Reflections on a Near Miss

I witnessed an horrific traffic accident yesterday.

Well, that's a bit of an overstatement, really. What I witnessed was a near miss. It was almost an accident. Here's what happened, Ms J.

I was on my way to work yesterday afternoon, moving slowly in heavy traffic, when a white van zipped past me. It was moving very fast - 80 kph, perhaps - and rapidly closing the gap between it and the vehicle stopped ahead in the lane beside me. At the last possible instant, the driver of the van braked and jerked the wheel hard to the right missing the car by what must surely have been only inches. Thankfully, no other car occupied the space into which he swerved.

So what, you say? Nobody was hurt. No damage done. There was no accident. It was a non-event.

I must tell you, Ms J, I was greatly affected by that "non-event." My heart was racing and my breath caught in my throat. It was so close, Ms J! Disaster was so close I could feel it. I imagined the car being pushed into the concrete guard rail, spinning and grinding, dust and dirt flying, the occupants screaming with what may have been their last breath. Glass and body mouldings littering the highway. And blood. It all happened so quickly, but my feelings remain even now.

Eventually, the traffic movement allowed me a peek into the little car that was so very nearly destroyed. A woman was driving. A young woman, in her thirty's I suppose. She was smiling. The passenger next to her was also female. Older. Quite old, actually, and sleeping. The back seat held two more women - elderly women, who were engaged in conversation. They appeared to be completely at ease and it occurred to me then that they had no idea how close they had come to serious injury or death.

I felt my eyes fill at the thought of those innocent people and my lip began to quiver. The injustice of it, Ms Journal! As a result of one moment of inattention on the part of a speeding driver, those precious beings would be forever scarred, forever affected. And what of their loved ones? Their friends?

So much pain, Ms J, caused to so many by one ill-considered act. How might the driver of the van have felt, knowing his carelessness had brought about such tragedy? How could he live out the rest of his Life with such a burden to bear? Could he ever smile again? Ever find comfort?

These were my thoughts, Ms J, as I continued on to work. Those thoughts have returned many times in various forms and scenarios.

I'm wondering now how many of us are spared from horrific events and never know it.

And you know, Ms Journal, perhaps that's best.

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