he had to turn into the lane going in the opposite direction.

The issue, he had to cross two lanes and make his way to the lane he wants to be in to go the opposite way. It’s quite a common practice in New Zealand to give way here especially during peak rush hour traffic. His mistake, he assumed the car in the lane next to me going the same direction as me would have stopped too. Wrong. There is no moral obligation for someone to stop. He should have come onto my lane, as I’d already given him way, and stop to see if the car in the next lane stopped or at least give them a chance to stop so he could proceed. He accelerated and wanted to get into the lane he needed to be in.

The result he hit the car in the lane next to me. Luckily, he hit the rear door, because if he’d hit the passenger door in the front, she would have had some injuries at the very least. I’ve never witnessed an accident before. And whilst, this was a minor accident in the grand scheme of things, it had me pretty shook for most of the day. The accident kept looping in my head. I kept blaming myself for giving him way. Subconsciously, I yelled at myself and said repeatedly that I shouldn’t have given him way. But this is wrong. In this entire scenario there was no fault of my own. I was just doing my due diligence and given him way as any one else would. He was the careless driver. This is what I keep telling myself.

I don’t think I’d ever be able to forgive myself, if he’d hit the front passenger door and something were to happen to the lady in the other car. I don’t understand why people need to drive recklessly. It’s not just your own life that you’re putting in danger it’s people in other cars too as well as pedestrians. With the long weekend coming up in New Zealand, please make sure you drive safe to wherever it is you’re heading. Yes, you’ll be stuck in traffic and it will take a long time but hey at least you’ll get there safe. If you’re currently on the road overseas and are renting a car, make sure you drive by the rules of that country.

Until next time,

MiliG