SeattleGirl was a very LUCKY girl today on the freeway....

Earlier today, I was driving from my home/office in south Seattle up to meet some co-workers for lunch in north Seattle. Traffic on I-5 was surprisingly light for a change. I was just north of the downtown area, in one of the middle lanes of the freeway, when all of a sudden the people in the cars next to me started slamming on their brakes, and the vehicle right in front of me seemed to slow way down (no brake-lights though). Suddenly, my eyes sent the frantic message to my brain that the vehicle right in front of me had STOPPED! I slammed on my brakes (I had already slowed down), and realized that the vehicle in front of me (a Dodge Ram pickup) had stopped because the hood had come unlatched, opened up completely, and the driver could not see!

Well, thank God, the angels , or my quick reaction time, but I managed not to run into the back end of him; the cars in the next lane managed to STAY in their lanes, and the lane on the other side of me had no traffic in it so the poor guy in the Ram pickup was able to get over to the side of the road quickly.

Whew!!!! By the time I got to the office where I was meeting my co-workers, I was shaking, but very happy that 1) I didn't run into the back of the truck, and 2) the hood of the truck did not come OFF the truck and come smashing into my windshield!

:bounce:

glad you're here to talk about it!!!!

I can't stand when cars have brake lights that don't work. I recently had to spend a substantial amount of time and effort and money changing just one of the 2 bulbs in my 3rd brake light, because I think that making sure your brake lights work is so important for safety!!!

:D

the truck seemed like it was a very new model.

And I don't know what it is with me and Ram pick-ups: about 6 years ago, I backed into one (fortunately, there was only a small scratch on the truck and the guy who owned it had a brother who owned a body shop, so the brother fixed it for free). And then there was December 2001 when I was plowed into by a Dodge Ram going 65 mph and I was going 25. Thank God I had just traded in my little Sentra for a slightly larger and much sturdier Taurus!

It is a really popular model, especially if you live in a rural area.

Still, a creepy coincidence
:scared:

Yeah, I definitely don't like seeing them in my rear-view mirror! I start muttering out loud, "Don't get too close to me. Don't get to close to me!" :scared:

that I would realize where you live by your name, but it's been that kind of day.

:think:

lol.

For all you know, I live in Mongolia and just wanted to keep my location top secret! :rofl:

That's part of Secret Order 545345098098z, remember?

Jeesh, just when you think you can trust someone to keep their mouth shut!!!!:eyes:


;-)

:spank:

Whew! :hug:

But I can't help but think of the similar scene in "Tommy Boy". :)

a wreck, and no one got hurt! :hug:

you're okay, Seattlegirl! I once had a slight accident and then my hood flew off while driving home. Luckily, no one was hurt then either. <<SG>>

didn't hit any other vehicles! :hug:

Think how freaked that guy was!!!

I have to say, he handled the vehicle VERY well in that situation, and thank goodness there was no one in the next lane over so he could get to the shoulder right away. If I thought MY legs were jello, I can't inagine what HE felt like!

Glad you are okay.

Speaking of scary, don't go on the Alaska Way Viaduct... the thing's a death trap.

Traffic on south-bound I-5 was backed up from Northgate through downtown! But I know what you mean....I hold my breath when I am driving through the double-decker part through downtown! :scared:

that collapsed in the 1989 quake here in California.

Bad stuff. :(

:scared:

Glad to know you are ok!

Me too!

Bosses truck, didn't warn me about the wonky latch. Same freeway, same place. Seattle traffic is pretty scary, more so than Los Angeles.

Glad your OK SeattleGirl! :hug: Go find something to work that adrenalin off.

when I got home, so that helped blow off some steam!

SeattleGirl, someone's looking out for you ;-). I'm so glad you are okay.

Julie
still has a Sentra...

:hi:

out.

react, as opposed to how one SHOULD react in the moment. The poor guy was probably in shock!

