Close calls!

[Spock 271]

I don't know if I'm lucky or unlucky. We had a narrow squeak tonight. We were on our way back from visiting our "baby" daughter and her family when I almost hit another vehicle!

 

We were almost home and it was really dark out with no lighting in the section of the road we were on, I was doing 65 in a 65 zone on a 4 lane (each way) section of the Interstate. I had just moved into the right hand lane preparatory to exiting in about 1.5 miles down the road when I suddenly saw the dark tail gate of a small pickup truck extending partially into the same lane I was in!

 

He was facing the wrong way with his lights on what appeared to be a darkened, possibly disabled vehicle that was well off the travel lanes on the right shoulder. I saw his headlights first and then realized that there was a very faint light almost right in front of me that was his tail light seen from a front side angle.

 

If I hadn't seen it at the last minute, realized what it was, and swerved at the last minute, he would have taken out the entire right side of my car ... the same side that my most important treasure in the world was sitting!

 

I remember looking in my rear view mirror fully expecting to see the car that had been tail-gating me hit him but it also managed to swerve in time. I used OnStar to report the problem and hope the police showed up in time to keep anyone from getting killed and to read the idiot who was driving the truck the riot act!

[chattius 2,539]

Don't know OnStar or a similiar thing in germany yet. Tne radio I have automatically changes frequency to a sender with emergency traffic alerts like a Geisterfahrer, ghost driver, wrong way driver. To report them I have a hot button on build in cellular phone to call police directly.

The company car I drive has radar for collision warning, drive assistent which warns if you are leaving your lane because of being tired or whatever,...

 

But a Geisterfahrer is one thing I fear, given that my traveling speed on a 4 lane would be 240 km/h if possible, around 65m/s.

[SX255 630]

Have you guys considered getting a dashcam or two? You could at least collect evidence (like the license plate number) or have something to upload to YouTube.

[Spock 271]

The only thing I would have had would be a video to upload to YouTube as the truck was facing oncoming traffic and angled so you couldn't see the front plates. I can do without the video if it means a corresponding lack of terror caused by the bone-headed acts of others.

[Ysne58 236]

Well, I for one am glad you and your dearest treasure are alive and well. I've been in 5 too many car accidents, the last one my daughter, who was 4 4 1/2 at the time, spent 34 days at Gillette Childrens in St. Paul recovering from the multiple skull fractures, severe brain injury etc. We are lucky, she is going to have a normal life, but I'm a fanatic about proper child restraints. If she hadn't been properly secured, she would not have survived.