The joys of delivery vans
G'day all!
Today I feel lucky to be alive and with all my bits attached. Here's why. (No it is not because I was on the Air France airbus that crashlanded in Toronto either.)
This morning as I drove to work I had something rather unusual happen to me. I had just given way to a white mercedes delivery van - he was turning right and I left onto the same road. So I drive behind him on the two lane road. He starts slowing down and pulling to the left (the kerb), so I assume that he is going to stop or pull into one of the many industrial buildings along that bit of road. Fair call? He isn't indicating, btw, but that is not unusual in my experience of delivery van drivers. So I indicate and move to pull around him - there are no cars in the other lane. I'm not much more than two car lengths off him and halfway into the other lane.
Then the delivery van driver chucks a U-TURN RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! No indicator, no warning, nothing. He didn't check his wing mirror or heaven help us do a quick head check. He must've forgotten that I was there - it was only 10 seconds before that I had given way to him but he was much more concerned about the fact he was on the wrong road (How do I know this? Cos after he u-turned, he then turned back onto the road he had been on going in the direction he had been heading). He only realised I was there when he was broadside on to me and he could see me coming straight at him and hear my tyres squealing.
Well! Here's me stamping on the brakes and opposite locking to control the skid I've gone into and hopefully push the car behind him instead of into him.... Missed him by less than two metres cos I stopped.
Once he had completed the u-ey, I blasted him with the horn. Didn't have the opportunity before - too busy avoiding a prang and gasping. He had also u-turned with less than a hundred metres between him and oncoming traffic.
If my car was pranged cos of some idjit not thinking about some basic road awareness, I'd be totally and utterly you-know-whatted off. As it is I wrenched the steering wheel so hard that I've wrenched me! My right shoulder and neck are complaining that I have used them ill. Better that than pranging the car though. I'd be crushed! And considering I've only got a baby car, I might have been crushed literally!
Hehe. Today's funny. Maybe only doctors will appreciate it. I am doing a bit of reading about interpreting ECGs. They mention asystole, where the heart has stopped beating. "If the ECG shows asystole and the patient is speaking to you then you need to check your leads are properly attached." Is the power on? Either that or the person is the first recorded case of the walking, talking dead. LOL.
Here's the last bit of stash enhancement from last week - some pretty tops from Touch yarns:
I really have to stop buying 50g lots. Either that or get used to diluting the colours with a white plying thread.
Plus a bit of expensivos Crystal Palace yarn - $15 a pop for these but I wanted so bad to make a cowl/circular scarf.
Wanna send your blog into space? Well here's how! Just make sure your language isn't too blue cos they don't want to beam your blog out to aliens if you use lots of crude words. Which reminds me of South Park on Monday night - all about curse words. Oddly moralistic but hey I won't pick cos I don't see the need to let fly with lots of bad words (unless delivery vans chuck a u-ey in front of you but even then I didn't have time to think about saying anything and afterwards a I think I only said "Crikey!" and "pluck a duck!" A "Jesus" may have crawled in there too).
anon!
Today I feel lucky to be alive and with all my bits attached. Here's why. (No it is not because I was on the Air France airbus that crashlanded in Toronto either.)
This morning as I drove to work I had something rather unusual happen to me. I had just given way to a white mercedes delivery van - he was turning right and I left onto the same road. So I drive behind him on the two lane road. He starts slowing down and pulling to the left (the kerb), so I assume that he is going to stop or pull into one of the many industrial buildings along that bit of road. Fair call? He isn't indicating, btw, but that is not unusual in my experience of delivery van drivers. So I indicate and move to pull around him - there are no cars in the other lane. I'm not much more than two car lengths off him and halfway into the other lane.
Then the delivery van driver chucks a U-TURN RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME! No indicator, no warning, nothing. He didn't check his wing mirror or heaven help us do a quick head check. He must've forgotten that I was there - it was only 10 seconds before that I had given way to him but he was much more concerned about the fact he was on the wrong road (How do I know this? Cos after he u-turned, he then turned back onto the road he had been on going in the direction he had been heading). He only realised I was there when he was broadside on to me and he could see me coming straight at him and hear my tyres squealing.
Well! Here's me stamping on the brakes and opposite locking to control the skid I've gone into and hopefully push the car behind him instead of into him.... Missed him by less than two metres cos I stopped.
Once he had completed the u-ey, I blasted him with the horn. Didn't have the opportunity before - too busy avoiding a prang and gasping. He had also u-turned with less than a hundred metres between him and oncoming traffic.
If my car was pranged cos of some idjit not thinking about some basic road awareness, I'd be totally and utterly you-know-whatted off. As it is I wrenched the steering wheel so hard that I've wrenched me! My right shoulder and neck are complaining that I have used them ill. Better that than pranging the car though. I'd be crushed! And considering I've only got a baby car, I might have been crushed literally!
Hehe. Today's funny. Maybe only doctors will appreciate it. I am doing a bit of reading about interpreting ECGs. They mention asystole, where the heart has stopped beating. "If the ECG shows asystole and the patient is speaking to you then you need to check your leads are properly attached." Is the power on? Either that or the person is the first recorded case of the walking, talking dead. LOL.
Here's the last bit of stash enhancement from last week - some pretty tops from Touch yarns:
I really have to stop buying 50g lots. Either that or get used to diluting the colours with a white plying thread.
Plus a bit of expensivos Crystal Palace yarn - $15 a pop for these but I wanted so bad to make a cowl/circular scarf.
Wanna send your blog into space? Well here's how! Just make sure your language isn't too blue cos they don't want to beam your blog out to aliens if you use lots of crude words. Which reminds me of South Park on Monday night - all about curse words. Oddly moralistic but hey I won't pick cos I don't see the need to let fly with lots of bad words (unless delivery vans chuck a u-ey in front of you but even then I didn't have time to think about saying anything and afterwards a I think I only said "Crikey!" and "pluck a duck!" A "Jesus" may have crawled in there too).
anon!
Holy Moly!!!! Good defensive driving on your part - what a bone head that driver was!!! Hope the wrenched muscles feel better - maybe some advil to keep from getting stiff is in order. Love the fiber - you must take a pic of your fiber stash - I think I am jealous!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the worst! You clearly have great driving skills, which is good because there are a lot of (um - trying not to put curse word here) idiots out there with no business behind the wheel. Driving in L.A. can be a competitive sport. So glad you are OK, that is the important thing.
ReplyDeleteBTW - Just because I am the vindictive type, did he show any indication he knew he had
nearly caused a terrible accident?
Wow! Glad to hear you narrowly escaped being pummeled by a delivery truck! That could definitely have been a bad scene.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you go and show all those lovely rovings making me insanely jealous? I can't get to the next fiber festival until September or October! I'm going through fiber withdrawl.
Whoa! Sounds like that was a very close call. Stupid delivery van man - you think that driving for a living he would have sense enough to pay attention to the road. Anyhow, glad to hear you didn't get hit. That red/orange top is my favorite I think - if I was forced to choose that is. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYowza! Glad both you and the car are in one piece after that blindingly idiotic manoeuvre by White Van Man. Don't get me started on White Van Man. They are a flipping plague here! Guaranteed, if they are behind you they drive too close, if they get in front of you they dither!
ReplyDeleteGot a wee piccie of the handspun you sent, knitted up, on KiP :-)
Good Grief! I would have included mad and rude hand gestures with that horn blasting if I had been you! What a total loser! Did you get who he was a delivery driver for? You could ring and complain if you had.
ReplyDeleteLOVE the tops too! Divine colours! Cant wait to see how they end up spun.
Katt