Close Call
Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2012 5:26 am
I was doing my normal commute yesterday which is just a straight shot up 49 from Valparaiso IN.
On the way back home I decided to take a different route and cut through town instead of continuing on the highway. This also directed me around road construction. I was coming down Calumet Ave. which is a main artery of the town when a car three ahead of me slowed for a right turn with no warning. The car behind that car hit her brakes and came to a stop while the S-10 in front of me proceeded to rear end her. I was following a distance that was safe for normal circumstances and did not have enough room to make an emergency stop without hitting the truck in front of me. So I fought every urge in my body to target fixate on the bumper of the truck and set my eyes just to the left of the S-10. I ended up making a stop right around the driver window of the S-10 about 3 feet from the truck. Just barely crossing the center line which was a turn lane. Phew.... I'm not gonna lie I was shaking a little.
Moral I should have gave a little more distance for emergency situations but I feel that in the thick of it I made a sound riding decision that avoided catastrophe.
On the way back home I decided to take a different route and cut through town instead of continuing on the highway. This also directed me around road construction. I was coming down Calumet Ave. which is a main artery of the town when a car three ahead of me slowed for a right turn with no warning. The car behind that car hit her brakes and came to a stop while the S-10 in front of me proceeded to rear end her. I was following a distance that was safe for normal circumstances and did not have enough room to make an emergency stop without hitting the truck in front of me. So I fought every urge in my body to target fixate on the bumper of the truck and set my eyes just to the left of the S-10. I ended up making a stop right around the driver window of the S-10 about 3 feet from the truck. Just barely crossing the center line which was a turn lane. Phew.... I'm not gonna lie I was shaking a little.
Moral I should have gave a little more distance for emergency situations but I feel that in the thick of it I made a sound riding decision that avoided catastrophe.
