:: Driving me Crazy... ::

:: Saturday, April 26, 2003 ::

I seem to start all of these by apologising for not updating so this time I won't. But I've not been able to post for a couple of weeks due to a machine change; the ol' 1GHz P3 appears to have suffered a hard disk failure, so after a frustrating week at work I took the plunge and ordered a new machine. So now I'm typing on a 2.4GHz Pentium4 whilst trying to rescue the P3.

Not much of interest happening on the roads these days- I could talk about daft overtaking but I've done that so often it's getting boring for me, so I dread to think how bored you must be. But the one I saw this week was a little unusual and I'm not sure it counts as a dumb maneuver, I think it actually saved lives. I was heading away from Ruddington on the A52 back towards Radcliffe-on-Trent, actually I was heading for the Goose at Gamston for lunch with a colleague. Two or three cars ahead of us was a seven-and-a-half ton truck. Who virtually stopped, before pulling into a layby. Imagine the scene if you will. Behind this truck is a convoy of about six or seven cars, all moving at about 50mph. And a 38-ton, 18-wheel juggernaut. Then the vehicle at the front stops.

Can you see what's coming?

When I first started this I talked about how truck drivers, particularly the long-haul drivers with massive loads, deserved more respect. This underlines it. The 18-wheeler pilot spots what's going on, realises that if he doesn't do something drastic he'll crush maybe two cars ahead. So he goes down the right-hand side. Into oncoming traffic, trying to give everyone enough room. Anyone who hasn't looked could pull out in front of him trying to get round the blockage. There are cars and trucks heading towards him, with not enough room to get past. At the time I cursed it as stupid, but since then I've realised just what the driver has had to do. Make the decision in a split second, then put himself in danger to avoid certain disaster. And keep everything together long enough to get back in the correct lane before oncoming traffic hits him. I think I owe this driver some thanks.
:: Gary 26.4.03 [+] ::
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