Interestingly enough, drivers around me responded almost more quickly than I. One almost instinctively gives blind drivers extra space. :rofl:

For instance, the circumstances around the time I WAS hit by the Ram pickup -- I was driving down I-5 to spend the Christmas holiday with my family in Oregon. Weather was sunny and pavement was dry. Traffic was again very light. Down around the Kelso/Longview area in southern Washington, all of a sudden there is the big dog walking across the freeway! I glanced in my rearview mirror (no traffic right behind me) while at the same time hitting the brakes. I missed hitting that dog by less than an inch! My husband and I were so relieved, and I was just about to say something when WHAM!!! We were hit from behind by a woman driving a Ram pick-up truck (she told me later she usually was pulling a horse trailer too, but not that day!).

When the state patrol guy got there, and I told him what had set the whole thing off, he told me I should have just HIT THE DOG! I said, "Sir, I had almost no time to react, so I reacted instinctively, that is, when it looks like I might hit something, my instinct is to avoid it!" Sheesh.

Don't just stop in the middle of the highway :crazy:

be careful out there. :scared:

I was a good distance behind him, and did notice traffic slowing down but again, he did not have brakelights, so it took a second for my mind to realize that his vehicle had come to a stop. Fortunately, I was still far enough behind him that I managed to stop BEFORE I made the acquaintence with the butt-end of the truck!

:thumbsup:

I, for one, am very, very glad it was just nerves that were shattered....

I am indeed one lucky girl!

Whew! I'd be shaking too.

:)

and no one was hurt. The poor guy in the truck probably aged about 10 years when the hood popped up on his though!

I saw the word popped in your post and for a split second I saw a word that reminds me of what I'd do in that situation. ;-)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

It's good for the soul.

:bounce:

That and some peace and quiet to calm my nerves.

and I don't drink while I'm working, so the alcohol solution wasn't possible!

I meant if you were home. Just settle into the comfort of my easy chair and try to find my happy place.

I'm so glad that you're okay!

The hug feels very nice!! :hug: :loveya:

and you weren't here! :loveya::pals:

:hug: :loveya: :pals:

I'll have my own stories of the crazies they give driver licenses later today ...

I'm shuffling off to Buffalo in an hour or so.

And that's for both Heidi and me.

Nightshift's soon starting. A good night from afar. Take good care!

And goodnight to you. Maybe I'll see you later when the Nighthawks get together! I'm really gonna need the band tonight!

But, when I ever hit 2000 posts, I might start the Dayhawks thread. ;) Would look like this (band welcome!):



Good night!

Woo woo, get a load of the bartender!!! Goodnight to you!

:hi:
Good to hear that you're ok-angels definitely help!
Sending good thoughts to you for a RELAXING evening....

I'm sure taking my nightly romp through the lounge will help a lot!

BTW, just wanted to say again I love my Mardi Gras mask, and it is hanging up here in my home!!!

opened up and came flying off (it seemed to float off in slow motion where I saw it in my rear view mirror). Luckily there was no one behind me and when I got off the freeway to go back around it was gone. I had been on my way to work but I was so upset I went home and pouted all day.

Glad you're okay though!

I am SO glad you and no one else got hurt in that. (I would have gone home, crawled under the covers, and cried!!!)

I am so glad you're OK......

How scary for you......

Please take care of yourself....always!


:loveya: :hug: :pals: :yourock:

I will! :loveya: :hug: :pals:

Well, at least when I was born, she was...

Two CaliforniaPeggys.....hmmmmmm...

Nice to meet you, PowerToThePeople........:hi:

:hi:

Nice to meet you too...

Whew. Close.

It's truly amazing that no one got hurt, and there was not even a fender-bender in the mix!

or something good that you're going to do in the future.

hitting the dog on the freeway in 2001 (but ended up getting hit by another vehicle) FINALLY kicked in!

:~~>

couple of years ago I got rear ended hard right in the middle of the Lincoln tunnel. I mean the N.Y./N.J. border stripe was on the wall of the tunnel right next to my wreck. Again, glad you're safe.

