How about a little Drama?

I was driving the band bus Friday night, coming home from a football game, when I did something so stupid it will probably give me nightmares for the rest of the year. I was almost a statistic, and CNN would have had a field day!

There is a point in front of an intersection where, if the light turns yellow, you know it's time to put on the brakes. And then there's a point in front of an intersection where, if the light turns yellow, you keep going because there's no way on this planet you're going to be able to stop the bus -- and you make it through the intersection long before the light turns red. But somewhere inbetween those two points is a ZONE OF INDECISION where you're not sure if you can make it or not. Well, I met that zone on Friday and I made the wrong decision.

There was a pickup in the left lane, just a car's length ahead of me, and I could see he was going to go through the yellow light. For the split second I was in The Zone, I made the decision to follow his lead -- and then he slammed on his brakes. Unfortunately for me, buses can't stop on a dime.

I was going too fast to stop before the intersection -- and I went right through it. The light was clearly red, and the only thing that saved my butt was that no cars were on the cross street.

Moral of The Story -- When you come upon a light that's been green for awhile, err on the side of caution. Slow down, keep foot on brakes, and don't let other vehicles influence your decisions.

(Wow! This is my first time to write something "serious." I hope it's the last time!)

2 comments:

The Bus Driver said...

That is also the reason I have learned to leave plenty of space in front of me because other drivers are idiots.

I'm glad things worked out well.

Tracy Farr said...

Thanks for your comment! I totally agree about leaving space between vehicles. Luckily, I was in the right lane and the truck was in the left. I had plenty of open space in front of me, but I should have hit the brakes. Oh well, live and learn.

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