Defensive driving is important
Saturday as I was running some errands around town, a strange thing happened.
I say strange, but similar occurrences happen all the time. I will call it the inattentiveness of inexperienced drivers.
There I was, driving down Mitchell Street in the middle of town. I get to the intersection of Steele Avenue and then it happened, a vehicle pulled right out in front of me. Behind the wheel is a young woman, oblivious of the mistake she just made.
Since there was enough time to stop, I abruptly apply brakes to avoid hitting her car.
Very annoyed, I ask “Hey! what gives?” and get a good look at her face.
Instead of getting a, “Sorry, my mistake!” or anything along those lines, she simply looked me in the eyes, shrugged her shoulders and kept driving on her way.
It wasn’t the fact she pulled out in front of me without looking. What concerns me the most is she showed no regard for her mistake while operating a motor vehicle.
Had I not been able to react as quickly as I did, there very well could have been an accident. Most likely the accident would not have been fatal considering I was traveling at inner city speeds, but injuries still could have occurred.
Fatal accidents involving juveniles occur in Pearl River County more often than they should. And since this is a rural area with no public transportation for our youth, they start to drive at a young age.
I will never forget one piece of advice my mom told me during my first driving lessons. She said, “Stay on your side of the road and they will stay on theirs, most of the time.”
It’s the “most of the time” comment that rings true.