The worst was just after I graduated from high school. My boyfriend of the time and I were driving on this two-lane road outside Eugene, Oregon, and in that stupid way teens have, were paying more attention to each other than the road. Well, all of a sudden we realized there was a car stopped in the lane ahead of us, waiting to make a left-hand turn.

We did not have enough room to stsop without hitting the car, so my boyfriend drove around the right side of the car, onto the shoulder of the road, which was gravel. He lost control of the car, and the last thing I remembered was frantically trying to get out the the car (while it was careening out of control). Next thing I remembered, I was laying in the ditch on the side of the road, and the car was teetering on it's side not to far from me. All of a sudden, the car fell over onto its top, and when it hit the ground, I thought it had hit me, and my thought was "I'm dead."

I came to again a little bit later, and started screaming for my boyfriend because I could not find him, and I was afraid he was trapped under the car. It was a small convertible sports car, and we had had the top down. Well, he stood up from the other side of the car, bloody face, and I damned near lost it.

By that time, some people had gathered along the edge of the ditch and two people started making their way down to us. The man was an off-duty paramedic (how lucky was THAT?), out for a drive with his girlfriend.

Am ambulance finally came to take us to the hospital where my mom worked (and where boyfriend's dad was the Administrator). I ended up being quite okay, considering. My boyfriend had cut his face when his glasses broke, and he also shattered an eardrum, but all-in-all, we came out relatively unscathed!

And the thing that saved our lives was that we were NOT wearing seatbelts, as my boyfriend had just reupholstered the seats, and had not yet reinstalled the belts. Now, I am a proponent of wearing seatbelts, but in that one case, I think we are alive because by not having them on, we were thrown from the car before it ended up upside down.

Gad, me and my adventures in automobiles!!

A co-worker of mine is stuck on the west side because of the rockslides in the pass (I-90). Hopefully they can clear it out.

I saw the footage of the slide on the news last night. Eeewww, now THAT looked scary! That could really have been a catastrophe if vehicles had been right under when the rocks let loose! :scared:

And I enjoy spending some time with my co-workers, since I don't see them often (they work in an office together; I work from home.)

freeway from Northgate Mall. Had their fish and chips -- the fish is WONDERFUL!!!

:hug:

I definitely agree with you! :hug:

Yikes for almost-accidents! That's a whole lotta good luck and reflexes, dude :hug:

It actually didn't register to part of my brain that the truck in front of me had stopped (as I said, no brakelights), but fortunately, some instinctive gotta-save-my-hide part of my brain DID realize it and sent the message to my foot: HIT THE BRAKES, DAMNIT!!

:hug:

Lucky would have been if you would have got to spend the day in bed alternating between making love to the person of your choice and eating chocolates.

I don't think you understand the concept SeattleGirl.

;)

But mine was just in the context of avoiding being in the middle of twisted metal!

How's things in Seattle anyway? I've been thinking about her all day. I lived there for a few years. I left about 4 years ago.

I'm on the verge of taking a job that will have me up there maybe a couple of times a month. I can hardly wait. For all it's problems (traffic, not the least of these) there's just something about the Seattle.

Well, if you take the job and get up this way, shoot me a PM and maybe we can grab a cup of coffee or something -- God knows there are enough coffee shops around here !

and will do.

Would love to meet another DUer!

Things can happen so fast on the road.

May you continue to be Safe, Protected and Well.

:hug:
Shine

:hug:

That would certainly rattle me a bit, too! :scared:

(except for the guy whose hood came up), I've been kind of going back and forth between feeling fine, and feeling shakey! I suppose that's a normal reaction.

:hug:

:hug:

So am I! :hug:

And that your vehicle was undamaged. :hug:

I am especially glad that my PERSON came away unscathed! :hug:

Property can be replaced, the person cannot.

While I can admit to the "oh damn, my favorite toy is destroyed" frame of mind, in the end, better my favorite toy than my own self be hurt or killed!