Most who have survived a "serious" accident (I am one) end up with lot's of "what if's". The internet is full of people who know exactly what they would have done ;^) - The obvious issue being? it wasn't them involved and most people behave differently to how they think they would when confronted with something that they did not expect.
Me too. I spent many a painful sleepless night wondering how I could have possibly have avoided the accident I was in, while my mother was under observation in A&E.
After speaking with the officer in charge of our case, I was convinced that I had taken all reasonable steps to avoid the accident, such as slowing down as I passed the junction. Unfortunately for us, the bimbo driving the other car was so engrossed with her young passenger that she failed to take note that two vehicles were passing the junction at 50mph.
Needless to say, you cannot compensate for someone who fails to demonstrate even the slightest bit of intelligence, but you can minimise the impact of their stupidity. In our case, dropping my speed from 60mph to 50mph while passing the junction was the difference between my elderly mother being badly injured, or my elderly mother dying from her injuries. That 10mph reduction probably saved her life, as well as mine, and the idiot who pulled out in front of us.
For information sake, Saturday Bridge, a notorious black spot south of Holbeach, is a high speed road. I have even seen vehicles approaching speeds of 100mph along that stretch of road. The road is completely straight along that stretch which gives a false sense of security, which also explains why there are so many collisions and near misses on a daily basis.
In my case, the 'what if's' are, should I have swerved left instead of right. Either way, I would have left the road and ended up in a field. Thankfully, the side I ended up in wasn't bordered by a dike, otherwise our injuries would have been a lot worse. Also, I am lucky I was travelling south. If I had been travelling north, I would have ended up in the river, or hitting the bridge barrier, again causing more serious injuries.
As of today, I now reduce my speed to 40mph while passing that dangerous junction, as I do at any junction where I am unsure of the intentions of those at the junction or those approaching the junction from the opposite direction. I have managed to avoid two collisions caused by inattention simply by slowing down a bit instead of insisting that I can do the speed limit of the road.
It's all very well saying, 'I had right of way', but when you lose a loved one, is it really the principle that counts, or our lives?
