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Thanks ecomodded, maybe one day lives will be saved from someone reading this thread.
When I read about a death that could have been avoided and the absolute tragedy of this single incident, I think of my mother when my oldest brother was in Viet Nam, praying for the safe return of her son from another day, praying that the car never appeared in front of the house with a man in uniform bringing tragic news.
One part of driving technique that we espouse on this forum is the art of conservation of momentum, which provides an additional benefit, which is the vastly reduced risk of being rear ended when you are coasting to another red light.
I used to get mad at people who would blast past me when there was a red light just a head knowing they would probably switch into my lane and force me to slow down or even stop when I could have coasted through the light when it changed to green.
Pop used to tell me "I would rather have the idiots in front of me instead of behind me."
My agressive character, at the time, just could not, tolerate having idiots anywhere near me. Now I understand his rationale and mostly agree with his logic. It's hard to not allow yourself to be more agressive, to punish others for their ludicrous driving habits by employing your own.
Pop is 93 and still drives his pearl white Eldorado. Not much and he prefers me driving. He once told me I was the only driver who made him feel comfortable enough to fall asleep riding in a car I was driving. Not even his wife of 68 years makes him feel that secure in the hands of another person. His last traffic ticket was 1955.
His last accident, not his fault-hit by a car that ran a red light, was 1973. It took me a few decades to appreciate that accomplishment and both of my parents almost died in a head on collision on route 1 in the Florida Keys when a drunk in a Cadillac swerved into their lane. The car they were driving was a 1977 (first year) Honda Accord that I bought at a salvage auction and rebuilt.
The crazy thing is I almost died on the same road within a couple hundred yards of the exact same spot, when another drunk swerved into my lane, at night, in heavy rain, and I had to swerve across HIS lane into a parking lot.
40 years ago and we all are still living. I hope the poor woman whose husband and daughter died while SHE watched it happen, can somehow survive that incident emotionally.
regards
Mech
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