Tuesday 10 August 2010

Bad morning

I've got a few posts on the burner, but I've just been so busy this last weekend that I have only just managed to catch up on reading everybodies blogs last night - appologies if the comments as a) brief and b) difficult to understand...

I'm feeling really down this morning.  The fact that the fog has decended again doesn't help, but this morning I witnessed the aftermath of a terrible accident on the motorway.  It must have happened literally seconds before I got there as cars were only just stopped on the slip road onto the motorway.

A biker was either hit by a car, or lost control on the 180 degree corner that the slip road has onto the motor way and was lying motionless behind the crash barrier.  Seeing as the road was blocked with wreckage I planted the Volvo further back down the slip road with hazards flashing to warn people trying to join the motorway.  Two idiots (for want of a better word) failed to notice and weaved around me and came very close to hitting car that was stopped behind the bike.  Once traffic was moving I left the scene, I saw nothing of the accident so can't help the police, and there were enough people stopped and trying to help.  Having another car blocking up the road would not have helped the ambulance or police do their job.

It's really affected me this morning, I saw the guy just minutes before when he went past me at the traffic lights.  I hope to god that he's OK and send my thoughts to him and his family.

Stace

6 comments:

  1. Ouch! Vibes for the man down.

    There are few things that bring out the idiocy in a person more than placing them in a car, and in rush hour traffic.

    Hope your day improves.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope your mood is improving as the day goes by, Stace. It's always troubling to see the aftermath of a violent accident, and even worse if you actually witness it happening. I hope the biker survives and fully recovers.

    A few years ago, when I was still working, I read of the death of a young woman the night before, when she ran off a section of I-64, that I traveled each day on the way home. She wasn't wearing a seat belt, and was thrown through the windshield, when she struck a tree. The article gave the mile marker numbers between which the accident occurred, so on the way home, I looked for evidence of the crash. When I got there, I saw the limp shattered windshield of her car, still held together by the safety film between its laminates, folded over a tree branch 10 or 12 feet above the ground. A chill went up my spine when I saw it. Apparently the clean up crew never saw it, because that windshield remained up in that branch, as a morbid reminder of the accident, for months afterward.

    Idiots like those two that sped by you are a menace. During my daily commute, I used to see impatient fools like the all the time. It was always amusing, when you would see them speed by you, then five minutes later see them pulled over on the shoulder, with a Virginia State Police cruiser parked behind them.

    Melissa XX

    ReplyDelete
  3. At least you stopped and did what you could to help. Lots of people slow down for a good gorp and then drive on. Very annoying. >:-|

    Hopefully the gent will be okay.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I think that part of the shock of coming upon road accidents is that there is no narrative context for them; we see a snapshot, with no back story and no conclusion. At least now, it is possible (at least sometimes) to find out what the story was, by searching online. Not that it helps the victims, but it helps me try to make some sense of it...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your comments all...

    Update:
    hoofddorp -
    Een 19-jarige motorrijder uit Amsterdam is dinsdagmorgen rond 6.45 uur zwaargewond geraakt nadat hij de macht over het stuur was verloren. Hij is in kritieke toestand naar het ziekenhuis gebracht, aldus de politie Kennemerland dinsdagmiddag.

    De man wilde vanaf de Kruisweg (N201) de oprit van de A4 oprijden toen hij uit de bocht vloog. De tiener schoot na zijn val onder de vangrail door. Hij is met bekken-, been- en heupletsel naar het VU Medisch Centrum in Amsterdam gebracht


    Quick translation: a 19 year old came off his bike after losing control on the corner and went under the barrier.

    He is in critical condition and has jaw, leg and hip damage. He was taken to the VU in Amsterdam.

    Wishing him well,
    Stace

    ReplyDelete
  6. And I thought we only had idiots over here.

    I so feel for the biker and it made me think of you on your bike. Just be careful, Stace.

    And as for reading blogs late, well I am absolutely the worst. So many blogs and so little time, but when I'm in a down mode I generally do little blog reading and that really backs me up. Anyway, nothing to apologize for.

    Calie xxx

    ReplyDelete