The Blue Board
He was taking a right at the T-junction. This has always been something tricky- experienced driver or not. This meant you had to look out for vehicles coming from both directions. Without the assistance of traffic lights, this required an alert mind, wisdom, a sound judgment call and sometimes, the perfect timing of when to make the “go”.
He made the "go".
Perhaps he had underestimated the speed of the approaching car. I mean seriously who would travel at 119 km/h on a road like that? Only someone on ketamine and alcohol, that’s who would.
The car of the intoxicated driver smashed straight into the left side of his. He lost consciousness immediately after the impact. So did his three passengers. The only difference was he was able to regain his when he heard the sound of the ambulance. The other three didn’t and in fact have never. One of the three deceased - his very own brother and the other two - his close friends.
Accidents like these we are normally accustomed to encountering on Hollywood, Kollywood, Bollywood and whatever wood. In reality, the impact goes way beyond the dramatic effects of the crash so often portrayed on TV and into the realistic world of undeserved injuries, quite often deaths and with it, the trauma of losing a loved one, the guilt of a wrongly executed move, pain, mental anguish, and more pain in whatever forms one defines it – mental, emotional, psychological. Pain, nonetheless.
From the perspective of one who travels four expressways on an almost daily basis, I have in the last year, seen easily more than 10 blue boards displayed. More than half of which were for fatal deaths, and almost all involving motorcyclists. The most recent one – a jaywalking pedestrian by a lorry. I shudder as I think of the seconds before and the minutes after the impact.
Drivers, riders, to stack on the lessons you would have already learnt on road safety, defensive riding/driving etc, I would like to urge you - the next time you encounter a blue board, don’t ignore it. Chew on it. The lessons will stay fresh on your mind.
As for pedestrians, never fall into the habit of jaywalking. The consequential dangers are just not worth the risk.
A golden rule I learnt in kindergarten comes to my mind. “Look to the left, look to the right and look to the left again.”
He made the "go".
Perhaps he had underestimated the speed of the approaching car. I mean seriously who would travel at 119 km/h on a road like that? Only someone on ketamine and alcohol, that’s who would.
The car of the intoxicated driver smashed straight into the left side of his. He lost consciousness immediately after the impact. So did his three passengers. The only difference was he was able to regain his when he heard the sound of the ambulance. The other three didn’t and in fact have never. One of the three deceased - his very own brother and the other two - his close friends.
Accidents like these we are normally accustomed to encountering on Hollywood, Kollywood, Bollywood and whatever wood. In reality, the impact goes way beyond the dramatic effects of the crash so often portrayed on TV and into the realistic world of undeserved injuries, quite often deaths and with it, the trauma of losing a loved one, the guilt of a wrongly executed move, pain, mental anguish, and more pain in whatever forms one defines it – mental, emotional, psychological. Pain, nonetheless.
From the perspective of one who travels four expressways on an almost daily basis, I have in the last year, seen easily more than 10 blue boards displayed. More than half of which were for fatal deaths, and almost all involving motorcyclists. The most recent one – a jaywalking pedestrian by a lorry. I shudder as I think of the seconds before and the minutes after the impact.
Drivers, riders, to stack on the lessons you would have already learnt on road safety, defensive riding/driving etc, I would like to urge you - the next time you encounter a blue board, don’t ignore it. Chew on it. The lessons will stay fresh on your mind.
As for pedestrians, never fall into the habit of jaywalking. The consequential dangers are just not worth the risk.
A golden rule I learnt in kindergarten comes to my mind. “Look to the left, look to the right and look to the left again.”
