Crazies on the roads
Walking back from work today and seeing an ambulance screeching past I was reminded of two recent incidents which still totally baffle me.
Incident 1:
It’s broad daylight and I’m walking down the high street. I hear the sirens of an ambulance in the distance and I can see the flashing lights (oh about a quarter of a mile away). I “instinctively” decide not to cross the road but keep walking on this side of the street and wait for the ambulance to pass before crossing over. So about 30 seconds later the ambulance is just about to pass me but to my horror I see two teenage girls dart across the road right in front of the ambulance. Well, the ambulance had to take avoidance action so there wasn’t an accident. C’mon, what were those girls thinking? I have NO IDEA!
Incident 2:
Again, it’s broad daylight and I’m walking down the high street. I hear the sirens of a police car in the distance and see the flashing blue lights (about a quarter of a mile away). I had already crossed the road by this point so am just strolling home. To my horror (and disbelief!) I see this old man just ahead of me (perhaps in his late 60s or early 70s) start to cross the road right in front of this high-speed police car with its siren at full blast and lights blazing. I don’t know how the driver avoided hitting that old man! What gives with that old man?!!
My thoughts:
I don’t have many thoughts on this yet as I haven’t reached a conclusion. Two incidents a few days apart. One with two teenage girls, and another with an old man. Both nearly ended in disaster. What motivates someone to decided that they need to cross the road with an emergency vehicle screaming past? What did they think would happen?
My admiration goes out to the drivers of these emergency vehicles. No matter how many audio-visual cues and advance warning they give they always need to be on the lookout for idiots crossing the road. I’m baffled. I really am.
Copyright © 2008 Kulvinder Singh Matharu - All Rights Reserved
